Rookie cards in soccer
 

I have noticed a fair number of soccer card auctions where a card that does not seem to be a player's first card is identified nevertheless as a "rookie." On a number of occasions now where I didn't really know the issue, a little digging easily reveals an earlier card, sometimes by years. Is this just overzealousness by the seller, or is RC really a looser term in this context? Or do some issues not count, much as minor league issues in baseball don't for most people?

Soccer RC's
 

Overzealous could be one reason. More likely ignorance, deceit, apathy or perhaps (and this is one of my favorites) it is his rookie card from (pick a country or team).

For example I've seen several 66 Beckenbauers identified as a rookie card where he has several issues from 65.

One of my favorites. A 1978 Cruyff identified as a rookie.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1978-JOHAN-...YAAOSwDmBY3Sy1

Yeah, about as accurate as the price! They probably meant to say "US Pre- Rookie"

soccer rookie cards
 

It took almost 12 years for me to catalog over 200 first appearances if world famous soccer players.

Where baseball has had thousands of collectors contributing to the data base, still only recently have they identified a 1915 Babe Ruth as his rookie card.

Genuine discovery is great. However, misinformation is rampant on eBay and terribly perpetuated by companies like PSA which slab cards with aggregious errors.

Rookie card phenomena is an American invention. There are many factors that deviate with soccer collectables in format issues (coin, stamp, sticker, disc and finally card).

The distribution and scarcity is also measured in population as product made for a region of 10,000 (like Ireland) is rarer than product made for 10 million (like the USA).

Good luck.

May I ask (I guess I just did) where you catalogued this information, it sounds like a great resource.

I have noticed...
 

1. Some people do not know
2. It is the earliest card that they have ever seen especially in their country
3. It is the first sticker
4. It is the first card (on cardboard)
5. It is then first national team appearance
6. It is the first club appearance (of a known club)

It is a very difficult task to discern. I would say, collect what you like and do not assume that there will ever be a true “rookie” as too many have different definitions.

I, for one, when I am looking for rookies in the American sense look to the first issue that I can find regardless of all the above factors.

soccer rookie cards
 

Just keep in mind, the American idea of rookie cards is not true to form.

All the talk of a Mickey Mantle rookie - 1952 Topps - is false per definition, his rookie is the 1951 Bowman.

So this rookie garbage is overrated money grubbing. EBay is littered with false rookie listings.

I like the advice from above, "collect what you like". You'll be better off because of it.

Lost in Translation
 

When I started collecting soccer I found that foreign sellers stuck the word “Rookie” in almost every auction. I think in some cases they didn’t even know what it meant, but they saw the highest price sales in English all contained that word.

It’s just like I always searched the word Calciatori in my searches, even though I couldn’t define it, but it lead me to good results. Sometimes translation gets in the way.

Speaking of terminology, could someone explain to me "Megacrack" as in the Messi rookie, and "Crack" as in the Maradona rookie?

It comes from Portuguese. A craque is like a star (player).