FOOTNOTES : Italians Snap Up Cup Cards

MILAN, Italy —  Several American players got a kick out of the card-collecting craze in Italy, where youngsters rapidly bought out supplies of World Cup cards.

The most popular cards, naturally, have been those of Italian national team players. But cards of former World Cup stars Bobby Charlton of England and Socrates of Brazil quickly became collector’s items.

Only 5,000 of those cards were produced by MasterCard, for whom Charlton and Socrates are working at the World Cup. Fans have offered up to $20 per card and many have approached both players for autographed cards, which would increase their value significantly.