Kai Jerzö – Ideas, Advice, Creation –
Welcome to the here and now.
EUROPEAN FOOTBALL HEROES 2012
– The complete European Football Championship sticker album –
Please be patient while the illustrated portraits load; they are in high-resolution full-color mode for your viewing pleasure!
TEAM of the TOURNAMENT
Euro Team of the Tournament 2012 – European Championship Poland and Ukraine 2012
Goalkeepers
Iker Casillas, Spain
Gianluigi Buffon, Italy
Manuel Neuer, Germany
Defenders
Gerard Piqué, Spain
Fábio Coentrão, Portugal
Philipp Lahm, Germany
Pepe, Portugal
Sergio Ramos, Spain
Jordi Alba, Spain
Midfielders
Daniele De Rossi, Italy
Steven Gerrard, England
Xavi, Spain
Andrés Iniesta, Spain
Sami Khedira, Germany
Sergio Busquets, Spain
Mesut Özil, Germany
Andrea Pirlo, Italy
Xabi Alonso, Spain
Forwards
Mario Balotelli, Italy
Cesc Fàbregas, Spain
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
Zlatan Ibrahimović, Sweden
David Silva, Spain
Coach
Vicente del Bosque, Spain
Interview with KAI about ‘European Football Heroes 2012’
In April 2012, you published the sticker album ‘EUROPEAN FOOTBALL HEROES 2012’ in conjunction with the European Football Championship. What sets this project apart?
KAI: It’s a high-quality sticker album that contains portraits of all the participating players and was released simultaneously with the start of the tournament.
Why did you draw 400 football player portraits?
I created these portraits for the editorial team of the European Football Association’s website, UEFA.COM. They were intended to make the tournament website more colorful. The portrait drawings were presented as a ‘Cartoon mode’ alongside the player’s official portrait photos.
What did it take to bring this project to life?
It took a lot of time and nerves of steel. The challenge was to create a cool look with high recognizability. I then hand-drew the portraits digitally one by one.
How long did it take you?
I spent around four hours a day drawing for an entire year.
What was the biggest challenge?
Assembling the squads. I had to anticipate well in advance which teams and which players would be participating in the final round. Some coaches constantly changed players, and they can still make player substitutions until the tournament begins. So, in the end, I drew about 50 players more than were actually qualified for the tournament.
How did you come up with the idea?
When I was a child, I used to draw my own football stickers and stick them into the original sticker album because I couldn’t afford to buy them. In 1986, I completely redrew the Panini World Cup album when a friend lent me his copy for a few days to trace through.
What fascinated you about these portraits back then?
Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the stern faces of the players photographed during the national anthem before the match. They always looked very tense. I was interested in the jerseys, the colors, the emblems, and also the hairstyles of the 1980s. There were mullets, short in the front and long in the back hairstyles, afros, and even bald heads with wide mustaches.
What still fascinates you about it 25 years later?
During my work as a designer, I became more of a researcher: What features make up the human face? I tried to develop a graphic code that would allow drawing recognizable faces with maximal reduction. The portraits should look relaxed and lively. I generally search for harmony, beauty, and serenity. I want to depict friendly people.
Did you succeed?
Yes, I did, and I’m proud of it. Some players even shared the portraits on their own social media channels during the tournament. Through the millions of clicks on the tournament website, my own website was clicked some ten thousand times, and the style was copied worldwide. Even if my work is copyright protected, it’s become sort of public property.
What was your goal with the printed sticker album?
I wanted to create a lasting physical version as a counterpoint to the ephemeral website. Since I didn’t sell the license rights for printing to UEFA, I was allowed to publish the whole thing on a very small scale, as long as I wasn’t competing with the official sticker albums. The album project brought together my passions for football, illustration, art, logos, letterpress, and design. My goal was to make ’the most beautiful sticker album in history.’
Did you achieve that?
Yes, of course (laughs). Any collector who missed out on obtaining one of the thousand limited copies will regret it. It’s a high-quality six-color print with gold-framed sticker pictures. To my knowledge, there hasn’t been anything comparable since the lavish cigarette sticker albums of the 1920s.
You really love colorful sticker albums, do you?
Collectible stickers have been around since the introduction of standardized multi-color printing. The high costs of color printing led to a boom back then. The colored stickers were packed as precious additions to luxury items like chocolate, chewing gum, or cigarettes, collected, and swapped, just to be finally glued into lavish single-tone printed albums.
In 1998, as a recent graduate of the art school, color prints were simply too expensive for me. But I wanted to become recognized as an illustrator and kickstart my career. So, I named myself ‘Jerzovskaja’ – a combination of my names Kai and Jerzö – printed two DIN-A3 sticker sheets with 16 four-color images on each, packaged the stickers myself, and sold them with a small album named ’22 FOOTBALL HEROES’ that I printed on a black and white Xerox copier. I then sold it in World Cup bars in the city of Zurich. Fans found it nice but unnecessary; they preferred the ‘real’ stickers. However, I was presented as a curiosity on local television and in the press and managed to sell all 500 copies within a week. I received some wonderful letters that I still keep. It marked the start of my career as an artist.
Do you collect football stickers yourself?
No, I don’t. For research and documentation purposes, I once bought a collection of historical collectible sticker albums but later sold them again. I prefer to collect impressions during my walks and bike rides through cities and nature. As an artist, I constantly seek inspiration.
What fascinates you about football stickers today?
My heart beats for typography and graphic eccentricities. I find the player’s attire fascinating, reminiscent of old army uniforms. Then there are the printed fonts and numbers, the sewn-on logos, the changing hairstyles and fashion trends over the years. There’s actually a ’typology’ of football stickers: that staring gaze, the same upper-body shot.
Why did you call your book series ‘FOOTBALL HEROES’?
Back in 1998 and later on then in 2006 or 2008, it was meant to be ironic, sort of ironic icons. I don’t see athletes as heroes in the true sense, selflessly helping society, nature, or beings in need. However, sportsmen are often portrayed as ideal beings, elevated to superhero status. But the glorification of athletes as idealized figures and role models, as it often happens in totalitarian states, doesn’t sit well with me.
Can you give an overview of the ‘FOOTBALL HEROES’ projects that led to ‘EUROPEAN FOOTBALL HEROES 2012’?
For the World Cup in France in 1998, I published ’22 FOOTBALL HEROES’ under my former artist’s name ‘Jerzovskaja.’
For the World Cup in Germany in 2006, I co-authored and co-designed the art book ‘FOOTBALL HEROES’ together with my friend Ashi. We invited 50 illustrators from 18 countries to each draw a World Cup team. I founded Herzglut Books to bring the book to bookstores. It was an unexpected success: we sold 5,000 copies in just three weeks and printed another 6,000 copies, all of which sold as well.
I invested the proceeds from book sales entirely into seven ‘FOOTBALL HEROES’ exhibitions in Switzerland, Germany, France, and England. The tour began in April 2006 at the Comic Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland, and ended in 2007 at the ‘Arts et Sports’ festival in Lille, Northern France. Together with partners, we produced 100,000 free postcards along the way, as well as posters, a limited soccer ball, a set of lenticular cards, and other collectibles that delighted art enthusiasts. This led to over 200 TV and newspaper reports worldwide.
In 2008, during the European Championship in Switzerland and Austria, I created the book ‘FOOTBALL HEROES SEE RED!’. I invited 40 of the best illustrators from Europe to contribute their works. The European Football Association published the drawn portraits on its tournament website. Four exhibitions in Zurich, Lucerne, St. Gallen, and Vienna accompanied the art project, with the highlight being the exhibition at UEFA’s Vienna TV transmission center during the tournament. Media outlets from around the world took notice, and the project was featured on BBC, ZDF, SRF, ORF, RAI, and France 1, among others.
In 2010, along with Beach from England, I created a book on the history of the World Cup titled ‘FOOTBALL HEROES GOLD.’ It was an anthology covering tournaments from 1930 to 2010, featuring carefully researched texts and data for the first time. I worked on this book for a full year. Artists from around the world contributed their works, and thanks to fantastic reviews in newspapers, magazines, and blogs around the world, their recognition increased significantly.
That’s the backstory that led to this sticker album. It’s the second time, after the 1986 World Cup, that I’ve hand-drawn such a big amount of player portraits myself. However, the Panini album from 1986 filled with self-drawn stickers no longer exists – my dog tore it up back then (laughs).
TEAM ENGLAND
Euro Squad England 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Joe Hart
13 Robert Green
23 Jack Butland
Defenders
02 Glen Johnson
03 Ashley Cole
05 Martin Kelly
06 John Terry
12 Leighton Baines
14 Phil Jones
15 Joleon Lescott
18 Phil Jagielka
Midfielders
04 Steven Gerrard
08 Jordan Henderson
11 Ashley Young
16 James Milner
17 Scott Parker
19 Stewart Downing
Forwards
07 Theo Walcott
09 Andy Carroll
10 Wayne Rooney
20 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
21 Jermain Defoe
22 Danny Welbeck
Coach
Roy Hodgson
TEAM UKRAINE
Euro Squad Ukraine 2012 – Екіпаж Євро Україна 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Maxym Koval
12 Andriy Pyatov
23 Olexandr Goryainov
Defenders
02 Yevhen Selin
03 Yevhen Khacheridi
05 Olexandr Kucher
13 Vyacheslav Shevchuk
17 Taras Mikhalik
20 Yaroslav Rakitskiy
21 Bohdan Butko
Midfielders
04 Anatoliy Tymoshchuk
06 Denys Garmash
08 Olexandr Aliyev
09 Oleh Gusev
11 Andriy Yarmolenko
14 Ruslan Rotan
18 Serhiy Nazarenko
19 Yevhen Konoplyanka
Forwards
07 Andriy Shevchenko
10 Andriy Voronin
15 Artem Milevskiy
16 Yevhen Seleznyov
22 Marko Dević
Coach
Oleh Blokhin
TEAM POLAND
Euro Squad Poland 2012 – Euro Squad Polska 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Wojciech Szczęsny
12 Grzegorz Sandomierski
22 Przemysław Tytoń
Defenders
02 Sebastian Boenisch
03 Grzegorz Wojtkowiak
04 Marcin Kamiński
13 Marcin Wasilewski
14 Jakub Wawrzyniak
15 Damien Perquis
20 Łukasz Piszczek
Midfielders
05 Dariusz Dudka
06 Adam Matuszczyk
07 Eugen Polanski
08 Maciej Rybus
10 Ludovic Obraniak
11 Rafał Murawski
16 Jakub Błaszczykowski
18 Adrian Mierzejewski
19 Rafał Wolski
Forwards
09 Robert Lewandowski
17 Artur Sobiech
21 Kamil Grosicki
23 Paweł Brożek
Coach
Franciszek Smuda
TEAM NETHERLANDS
Euro Squad Netherlands 2012 – EK-selectie Nederland 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Maarten Stekelenburg
12 Michel Vorm
22 Tim Krul
Defenders
02 Gregory van der Wiel
03 John Heitinga
04 Joris Mathijsen
05 Wilfred Bouma
13 Ron Vlaar
15 Jetro Willems
21 Khalid Boulahrouz
Midfielders
06 Mark van Bommel
08 Nigel de Jong
10 Wesley Sneijder
11 Arjen Robben
14 Stijn Schaars
17 Kevin Strootman
23 Rafael van der Vaart
Forwards
07 Dirk Kuyt
09 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
16 Robin van Persie
18 Luuk de Jong
19 Luciano Narsingh
20 Ibrahim Afellay
Coach
Bert van Marwijk
TEAM IRELAND
Euro Squad Ireland 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Shay Given
16 Keiren Westwood
23 David Forde
Defenders
02 Sean St Ledger
03 Stephen Ward
04 John O’Shea
05 Richard Dunne
12 Stephen Kelly
13 Paul McShane
18 Darren O’Dea
Midfielders
06 Glenn Whelan
07 Aiden McGeady
08 Keith Andrews
11 Damien Duff
15 Darron Gibson
17 Stephen Hunt
21 Paul Green
22 James McClean
Forwards
09 Kevin Doyle
10 Robbie Keane
14 Jon Walters
19 Shane Long
20 Simon Cox
Coach
Giovanni Trapattoni
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TEAM FRANCE
Euro Squad France 2012 – Équipe Euro France 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Hugo Lloris
16 Steve Mandanda
23 Cédric Carrasso
Defenders
03 Patrice Evra
04 Adil Rami
05 Philippe Mexès
13 Anthony Réveillère
21 Laurent Koscielny
22 Gaël Clichy
Midfielders
02 Mathieu Debuchy
06 Yohan Cabaye
07 Franck Ribéry
11 Samir Nasri
12 Blaise Matuidi
14 Jérémy Menez
15 Florent Malouda
17 Yann M’Vila
18 Alou Diarra
19 Marvin Martin
20 Hatem Ben Arfa
Forwards
08 Mathieu Valbuena
09 Olivier Giroud
10 Karim Benzema
Coach
Laurent Blanc
TEAM SPAIN
Euro Squad Spain 2012 – Euro Selección de España 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Iker Casillas
12 Víctor Valdés
23 Pepe Reina
Defenders
02 Raúl Albiol
03 Gerard Piqué
04 Javi Martínez
05 Juanfran
15 Sergio Ramos
17 Álvaro Arbeloa
18 Jordi Alba
Midfielders
06 Andrés Iniesta
08 Xavi Hernández
10 Cesc Fàbregas
14 Xabi Alonso
16 Sergio Busquets
20 Santi Cazorla
21 David Silva
22 Jesús Navas
Forwards
07 Pedro Rodríguez
09 Fernando Torres
11 Álvaro Negredo
13 Juan Mata
19 Fernando Llorente
Coach
Vicente del Bosque
TEAM DENMARK
Euro Squad Denmark 2012 – EM-trup Danmark 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Stephan Andersen
16 Anders Lindegaard
22 Kasper Schmeichel
Defenders
03 Simon Kjær
04 Daniel Agger
05 Simon Poulsen
06 Lars Jacobsen
12 Andreas Bjelland
13 Jores Okore
18 Daniel Wass
Midfielders
02 Christian Poulsen
07 William Kvist
08 Christian Eriksen
14 Lasse Schøne
15 Michael Silberbauer
19 Jakob Poulsen
20 Thomas Kahlenberg
21 Niki Zimling
Forwards
09 Michael Krohn-Dehli
10 Dennis Rommedahl
11 Nicklas Bendtner
17 Nicklas Pedersen
23 Tobias Mikkelsen
Coach
Morten Olsen
TEAM CROATIA
Euro Squad Croatia 2012 – Euro Hrvatska momčad 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Stipe Pletikosa
12 Ivan Kelava
23 Danijel Subašić
Defenders
02 Ivan Strinić
03 Josip Šimunić
04 Jurica Buljat
05 Vedran Ćorluka
13 Gordon Schildenfeld
15 Šime Vrsaljko
21 Domagoj Vida
Midfielders
06 Danijel Pranjić
07 Ivan Rakitić
08 Ognjen Vukojević
10 Luka Modrić
11 Darijo Srna
14 Milan Badelj
16 Tomislav Dujmović
19 Niko Kranjčar
20 Ivan Perišić
Forwards
09 Nikica Jelavić
17 Mario Mandžukić
18 Nikola Kalinić
22 Eduardo
Coach
Slaven Bilić
TEAM CZECH REPUBLIC
Euro Squad Czech Republic 2012 – Euro Národní tým České republiky 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Petr Čech
16 Jan Laštuvka
23 Jaroslav Drobný
Defenders
02 Theo Gebre Selassie
03 Michal Kadlec
04 Marek Suchý
05 Roman Hubník
06 Tomáš Sivok
08 David Limberský
Midfielders
10 Tomáš Rosický
11 Milan Petržela
12 František Rajtoral
13 Jaroslav Plašil
14 Václav Pilař
17 Tomáš Hübschman
18 Daniel Kolář
19 Petr Jiráček
22 Vladimír Darida
Forwards
07 Tomáš Necid
09 Jan Rezek
15 Milan Baroš
20 Tomáš Pekhart
21 David Lafata
Coach
Michal Bílek
TEAM GERMANY
Euro Squad Germany 2012 – Kader Deutschland
Goalkeepers
01 Manuel Neuer
12 Tim Wiese
22 Ron-Robert Zieler
Defenders
03 Marcel Schmelzer
04 Benedikt Höwedes
05 Mats Hummels
14 Holger Badstuber
16 Philipp Lahm
17 Per Mertesacker
20 Jérôme Boateng
Midfielders
02 İlkay Gündoğan
06 Sami Khedira
07 Bastian Schweinsteiger
08 Mesut Özil
15 Lars Bender
18 Toni Kroos
19 Mario Götze
21 Marco Reus
Forwards
09 André Schürrle
10 Lukas Podolski
11 Miroslav Klose
13 Thomas Müller
23 Mario Gomez
Coach
Joachim Löw
TEAM RUSSIA
Euro Squad Russia 2012 – Евро, Сборная России, 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Игорь Акинфеев (Igor Akinfeev)
13 Антон Шунин (Anton Shunin)
16 Вячеслав Малафеев (Vyacheslav Malafeev)
Defenders
02 Александр Анюков (Aleksandr Anyukov)
03 Роман Шаронов (Roman Sharonov)
04 Сергей Игнашевич (Sergei Ignashevich)
05 Юрий Жирков (Yuri Zhirkov)
12 Алексей Березуцкий (Aleksei Berezutski)
19 Владимир Гранат (Vladimir Granat)
21 Кирилл Набабкин (Kirill Nababkin)
22 Денис Глушаков (Denis Glushakov)
Midfielders
06 Роман Широков (Roman Shirokov)
07 Игорь Денисов (Igor Denisov)
08 Константин Зырянов (Konstantin Zyryanov)
09 Марат Измайлов (Marat Izmailov)
14 Роман Павлюченко (Roman Pavlyuchenko)
15 Дмитрий Комбаров (Dmitri Kombarov)
17 Алан Дзагоев (Alan Dzagoev)
23 Игорь Шемшов (Igor Shemshov)
Forwards
10 Андрей Аршавин (Andrei Arshavin)
11 Александр Кержаков (Aleksandr Kerzhakov)
18 Александр Кокорин (Aleksandr Kokorin)
20 Павел Погребняк (Pavel Pogrebnyak)
Coach
Dick Advocaat (Дик Адвокаат)
TEAM SWEDEN
Euro Squad Sweden 2012 – EM-trupp Sverige 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Andreas Isaksson
12 Johan Wiland
23 Pär Hansson
Defenders
02 Mikael Lustig
03 Olof Mellberg
04 Andreas Granqvist
05 Martin Olsson
13 Jonas Olsson
15 Mikael Antonsson
17 Behrang Safari
Midfielders
06 Rasmus Elm
07 Sebastian Larsson
08 Anders Svensson
09 Kim Källström
16 Pontus Wernbloom
18 Samuel Holmén
19 Emir Bajrami
21 Christian Wilhelmsson
Forwards
10 Zlatan Ibrahimović
11 Johan Elmander
14 Tobias Hysén
20 Ola Toivonen
22 Markus Rosenberg
Coach
Erik Hamrén
TEAM ITALY
Euro Squad Italy 2012 – Squadra Azzurra Campionato Europeo 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Gianluigi Buffon
12 Salvatore Sirigu
14 Morgan De Sanctis
Defenders
02 Christian Maggio
03 Giorgio Chiellini
04 Angelo Ogbonna
06 Federico Balzaretti
07 Ignazio Abate
15 Andrea Barzagli
19 Leonardo Bonucci
Midfielders
05 Thiago Motta
08 Claudio Marchisio
13 Emanuele Giaccherini
16 Daniele De Rossi
18 Riccardo Montolivo
21 Andrea Pirlo
22 Alessandro Diamanti
23 Antonio Nocerino
Forwards
09 Mario Balotelli
10 Antonio Cassano
11 Antonio Di Natale
17 Fabio Borini
20 Sebastian Giovinco
Coach
Cesare Prandelli
TEAM GREECE
Euro Squad Greece 2012 – Εθνική Ομάδα Euro 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Κώστας Χαλκιάς (Kostas Chalkias)
12 Αλέξανδρος Τζόρβας (Alexandros Tzorvas)
13 Μιχάλης Σηφάκης (Michalis Sifakis)
Defenders
02 Γιάννης Μανιάτης (Giannis Maniatis)
03 Γιώργος Τζαβέλλας (Giorgos Tzavellas)
04 Στέλιος Μαλεζάς (Stelios Malezas)
05 Κυριάκος Παπαδόπουλος (Kyriakos Papadopoulos)
08 Αβραάμ Παπαδόπουλος (Avraam Papadopoulos)
15 Βασίλης Τοροσίδης (Vassilis Torossidis)
19 Σωκράτης Παπασταθόπουλος (Sokratis Papastathopoulos)
20 José Holebas (Ζοσέ Χολέμπας)
Midfielders
06 Γρηγόρης Μάκος (Grigoris Makos)
10 Γιώργος Καραγκούνης (Giorgos Karagounis)
16 Γιώργος Φωτάκης (Giorgos Fotakis)
18 Σωτήρης Νίνης (Sotiris Ninis)
21 Κώστας Κατσουράνης (Kostas Katsouranis)
22 Κώστας Φορτούνης (Kostas Fortounis)
23 Γιάννης Φετφατζίδης (Giannis Fetfatzidis)
Forwards
07 Γιώργος Σαμαράς (Giorgos Samaras)
09 Νίκος Λυμπερόπουλος (Nikos Liberopoulos)
11 Κώστας Μήτρογλου (Kostas Mitroglou)
14 Δημήτρης Σαλπιγγίδης (Dimitris Salpingidis)
17 Φάνης Γκέκας (Fanis Gekas)
Coach
Fernando Santos (Φερνάντο Σάντος)
TEAM PORTUGAL
Euro Squad Portugal 2012 – Europeu Seleção de Portugal 2012
Goalkeepers
01 Eduardo
12 Rui Patrício
22 Beto
Defenders
02 Bruno Alves
03 Pepe
05 Fábio Coentrão
13 Ricardo Costa
14 Rolando
19 Miguel Lopes
21 João Pereira
Midfielders
04 Miguel Veloso
06 Custódio
08 João Moutinho
10 Ricardo Quaresma
15 Rúben Micael
16 Raul Meireles
17 Nani
20 Hugo Viana
Forwards
07 Cristiano Ronaldo
09 Hugo Almeida
11 Nélson Oliveira
18 Silvestre Varela
23 Hélder Postiga
Coach
Paulo Bento
TEAM of the TOURNAMENT
European Championship Legends 1960–2012
01 Lev Yashin, Soviet Union (Russia), Euro 1960
10 Luis Suárez, Spain, Euro 1964
22 Dino Zoff, Italy, Euro 1968
09 Gerd Müller, Germany, Euro 1972
14 Volodymyr Muntyan, Soviet Union (Ukraine), Euro 1972
07 Antonín Panenka, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic), Euro 1976
10 Michel Platini, France, Euro 1984
12 Marcon van Basten, Netherlands, Euro 1988
10 Frank Stapleton, Republic of Ireland, Euro 1988
01 Peter Schmeichel, Denmark, Euro 1992
01 Thomas Ravelli, Sweden, Euro 1992
09 Alan Shearer, England, Euro 1996
09 Davor Šuker, Croatia, Euro 1996
07 Theodoros Zagorakis, Greece, Euro 2004
07 Luís Figo, Portugal, Euro 2004
07 Euzebiusz Smolarek, Poland, Euro 2008
