Protected by the Nazis, recovered by a dog and stolen by two Argentines: the incredible story of the first World Cup

A story that not many know has to do with the trophy Giulio Rimetfirst prize of Football World Cup. The prize has been stolen twice, once inside England during 1966 and in another Brazil in 1970. At that time, it was listed as one of the 10 greatest lost treasures of mankind.

However, a piece of that work, believed lost for many years, has been recovered and lives in the Museo de la Fifa. The base of the Jules Rimet Cup hid from pursuers in the least expected place. The story was revealed by the Zurich Museum itself.

The Jules Rimet Trophy was a gold plated sculpture representing Nike (the Greek goddess of victory). abel laffleur, a French artist, took care of the creation of the medals for the French tournaments, and Jules Rimet, then president of FIFA, entrusted him with the creation of the award for the first soccer World Cup in history. The Cup measured 30 centimeters, weighed almost four kilos, was covered in gold and rested on a quadrilateral base in lapis lazuli stone.

Who was Jules Rimet?

Of French origin, Jules Rimet was the third president of FIFA, founded on 21 May 1904. He took office ad interim and took office definitively on 1 March 1921. He remained there for 33 years, achieving great goals for the history of football .

Since his arrival at FIFA he has tried to promote the creation of a World Cup, to be held every four years. Rimet achieved his goal in 1928, when it was established that the first edition would take place two years later, in Uruguay.

Rimet commissioned the French sculptor abel lafleur the design and construction of the trophy, which turned out to be about 30 centimeters tall and weighed 4 kilograms. Its shape referred to the Greek goddess Nike, god of victory.

Nazis and Pickels the dog

The names of world champions were engraved on its base. Uruguay And Italy they were the first. The first stop, due to Second World Warled FIFA to suspend the celebration of the 1941 championship, and with it the trophy was protected by the leader of the Italian federation, Ottorino Barass. The man, fearing an attack by the Nazis, hid the piece in a shoebox so as not to be found. Thus the Cup survived the first danger. But he wasn’t the only one.

Germany Y Brazil they had also added their names to the Cup. In 1966 the award was transferred to England at the World Cup, but before the event was held, Jules Rimet made an appearance. It was exhibited months earlier for the public, which caused a stir in the British country.

However, in March of that year, the Center Hall in Westminster, London, was robbed and eight days later, David Corbett walked his dog, pickles, who noted that he was acting suspiciously. “He drew attention to a half-buried package, covered in newspapers, behind a tree. I unwrapped the wrapping paper and saw a woman holding a plate over her head and a plaque with the words Germany, Uruguay, Brazil.” told at the time.

With the trophy in his hands, David returned it to the authorities and, months later, watched England win the World Cup. After what happened, FIFA built a replica for public display. But that wasn’t enough.

The robbery of two Argentines in Brazil

In December 1983, the Rimet Trophy (original) was exhibited to the public at the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), Rio de Janeiro. Although it was covered by armored glass, part of the structure was made of wood someone forced with a crowbar and took the Cup.

For years, nothing more was heard of her. After some time, the Brazilian police arrested four men and the perpetrators of the robbery were judged. Were four Argentines: Hernández, Pereira, Vieira and Rocha. All claimed to have melted down the piece to sell the gold and silver.

Some time later, Hernandez explained that the theft had been commissioned by an Italian collector, who had paid $100,000 to carry out the operation. This version had a lot of credibility in the world of Italian collecting, where there was much talk about the subject.

FIFA revived it

It appears that the Jules Rimet Trophy has not disappeared entirely, or so FIFA has explained. The trophy revived in 2013 when the football museum was designed. According to the top football body, they found the cup’s base which was stolen 30 years ago: “You wouldn’t believe where they found it: in a basement of the FIFA building,” explained David Ausseil (FIFA manager).

The piece is about ten centimeters high and on it you can read the names of the champions of the first four editions of the World Cup, namely Uruguay and Italy on two occasions each. The pedestal was replaced by a new one in 1954, before the tournament hosted by Switzerland.

Today, the Jules Rimet Trophy base is on display at the FIFA museum in Zurich, Switzerland. Located next to the offices of the.