Man who designed World Cup trophy is dead

– World Cup sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga dies at the age of 95

– FIFA president Gianni Infantino says the football governing body will forever be grateful to Gazzaniga

– Gazzaniga’s son, Giorgio, reveals that his father passed away in his sleep at home in Milan

Silvio Gazzaniga, the Italian sculptor who designed the World Cup trophy, has died at the age of 95.

This was disclosed by Gazzaniga’s son, Giorgio, who said his father passed away in his sleep at home in Milan.

Silvio Gazzaniga, the Italian sculptor who designed the World Cup trophy

“He just didn’t wake up this morning. It was a peaceful death,” Giorgio Gazzaniga told The Associated Press on Monday, October 31.

According to Giorgio, his father had been in the hospital recently for a series of minor ailments.

Reacting to Gazzaniga’s death, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “The World Cup is a mythic object for the players and for all football lovers.

“We will be eternally grateful. I express my condolences by joining the pain of the family.”

FIFA’s website also quoted what Gazzaniga said after he designed the World Cup.

The new World Cup design

“The 18-carat solid gold trophy weighs approximately six kilograms (13 pounds). It depicts a moment of joy: two players celebrating with their arms outstretched and a globe resting on the backs of their shoulders.

“The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world.

“From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory,” Silvio Gazzaniga once said.

“I designed it to reward heroism. But not superhuman heroism, it’s not a conventional cup,” Gazzaniga said in a 2002 interview with AP.

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According to Giorgio Gazzaniga, his father knew his design couldn’t be understood on paper, so he brought a plaster model to show FIFA.

“The jury understood right away that it was a very photogenic cup.

“It’s easy to lift and beautiful when raised. He created a universal trophy,” Giorgio Gazzaniga said.

Silvio Gazzaniga had designed and created the World Cup trophy in 1971 after Brazil retained the right to keep the Jules Rimet trophy by winning its third World Cup in 1970.

Jules Rimet trophy (the old World Cup trophy)

FIFA received 53 proposals from seven different countries for a new trophy, before opting for Gazzaniga’s design.

The FIFA contest stipulated that the winner would not hold the rights to his work and so Silvio Gazzaniga never profited directly from images of the World Cup trophy.

“But as compensation he gained more work on other cups,” his son said. “He became Mr. Cups.”

Silvio Gazzaniga also designed the UEFA Cup, European Super Cup and many other international trophies. However, he will be remembered above all for the World Cup.

Gazzaniga leaves behind two children, along with grandchildren and great grandchildren.

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