2017 Panini Aficionado Soccer Hobby Box

Aficionado, one of Panini’s newest brands, comes to the soccer hobby with the release of 2016-17 Aficionado Soccer. The collection includes soccer’s best and brightest stars shown in action with their club team and/or their national team.

Aficionado will be 100% live. No points or redemptions. On average, one box per case will deliver an autograph of one of the following ten players:

• Current superstars Andres Iniesta, Christian Pulisic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Neymar Jr;
• Legends Andy Cole, Diego Maradona, Ian Wright, Pele, Sir Bobby Charlton.

Look for the best players in the game today in a variety of special inserts such as Magic Numbers, Power Surge, Craftwork, and Meteor! Also find notable soccer stars of the past in Heroes.

Find autographs of your favorite current and retired footballers in Endorsements, International Ink, and First Impressions! Featured players include Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, Dele Alli, Renato Sanches, Pele, and Diego Maradona, among others!

Aficionado also offers memorabilia cards in Authentics and Dual Authentics. Collect memorabilia cards of soccer stars such as Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata!

Additionally, every case will land one of the rare Forza! Inserts and a Base Set First Kick (similar to the Tip-off and Opening Night versions in BK) parallel.

Finally, Aficionado boasts the first autograph cards of at least 11 footballers, headlined by the following:

Current

Giovani dos Santos; LA Galaxy / Mexico – One of the most exciting players in Mexican football, dos Santos has been named MVP of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and won Gold in the 2012 Olympics. In the 2016 MLS season, dos Santos was named an All-Star and made the Best XI, similar to winning a Gold Glove in baseball or making the All-NBA team.

Leonardo Bonucci; Juventus / Italy – Considered by many to be one of the best defenders in the world, Bonucci has represented Italy at two World Cups. As part of Juventus, he has won 5 Serie A championships (Italy’s top soccer league) and in 2016 was named the league’s Footballer of the Year.

Legends

Andy Cole; Manchester United / England – Captured 5 Premier League championships with Manchester United and led them to the Champions League title in 1999.

Ian Wright; Crystal Palace / Arsenal / England – Led Arsenal to the Premier League championship in 1997-98; Led Arsenal in goals scored every season from 1991-92 through 1996-97. Wright is heavily featured on television broadcasts as an analyst and is well known by soccer fans worldwide.