The history of the World Cup: how much does the trophy that the Argentine team won with Leo Messi weigh and what is it made of?

All of South America and a large part of the world remain ecstatic with Argentina’s victory in the Qatar 2022 World Cup final and with the great moment that thousands of fans wanted: to see Lionel Messi lift the World Cup.

The trophy that all national teams dream of has a particular history that goes beyond a simple cup or one more award in a country’s showcase, both for its material and for its long history, wrote Página 12.

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The history of the World Cup: how much does it weigh and what is the trophy made of?

One of the facts that few know is that the cup that is currently awarded to the champion has been used since 1974 and was won by Germany for the first time.

The Cup replaced the historic Jules Rimet, who served in nine tournaments between 1930 and 1970, with Uruguay and Brazil being the first and second winners of this trophy.

The name Jules Rimet is in honor of one of the former FIFA presidents, who helped create the World Cup.

This goblet was made of gold plated sterling silver with a blue lapis lazuli base. He was 35 centimeters tall and weighed 3.8 kilos. It consisted of an octagonal cup supported by a winged figure representing Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.

When Brazil won it for the third time in its history, it kept the trophy, since, according to the regulations at the time, the three-time winner of the tournament kept the original cup. However, some thieves stole it and melted it down, so the cup no longer exists.

Now, since 1974, the cup that Lionel Messi lifted last Sunday, December 18, at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, has been awarded.

This new cup measures 36.8 centimeters high and has a base of 13 centimeters in diameter, weighs exactly 6.17 kilos, of which 5 are solid 18-karat gold. In addition, it has two concentric rings of malachite, a semi-precious stone, between which the names of the champions of each World Cup are inscribed.

The Italian Silvio Gazzaniga, who died in 2016, was in charge of designing the cup that represents two human figures holding the planet in their hands. It was produced by the GDE Bertoni jewelry store in Milan and every four years they do their respective maintenance so that it can be delivered to the new champion.

The cup has a value of between 250 and 300 thousand dollars, although it is incalculable for each team just to have it in their hands, since only six teams have been able to have the privilege so far: Argentina (1978, 1986 and 2022), Germany ( 1974, 1990 and 2014), Brazil (1994 and 2002), Italy (1982 and 2006), France (1998 and 2018) and Spain (2010).

As is to be expected for an object of such value, the cup cannot be kept by any team and is always kept at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. They only use it for protocol acts, the celebration of the winner and when he delivers it for the realization of the new World Cup.

However, each champion team receives a replica to be able to celebrate in their countries and have it for four years, until the draw for the next World Cup is held and it will be delivered, in this case, to Canada, the United States and Mexico, headquarters of the World Cup 2026. (YO)

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