The creator of the World Cup, the artist Silvio Gazzaniga, would have turned 100 on 23 January. A real Italian pride, that has forever linked to his name and therefore to our country, this trophy that has been around the world for years accompanying the victories of the sample grains that have won it. And recently in 2006 also to Italy, in his last world championship won in Germany.
Gazzaniga, the great Milanese sculptor
The Milanese sculptor became famous for having created the FIFA World Cup trophy with his own hands. The professional life of this Italian sculptor changes, in fact, in 1970. After the Rimet cup won by Brazil for the third time, it remains with the Brazilian national team by regulation, a new one is needed. It is then that Gazzaniga participates in an international competition organized by Fifa. It is said that Gazzaniga made the sketch by locking himself in his studio for a week. Prepare a plasticine model, then a plaster cast. Gazzaniga's was chosen out of 53 proposals.
The meaning of the cup is the exultation, the joy, the greatness of the athlete in the moment of victory. It seems that those in charge of Fifa were particularly impressed by that prototype that they could touch and not just appreciate in a drawing. The trophy represents two stylized footballers holding up the world. From 1974 when it was raised by Franz Beckenbauer, captain of Germany, it will then pass, among others, to Diego Armando Maradona, Didier Deschamps, Fabio Cannavaro, Hugo Lloris.
The other trophies made by Silvio Gazzaniga
The Milanese sculptor will also be the author of other important ones trophies, such as the UEFA Cup / Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup. And again those for the World Cups of baseball, bobsleigh and volleyball. He then signs medals for important events including other sports, basketball, swimming, skiing. Gazzaniga soon became a reference point for the sector and known all over the world for its creativity. "Who wins such a tough and prestigious competition - Gazzaniga had said - in the moment of victory it assumes the dimension of a giant and its prize, the Cup, must express all this ". "If I ever have to do it again - the sculptor explained again -, I would not modify my project at the time. The fact that the trophy resists in liking to subsequent fashions, testifies that I was inspired by aesthetic and symbolic principles that have now become universally understood ".
The secrets of the cup
But do you know how this cup is made? It was cast with the so-called "lost wax" technique. And then it's in solid 18-karat gold. It weighs 6 kilos and 175 grams, 36,8 centimeters high, has a base diameter of 13 centimeters. The peculiarity is then in the base: there are two bands of green malachite, and boxes with the names of the national teams that have won the trophy since 1974. The current original cup is kept by the Federation. In fact, the cup delivered during the award ceremony to the captain of the winning team, then returns to Fifa. After the federation, he gives a copy of the original to the team that won the world championship.
