What soccer cards do I buy for a four year old?
June 13, 2021 9:47 PM Subscribe
My four year old son wants soccer cards. He knows all about all the players. I know nothing. He likes La Liga, and also the English teams, I think (I've definitely heard him talking about teams from English cities), and is following the European thing happening now and is excited about Copa America. I just want to get him a bunch of cards he'll like. What do I buy?
Names he says a lot: Messi, Messi, Mesii, Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi. Suarez, Grisman, Mbappe,
Teams he Mentions a lot: Barca, Real Madrid, Atletico de Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris St. Germain,Valencia, Cadiz, Bilbao, Villareal, Liverpool, Dijon .
I don't know what he plans to do with them, exactly, but when I picture him with soccer cards, I picture two things
A) Constantly showing me and everyone he knows the cards and telling me/whoever about each player and
B) possibly using the cards to "play" soccer. He frequently (FREQUENTLY!) plays soccer games with a building toy...basically a base and a stick for each player. Teams are by stick colour and he sticks numbers on the sticks and then announces the game: "Saurez passes to Messi...foul for number 11...the ball is outside...GOOOAAAALLLLL..Goal for MEESSSSIIII!!!! .It's 1-0 for BarcelOOOOONNNAAA!!.. and here's the replay...etc. etc." The whole time his little stick figures are kicking around a duplo piece (the ball) into little paper nets.* Anyway, I could imagine he might use the cards to kick the balls instead of the little stick people. Maybe.
So these won't really be worshipped like collector items. I don't want to spent an outrageous amount of money. Just get a bunch of cards he'll like. How does one pick "just give me a bunch of soccer cards."
*Note: Yes, I got him a foosball thing for his fourth birthday...he prefers playing "games of the lees" as he calls these stick-figure games, for reasons unknown.
Names he says a lot: Messi, Messi, Mesii, Messi, Messi, Messi, Messi. Suarez, Grisman, Mbappe,
Teams he Mentions a lot: Barca, Real Madrid, Atletico de Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris St. Germain,Valencia, Cadiz, Bilbao, Villareal, Liverpool, Dijon .
I don't know what he plans to do with them, exactly, but when I picture him with soccer cards, I picture two things
A) Constantly showing me and everyone he knows the cards and telling me/whoever about each player and
B) possibly using the cards to "play" soccer. He frequently (FREQUENTLY!) plays soccer games with a building toy...basically a base and a stick for each player. Teams are by stick colour and he sticks numbers on the sticks and then announces the game: "Saurez passes to Messi...foul for number 11...the ball is outside...GOOOAAAALLLLL..Goal for MEESSSSIIII!!!! .It's 1-0 for BarcelOOOOONNNAAA!!.. and here's the replay...etc. etc." The whole time his little stick figures are kicking around a duplo piece (the ball) into little paper nets.* Anyway, I could imagine he might use the cards to kick the balls instead of the little stick people. Maybe.
So these won't really be worshipped like collector items. I don't want to spent an outrageous amount of money. Just get a bunch of cards he'll like. How does one pick "just give me a bunch of soccer cards."
*Note: Yes, I got him a foosball thing for his fourth birthday...he prefers playing "games of the lees" as he calls these stick-figure games, for reasons unknown.
The best place to start is a set of "Top Trumps". They're more like decks of cards, so they're not meant for trading, but each card is a bit like a US baseball card, with stats to memorize. It's possible to play a game with them, kind of like proto-Pokemon. Given your son's interests and age, this is what I would go with.
But! If you want to spend a lot more money and be a lot more authentic, they don't really do football cards in the old country. They do "stickers", which you're supposed to put in a album. The dominant brand is Panini.
Right now, the obvious choice is the album and stickers for the ongoing Euro 2000 tournamnet. You'd need an album and, if you want him to have a chance of collecting the full set, a retail box of stickers. Each pack in the retail box could make a useful incentive/bribe depending on your parenting style. The downsides are: It doesn't seem like they're widely available in the US (I assume that's where you are) so going with this is not going to be cheap (relative to what they cost in Europe), they may not arrive until after the tournament is finished, and half the fun is trading them with friends, which presumably won't be an option for your son. And Messi isn't from Europe so he won't be in this series. If stickers seem interesting, I would wait until next year, and get them for the World Cup (which will feature Messi, and I assume will be on direct sale in the US, without pricey and slow gray market imports).
posted by caek at 11:31 PM on June 13, 2021 [5 favorites]
But! If you want to spend a lot more money and be a lot more authentic, they don't really do football cards in the old country. They do "stickers", which you're supposed to put in a album. The dominant brand is Panini.
Right now, the obvious choice is the album and stickers for the ongoing Euro 2000 tournamnet. You'd need an album and, if you want him to have a chance of collecting the full set, a retail box of stickers. Each pack in the retail box could make a useful incentive/bribe depending on your parenting style. The downsides are: It doesn't seem like they're widely available in the US (I assume that's where you are) so going with this is not going to be cheap (relative to what they cost in Europe), they may not arrive until after the tournament is finished, and half the fun is trading them with friends, which presumably won't be an option for your son. And Messi isn't from Europe so he won't be in this series. If stickers seem interesting, I would wait until next year, and get them for the World Cup (which will feature Messi, and I assume will be on direct sale in the US, without pricey and slow gray market imports).
posted by caek at 11:31 PM on June 13, 2021 [5 favorites]
I was here to say what caek said -- we have "cromos coleccionables" (collectable sticker cards). Every year they release one with the Liga players, but for now the latest available one is for the 20-21 Liga that is already over. They'll have the next season's album and stickers ready by the autumn. They also have completed albums of past Ligas, but I don't think it's what you want.
Also, if you buy packs of envelopes you're going to get a ridiculous amount of duplicate stickers. In a school environment you'd trade them with your school mates until you had a few cards you were unable to find, then if you were serious about completing the album you'd write to Panini for the few remaining ones. But this is going to be way more complicated from overseas.
posted by sukeban at 11:42 PM on June 13, 2021
Also, if you buy packs of envelopes you're going to get a ridiculous amount of duplicate stickers. In a school environment you'd trade them with your school mates until you had a few cards you were unable to find, then if you were serious about completing the album you'd write to Panini for the few remaining ones. But this is going to be way more complicated from overseas.
posted by sukeban at 11:42 PM on June 13, 2021
Some people have mentioned Panini Stickers already, there is also the option of Match Attax. They're actual cards as opposed to stickers. They usually come in packs with about 5-6 cards in from memory. You can get a book that has slots for each of the cards. My boy used to love collecting them each season, we used them as a reward mechanism.
posted by lloyder at 1:24 AM on June 14, 2021
posted by lloyder at 1:24 AM on June 14, 2021
I also came in to say that this sounds like a problem for which Panini stickers are the answer. They're collectible like cards, but with the added bonus that you can peel of the back and stick them in a book, and IME kids love stickers.
Also, agree that he has independently invented Subbuteo and, given how old that game is, it must be possible to find a cheap set even in the USA.
posted by plonkee at 5:15 AM on June 14, 2021
Also, agree that he has independently invented Subbuteo and, given how old that game is, it must be possible to find a cheap set even in the USA.
posted by plonkee at 5:15 AM on June 14, 2021
You don't really find Panini stickers so easily in the US. Match Attax is much more of a thing. There are also widely available EPL and UCL card sets. Used to be at Target for example. Usually soccer stores are reliable sources. Finding La Liga specific would be harder.
Source: Has soccer mad 8 year old who seems personally disappointed I don't know Villarreal's roster by memory. Had his entire club team here this weekend that at one point involved 12 boys playing Match Attax as they waited turns to play FIFA21.
posted by JPD at 6:47 AM on June 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
Source: Has soccer mad 8 year old who seems personally disappointed I don't know Villarreal's roster by memory. Had his entire club team here this weekend that at one point involved 12 boys playing Match Attax as they waited turns to play FIFA21.
posted by JPD at 6:47 AM on June 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
Consider Beckett Media if you are looking for cards. It seems they sell stickers too. There are several individual cards of the players you mention that cost only $1 or $2. Some are even a bit less, some are a bit more. Shipping costs are extra, but it seems that shipping is free for purchases that are more than $49. I assume this is for the US, I really don't know tbh. Would you be willing to pay $49 for about 15-30 cards? This could work.
Lionel Messi
Luis Suarez
Kylian Mbappe
Antoine Griezmann
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 7:12 AM on June 14, 2021
Lionel Messi
Luis Suarez
Kylian Mbappe
Antoine Griezmann
posted by obscure simpsons reference at 7:12 AM on June 14, 2021
Match Attax. Bright, accessible, collectible photo-cards, made by Topps and updated every season, with numerical ratings that are used in a simple(ish) game. A random assortment in each packet. Hugely successful in the UK.
posted by Hogshead at 7:17 AM on June 14, 2021
posted by Hogshead at 7:17 AM on June 14, 2021
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