​The Fifa World Cup trophy, a symbol of global footballing supremacy, was conceived by Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga with a singular ambition: to encapsulate the raw emotion of the sport.His design sought to intertwine the athlete’s arduous struggle, the fan’s ecstatic jubilation, and the ultimate moment of victory into one dynamic, spiralling form, a vision that has since become instantly recognisable worldwide.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis Sunday, as either Spain or Argentina vie for glory in the 2026 World Cup final, the winning captain will have the honour of hoisting this coveted prize. But how did this iconic trophy come to be?Its origins trace back to a studio in Milan’s historic Brera neighbourhood, where Gazzaniga responded to an open competition from Fifa. The international governing body for football sought a new design after Brazil secured permanent ownership of the original trophy, the Jules Rimet, by clinching their third World Cup title in 1970, necessitating a replacement for future tournaments.Gazzaniga’s now universally recognised design features two athletic figures, seemingly in motion, spiralling upwards from the base, supporting an orb that majestically represents the Earth. His son, Giorgio Gazzaniga, who was a teenager at the time of its creation, vividly recalled his father’s meticulous creative process.Silvio Gazzaniga designed the World Cup trophy (AFP)”When he started to design the cup, he was sketching a huge number of drawings and finally started to develop the idea to have the world and this symbol that it is like a two DNA spirals, that are moving up,” he explained.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe elder Gazzaniga, a celebrated sculptor and prolific trophy designer who passed away in 2016, worked for G.D.E. Bertoni Srl and was also responsible for crafting other prestigious awards in the world of sport, including the Uefa Cup and the European Super-Cup.The journey to the current trophy was not without drama, marked by the tumultuous and somewhat infamous history of its predecessor. The inaugural World Cup in 1930 saw the introduction of the Jules Rimet Trophy, which depicted the winged Greek goddess Nike, a classical symbol of victory.This trophy, named after the tournament’s founder, was famously stolen not once, but twice.Its first disappearance occurred in 1966 while on public display in England, sparking a national hunt that led to its recovery by a dog named Pickles, found beneath a hedge in south London, according to Fifa’s official records.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, after Brazil gained permanent possession following their third triumph, it was stolen again in 1983 from the Brazilian Football Confederation headquarters. This time, it was never recovered and is widely believed to have been melted down, leaving a significant void that Gazzaniga’s creation would ultimately fill.Amid more than 50 submissions for the new trophy, Gazzaniga’s proposa