They kiss her, they caress her, they sleep with her, they look at her enthralled, they don’t stop taking pictures of her. The love that generates world Cup soccer among Argentine players was repeated over and over again in the images that circulated through the media and social networks.
36 years have passed since Argentina last lifted the gold medal in Mexico in 1986. Their reunion with the trophy after beat France in the Qatar 2022 final It can be compared to that of two lovers who have not seen each other for years.
There is no more desired cup in the world of soccer than the World Cup, that golden piece that soccer players dream of since they were little and where fans deposit high doses of patriotic pride.
But, did you know that it did not always have the same design and that its first model was stolen to never appear?
Argentina took a replica
First let’s go for the last.
You should know that the trophy that Messi raised in Qatar and that he later took to Argentina is not the same.
Since the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the original trophy has only been given to the winners during the award ceremony.
Then, FIFA withdraws them and gives them a replica exact.
The original award is made of 18 karat solid gold, measures 14.5 inches and weighs 12 pounds. The base, 13 centimeters in diameter, consists of two semi-precious green malachite bands that have been restored several times.
It was precisely after the most recent restoration in 2005 that FIFA decided to stop lending the original to the winners.
Previously, the winning team would display the trophy in their federation’s museum before returning it to FIFA for the next World Cup.
Two cup designs
In its history, the World Cup has had two different designs. The first model was called Jules Rimet Trophy. It was used between the 1930 and 1970 World Cups.
Jules Rimet was the third president of FIFA and the one who cemented the plans for the first Soccer World Cup in Uruguay in 1930.
The design of the trophy was carried out by Abel Lafleur, a French sculptor. Her model depicted a golden silhouette of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, holding an octagonal cup above her head.
The first name it received was Victoria, although it was also popularly known as Coupe du Monde (World Cup in French) and had dimensions similar to the current one: 35 centimeters high and 3.8 kilograms in weight.
It was built with silver gold plated and it had a blue base made of a semi-precious stone called lapis lazuli.
There were gold plaques attached to each of the four sides of the base, in which the names of the winning countries were engraved after each edition.
None have won it as many times as Brazil, which did so in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
The mysterious robbery of the Jules Rimet
The original trophy went through various vicissitudes until its theft and disappearance in 1983.
First survived World War II.
Fearing for his safety, the then FIFA Vice President, the Italian Ottorino Barassi, secretly removed it from his vault in a Rome bank and he hid it under his bed in a shoebox.
Unorthodox, but effective hiding place. From there he did not move until the resumption of the tournament in Brazil in 1950.
Sixteen years later, however, the Jules Rimet lived a blockbuster worthy story.
There were only a few weeks left before the 1966 World Cup in England and the trophy was on display in the Great Hall of Westminster in London.
On March 20, he disappeared. The how remains a mystery. It is only known that someone stole it when the security guards were resting.
While Scotland Yard police investigated the case, the English Football Association (FA) quickly commissioned a replica of the trophy in case the original was not found.
Joe Mearsthe then president of the FA, received a ransom note signed by one Jackson asking for £15,000 in exchange for the cup.
Police recommended Mears proceed with the exchange. An undercover policeman then found this Jackson, who turned out to be an ex-soldier named Edward Betchley.
Betchley was arrested, but the trophy remained missing.
On March 27, in south London, Dave Corbett took his dog Pickles for a walk.
The animal began to hang around Corbett’s neighbor’s car and he noticed a package covered by sheets of newspaper tied with a string.
- The tender story of Pickles, the puppy who rescued the World Cup that England had lost
“I tore off the bottom a bit and there was a blank shield with the words Brazil, West Germany and Uruguay printed on it. I broke off the other end and she was a lady holding a very shallow plate over her head. I had seen the photos of the World Cup in the newspapers and on television, so my heart began to pound.”
Indeed, it was the trophy, and the dog became a national heroNational Canine League medal winner and actor in film The Spy with a Cold Nose.
When Brazil won the 1970 World Cup, they received the original trophy. It was stipulated like this for the first country to win it three times.
Thirteen years later, exhibited at the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation, the trophy was stolen again never to appear.
It is believed that it was melted down to obtain gold.
The only thing that remains is its first base since it had been replaced in 1954 by a higher one. They found it in 2015 in the basement of the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
The replica commissioned by the FA when it was stolen in 1966 is kept at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
Argentina, top winner of the current design
After the World Cup that Brazil won in 1970, FIFA launched a competition to design a new trophy that would premiere at the World Cup in West Germany in 1974.
Up to 53 designs were submitted. The chosen one was a creation of the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga.
This is the trophy that continues to be awarded today and the replica of which Argentina took home.
It represents the joy of victory with two soccer players holding a globe.
Precisely, La Albiceleste is, together with Germany, the team that has won it the most times with three wins.
Italy, France and Brazil have won it twice. Spain in another.
Remember that you can receive notifications from BBC News World. Download the latest version of our app and activate them so you don’t miss out on our best content.
- Do you already know our YouTube channel? Subscribe!