Antonio Panini interview: “My father, stickers and Velasco volleyball”

A visionary who changed the childhood of millions of children. One hundred years ago, in Pozza di Maranello, Giuseppe Panini was born, the “father” of the stickers that accompanied generations of young football lovers. A passionate man, who on Monday 17 November will be remembered in an event at PalaPanini, the facility that bears his name, the sports hall where for years he saw the volleyball team founded in the Sixties win.

An evening strongly desired by the children. Antonio, what memories do you have of your dad?

“He was a very dynamic person, he had a thousand ideas, a thousand initiatives. The sticker project is the most popular and he shared it with his family, because the company was born from the collaboration of four brothers and four sisters”.

For Giuseppe the challenges were immediately important…

“The father died when the eight brothers were all small, with grandmother widowed at 41, in 1941 with the war that had recently broken out. Dad, at 16, was the oldest male in the family. He then contracted bone tuberculosis: he underwent an experimental operation in the 1950s and survived.”

The first work experiences were not encouraging…

“He was a young boy at Ferrari. One day, when he was on duty at the bakery, he decided to sit on a bucket. Enzo Ferrari passed by and saw him like this, during working hours. At the end of the shift the department head arrived and told him: “Panini, don’t come tomorrow: you’re fired”. Years later dad met Ferrari and told him: “That episode changed my life””.

In the imagination of generations of children who grew up with stickers, you were greatly envied: did you collect them? Did he play with friends?

“Yes, but I couldn’t experience the emotions of other children. I didn’t have the taste for shopping, that of opening the bags to find out who I would find. It’s a bit like asking Ferrero’s son if he likes chocolate. When the branch in Via Emilio Po, in Modena, was opened, our house was upstairs, so I often went down to the factory where I could find all the stickers I wanted. I often had them in my pocket and gave them to friends.”

Stickers weren’t dad’s only passion. What other worlds did he love to explore?

“My sister likes to say that dad had a hobby of having hobbies. He was president of the Chamber of Commerce in Modena for a seven-year term, was passionate about puzzles and organized a national conference in Modena in 1977. And then volleyball. But despite all this he was a very present parent.”

Why does your dad take up volleyball?

“It all started with a visit from Professor Anderlini, a key figure for volleyball in Modena. In the mid-1960s he asked his father for some money to finance a local championship. There were some traditional teams in the city, but the professor wanted to create his own team. Giuseppe was convinced and immediately contributed 400,000 lire. The boys didn’t take any money, that money was used to pay for travel, the bus, the t-shirts, the registration for the championship. In 1966 the sports group was founded which, from the C series of the time, would reach the A series. In 1970 the first scudetto was won and it still plays in the Super League today”.

In the 1980s Julio Velasco arrived at Panini Modena as coach. What relationship was there between Giuseppe Panini and the coach?

“They had a human, personal, close relationship. But dad didn’t launch Julio. He just had the advantage of giving him the opportunity to showcase his talent.”

And what relationship did you have with the Panini Modena players?

“Dad has always been a fan of teamwork, so even in sport he loved the exaltation of the team. I remember that often, in the evening, after work, he would stop by to greet the players in the nearby restaurant where they were having dinner. And there he enjoyed playing the accordion, another passion of his, for the athletes. He had learned during his illness, so much so that he even started a band with his brothers.”

Of the footballers immortalized in sticker albums, who did Giuseppe have a friendship with?

“With Gianni Rivera. In the mid-Sixties, with father and mother, we used to go to the seaside, in Forte dei Marmi, in the same pension where Rivera’s parents were also on holiday. And he, despite being an established champion, every year spent at least a week with his parents at the seaside. So we met and in the following years we always remained in contact, so much so that we even went to visit him in the year of his military service”.

It all started from the kiosk where his family sold newspapers. Does that newsstand still exist?

“Unfortunately, no. The structure had fallen into disrepair. In its place, on a column of the portico, where the kiosk once stood, we placed a bronze sculpture by the artist Weiner Vaccari which represents Parola’s famous overhead kick, the symbol of Panini trading cards.”

The family has always remained linked to the city of Modena…

“We love everything about this land. There is a great bond with the city. Without the help of many people from Modena all this would not have happened. Just think that when we opened the factory in Viale Emilio Po we convinced a barber who worked nearby to move to work for us in the company. He closed the shop, but took with him the chair where he sat the customers. So, during work shifts, he often cut his colleagues’ hair.”