Soccer's World Cup Will Stay Italian, No Matter Which Team Wins the Final
No matter what happens in the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands on July 11 in Johannesburg, the trophy will remain Italian.
The cup that will be lifted for the first time by either the Dutch or Spanish captain is made by GDE Bertoni Srl, a family-owned company based in a Milan suburb. Bertoni was selected to produce the current trophy for FIFA, soccer’s ruling body, after a 1972 contest.
Bertoni was selected among 53 bidders by FIFA to design and manufacture a new trophy that was awarded at the 1974 World Cup to the German captain Franz Beckenbauer.
FIFA chose the model designed by Bertoni’s artistic director at the time, sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga. Made with a malachite base, it weighs 6.18 kilos (13.6 pounds), with almost 5 kilos of pure gold, and stands 36 centimeters (14.2 inches) tall. The trophy depicts two human figures holding up the Earth.
“The 1972 gold trophy is priceless,” Giorgio Losa, the owner of GDE Bertoni, said in a telephone interview. “If you melt the gold, you’ll get around 150,000 euros ($190,400), but the real value is much, much higher.”
The first World Cup, won by Uruguay in 1930, was named in honor of a FIFA president, Jules Rimet, and was last awarded to Brazil in 1970. After winning the title three times, Brazil got to keep the cup, which disappeared from an exhibition in Rio de Janeiro in 1983.
Gold-Plated
FIFA did away with the rule allowing three-time champions to keep the trophy. The FIFA trophy designed by Gazzaniga is awarded to the winning team immediately after the match and then is returned to FIFA for safekeeping at its Zurich offices. Bertoni makes a gold-plated replica for the winning country to keep on display. The company also cleans and maintains the real trophy.
Bertoni already has made the copy for the 2014 tournament that will be hosted by Brazil, and it probably will be shown after the July 11 final, Losa said.
Bertoni, founded by Losa’s grandfather in 1920, employs 10 people and also makes the Champions League and the Europa League trophies for UEFA, and medals for the International Olympic Committee as well as cups for universities and companies. Bertoni will have revenue of more than 2 million euros in 2010.
“The World Cup trophy gives us a lot of media attention but we can’t monetize it because we are not allowed to produce any copies of the trophy,” Losa said.
Italy’s team crashed out in the opening stages of this year’s event in South Africa after failing to win any of its three games. It was the first time since 1974 that the country, a four-time champion, didn’t get beyond the first round.
It was different in 2006, when the Italian squad defeated France in the final. More than one member of that team asked Bertoni to make a replica of the trophy as a souvenir, Losa said.
“They have to be happy with the photo of holding up the trophy because we have rigid rules,” Losa said.