Before acquiring the license to produce Subbuteo, the Spanish company Netcam developed their own version called Total Soccer. You could see this trial run before securing the official Subbuteo license from Hasbro perhaps to see if it was viable… Many of the innovations found in modern Subbuteo actually originated from Total Soccer, including the introduction of rubbery plastic players, a significant improvement that made the game more child-friendly compared to the original hard plastic figures. While Total Soccer teams were made of the rubbery plastic like the modern Subbuteo figures I feel the Subbuteo Figures, offer even greater flexibility, Compared to Total Soccer in my opinion. (Going by the Paul Lamond Range I can’t comment on Longshores figures)

Netcam took a different approach compared to competitors like Zeugo or Soccer 3D, focusing primarily on children as their target audience. Their strategy involved obtaining licenses from major club sides, setting them apart in the market. As someone who grew up during this era (I had just started secondary school) I was constantly looking at Subbuteo World, Peter Uptons site etc daydreaming about teams I’d like to own… Of course Subbuteo or Zeugo drew my eyes (Especially the Later) (the lack of Adult funds means I was only ever window shopping), I was always particularly drawn to the detailed officially licensed teams. Consequently, my initial purchase upon the launch of modern range of Subbuteo was a licensed team, proving there was some merit in Netcam’s strategy going down this route in attracting young consumers.

Netcam secured licenses for La Liga and Serie A teams, as well as Manchester United and Liverpool. Unfortunately, availability was limited to these two English clubs, as the game was not widely distributed in the UK. Additionally, they obtained the official license for the South Africa World Cup, although the individual teams were not officially licensed. Netcam also produced a selection of classic teams.

Other entities such as Astrobase and the Spanish website Futbol de Mesa offered their own hand-painted team ranges of which have separate pages. Astrobase also sells decalled Total Soccer teams from time to time also

For a more detailed look and info http://www.peter-upton.co.uk/subtotal.htm