It is 62cm tall, weighs 7.5kg and cost CHF10,000 (€6,800) to make. "It may not be an artistic masterpiece," said the maker of the UEFA Champions League trophy, "but everybody in football is keen to get their hands on it."
Sixth trophy
The current trophy is the sixth, dating back to 2006. Nowadays, UEFA regulations allow the cup to become the property of any club which wins the competition five times or three years in a row. That means Real Madrid CF, AFC Ajax, FC Bayern München, AC Milan and, since 2005, Liverpool FC all have an original in their trophy rooms.
New design in 1966
The trophy that the winning captain will lift at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome is the fifth version of the current design. After the original had been handed to Madrid in 1966, UEFA's General Secretary, Hans Bangerter, decided to create a new design and called in a local specialist in Berne, Jürg Stadelmann.
'Everyone likes it'
"My father Hans and I went along to Herr Bangerter's office and covered the whole floor with the drawings," recalled Stadelmann. "He made comments like, 'The Bulgarians would like the bottom of that. The Spaniards would like that, but the Italians would prefer that and the Germans would go for this bit'. We put the design together like a jigsaw puzzle. It was a design constituted of many parts yet I like it and I think everyone in football likes it as well.
Finished on time
"I remember that it had to be finished before 28 March," Stadelmann added, "because I was getting married and taking my wife on a ten-day boat trip to Los Angeles. The trophy took 340 hours to make. I did the finer work, then it was finished off by the engraver, Fred Bänninger. On time, I am glad to say."
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