Dublin, Ireland 5-22 January 2023
To celebrate the close ties between Ireland and Italy in the finals of past World Cup tournaments, the Italian Institute of Culture in Dublin, with the support of the Embassy of Italy in Ireland, is bringing an exhibition to Dublin which will showcase original material covering the 1990, 1994 and 2002 World Cups.
DUBLIN 20th December, 2022 - On Jan 5th 2023, the exhibition "Chasing the ball" A display of football stickers featuring Ireland and Italy at the World Cup 1990-2002 will be launched at Printworks Building - Dublin Castle.
The opening ceremony on January 5th, will be opened by the legendary Italian striker, Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillaci – the man who ended the odyssey of Italia ‘90 for Jack Charlton’s men, at their first ever World Cup.
The project is promoted by the Italian Institute of Culture in Dublin and curated by FMAV - Museo della Figurina in Modena (Italy). The exhibition will display a series of albums, stickers, drawings and original materials which are related to the 1990, 1994 and 2002 editions of the World Cup – with the focus on Ireland and Italy will along with their teams, players, opponents and matches played. It is a unique opportunity to re-experience an historic moment for our two countries.
Some 80 albums, 18 drawing representing the goals scored by the Irish teams, and much more, will be on display. These cover the three World Cup tournaments and comprise hundreds of trading cards. However, it is the history on the pitch, in the meetings between Ireland and Italy that provides a fascinating insight that goes beyond these tournaments. Sometimes the encounters turned into personal bonds, as the players went on to represent more than football.
The items on display have been loaned from the Gianni Bellini collection, with Bellini widely considered to be the world's leading collector of football trading cards and stickers. As a collector, he has attracted the attention of major international publications, including L'Equipe, and the football magazine FourFourTwo, in addition to TV networks like CBS, CNN and the History Channel.
