The history of the FIFA World Cup trophy
Less and less to start enjoying the 32 teams that will be in Qatar. To continue feeling the previous World Cup, it is time to review the history of the trophy that the world champion will take in Qatar 2022. We already remember the history of the Jules Rimet, the first trophy of the World Cups. Now, it is the turn of the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup.
When was the FIFA World Cup created?
In the 1970 Mexico edition, Brazil was crowned champion for the third time. The regulations established that the team that won the World Cup three times would keep the Jules Rimet Cup in their showcases. So it was that the trophy traveled to Brazil and FIFA had to make a new statuette.
The current trophy was designed by Silvio Gazzaniga, a sculptor then working for the Bertoni company, and was made in 1973 in Milan, Italy. It was made of gold, has a malachite base and represents two human figures holding the Earth.
The Italian sculptor, who also took care of other important trophies such as the UEFA Cup, died at the age of 95, in 2016.
How much does the FIFA World Cup weigh?
This question usually has a joke among soccer fans, since only those who have lifted the World Cup have been able to verify how much it weighs. In any case, beyond the fact that few people in the world have been able to lift the trophy, it is known that it has a total weight of 6,175 grams, of which 4,927 are pure gold, and measures 36.8 centimeters.
An important thing to remember is that when a team wins the tournament, the footballers hold up the real FIFA World Cup during the celebration. Then, they take away a replica, also made of gold. Furthermore, the trophy can only be lifted by the teams that win the World Cup and by the Heads of State.
Who lifted the current FIFA World Cup trophy?
Since the 1974 German edition, the trophy has always been the same. The first champion to lift it was precisely the local team, Germany, which is also the country that has won it the most times, if we take into account that it was also world champion in Italy 1990 and Brazil 2014.
Brazil has won the current trophy twice: United States 1994 and Korea-Japan 2002, the first edition on Asian soil (Qatar 2022 will be the second on that continent). In the first World Cup of the 21st century, the Canarinha won the title having won absolutely all their matches.
Argentina is the other South American team that won the World Cup after 1974. In fact, they also did it twice: Argentina 1978 and Mexico 1986.
The Jules Rimet Cup, the first in World Cups, was lifted by five teams, while the current FIFA World Cup trophy was won by six. To the three aforementioned teams, Italy (2006), Spain (2010), France (1998 and 2018) are added.
These are the captains of the world champion teams who are the focus of a historic photo every four years:
- 1974: Franz Beckenbauer (Germany).
- 1978: Daniel Pasarella (Argentina).
- 1982. Dino Zoff (Italy).
- 1986: Diego Maradona (Argentina).
- 1990: Lottar Matthaus (Germany).
- 1994: Dunga (Brazil).
- 1998: Didier Deschamps (France).
- 2002: Cafu (Brazil).
- 2006: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy).
- 2010: Iker Casillas (Spain).
- 2014: Philipp Lahm (Germany).
- 2018: Hugo Lloris (France).
A curious fact that makes us think about the future of the FIFA World Cup…
According to FIFA, there is only room left to register two new champions on the trophy base. For the 100th anniversary of the FIFA World Cup, in 2030, a new medal would be needed or the base of the current one would be expanded.