In the industrial area of Paderna Dagnan, a suburb of Milan in Northern Italy, there is a small building of the headquarters of the company called “GDE Bertoni”, where for half a century one of the most famous things on the planet has been made. And that thing is the soccer world cup trophy.
The story of this famous World Cup begins with Brazil’s victory over Italy in the Rimet Cup held in Mexico City in the 70s.
According to FIFA rules at the time, after three consecutive victories in 1958, 1962 and 1970, Brazil were allowed to take the Remit Cup trophy without returning it to FIFA headquarters.
It was at this point that FIFA felt the need to create a new design for the new cup and to do so they announced an international competition.
FIFA received 53 designs for the new trophy from around the world in the announced competition, including one submitted by Milan sculptor and Bertoni art director Silvio Guzaniga and the company’s CEO, Eugenio Lusa. He was selected for the 1974 World Cup trophy.
Eugenio Lusa’s fourth generation is still connected to the World Cup trophy, says Bertoni’s current CEO, Valentina Lusa, who originally designed the World Cup trophy from her grandfather, Eugenio Lusa. It featured two goalkeepers with their arms raised and a football above their heads, but later changes to the design replaced the two goalkeepers with gods of victory and the football with a globe.
For the World Cup trophy, which is made at the Bertoni company, workers are very careful, first it is hammered into shape, then it is polished and then it is passed from one hand to another with baking soda. It is washed with different types of liquid(s) and finally varnished.
Valentina says that the 38-centimeter (15-inch) World Cup trophy weighs 6.2 kilograms and there is only one copy of the original 18-carat gold trophy awarded to the winning team at each World Cup final. She lives with FIFA.
He said that the winning team of the Football World Cup returns the original copy to FIFA immediately after the award ceremony, who sends it to us and we name the new winning team on it and the winning team is given the cup of the original cup. In return, a replica copy of the trophy is awarded, made of gilded brass instead of gold.
In recent days, the world football fair has been decorated in Qatar. On December 18, the new golden brass trophy made in Britoni will be handed over to the winning team of this World Cup, but the Britoni company does not only make trophies for the World Cup, but also for the Union of European Football. It also produces trophies for the Association (UEFA) Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and Champions League.
Interestingly, the workers of the Bertoni company have already started preparing the trophy for the 2026 World Cup.
