• The Main Subbuteo Page.

• The Team Colours Project: Index and Introduction.

• Card and Celluloid teams 1-55; Early Heavyweights 1-54+World Cup
• Classic Heavyweights 1970s: Intro, 1-100, 101-200, 201-300, 301-328+Named.
• The Zombie Page
• Lightweights 1980s-90s: Intro, 1-100, 101-200, 201-300, 301-400
• Lightweights 1980s-90s: 401-500, 501-600, 601-700, 701-800, 801+Hasbro
• Parodi Production - Zëugo, Intro+2002, 2003 Part 1, 2003 Part 2
• Appendices: English League sides, Scottish League sides, National Sides

• International Appendices: France, Italy, Germany, Belgium/Holland, Spain/Portugal, Scandinavia, Rest of Europe, and America and South Africa.

• Appendices: Team boxes, World Cup 1966, Super teams, The Italian Production Appendix

When Hasbro stopped supplying Subbuteo teams to Italy in 1996-97, Italian distributors Edilio Parodi responded by producing a clone of the game for their home market. I believe that this was originally going to be called "Play by Play", but eventually it ended up being called Zëugo. Further details can be found on the "Old Figures, New Games" page.

The player figure used in Zëugo is clearly a second generation casting of the old heavyweight Subbuteo player of the 1970s. In looks they are slightly fatter and certainly less detailed than the Subbuteo version. The thick paint used on the teams may also contribute to the lack of detail. It isn't really a problem however, and it actually makes the players more robust. The normal breaking points of ankles and necks are a good deal thicker, so you can let your kids give these a good pounding !! If there is a downside, it is the slight feeling that this extra weight on the players makes them more top-heavy, and therefore more prone to falling over.  The goalkeeper is also the sturdy upright 1970s version, which was always one of my preferred 'keepers, and it is a great shot stopper. In Zëugo he comes on a blue rod which is a couple of centimetres longer than the Subbuteo version. In another throw back to the classic era, the teams are hand painted. 

With Zëugo, Parodi sensibly follows the Subbuteo approach to teams; that a good team range creates repeat sales which strengthen the game. It seems obvious, but it is amazing how many football games miss this trick. Individual Zëugo teams are produced in large and attractive display boxes.

The original range was fifty two teams, which was then enlarged to fifty six. (At this point the French national side was also updated.) Being an Italian game, the list is dominated by Serie A, with the first fifty two teams consisting of 24 Italian clubs, 19 top European sides, and 9 national sides. As the kits are hand painted they are not fully detailed. There are no chest adverts here. In addition some of the kits are now a little out of date, and the selection of British sides is not only quirky but inaccurate in places. The original Aston Villa (now called a 2nd) is very odd, and Coventry City don't look quite right either. But this rather adds to the charm.

I've listed the club names as released, but the boxes only have numbers on them. An advantage of the generic nature of these kits is that the teams can easily be used as other sides. For example, English Zëugo fans can use ref 1 as Newcastle, ref 27 as Sunderland, and ref 13 as Man City among others. 

Team Colours. 
(Italian clubs unless otherwise stated).

1. Juventus

2. Inter Milan

3. AC Milan

4. Roma

5. Napoli

6. Sampdoria

7. Parma

8. Parma 2nd

9. Palermo and Juventus 3rd

10. Fiorentina

11. AC Milan 2nd

12. Inter Milan 2nd

13. Lazio

14. Bologna

15. Sampdoria 2nd

16. Vicenza

17. Udinese

18. Juventus 2nd

19. Atalanta

20. Lecce

21. Bologna 2nd

22. Genoa

23. Bari

24. Torino

25. Real Madrid (Spain)

26. Barcelona (Spain)

27. Athletic Bilbao (Spain)

28. Paris St. Germain (France)

29. Monaco (France)

30. Marseille (France)

31. Athletico Madrid (Spain)

32. Bayern Munich (Germany)

33. Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

34. Celtic (Scotland) 

35. Glasgow Rangers (Scotland)

36. Chelsea (England)

37. Aston Villa (2nd) (England)

    • A rather strange kit this one. Was originally Aston Villa, but becomes Aston Villa 2nd when team 55 was released.

38. Manchester United (England)

39. Coventry City (England)

40. Arsenal (England)

The second version of France.

41. Liverpool (England)

42. Tottenham (England)

43. Italy

44. Italy 2nd

45. Holland

46. Germany

47. England

48. Argentina

49. France

50. Brazil

The second version of France 2nd.

51. France 2nd

    • Note that there are two versions of this kit.

52. Ajax (Holland)

53. Parma

    • The original Parma (No 7) stays in the range, but this one is nicer.

54. Notts Forest (England)

55. Aston Villa (England)

56. Wolves (England)

Zëugo production was all but halted during the period that Parodi held a Subbuteo licence (2002-03). Now they no longer have this licence, a return to Zëugo in 2004 seems likely.

• The Main Subbuteo Page.

• The Team Colours Project: Index and Introduction.

• Card and Celluloid teams 1-55; Early Heavyweights 1-54+World Cup
• Classic Heavyweights 1970s: Intro, 1-100, 101-200, 201-300, 301-328+Named.
• The Zombie Page
• Lightweights 1980s-90s: Intro, 1-100, 101-200, 201-300, 301-400
• Lightweights 1980s-90s: 401-500, 501-600, 601-700, 701-800, 801+Hasbro
• Parodi Production - Zëugo, Intro+2002, 2003 Part 1, 2003 Part 2
• Appendices: English League sides, Scottish League sides, National Sides

• International Appendices: France, Italy, Germany, Belgium/Holland, Spain/Portugal, Scandinavia, Rest of Europe, and America and South Africa.

• Appendices: Team boxes, World Cup 1966, Super teams, The Italian Production Appendix

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