"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."
The current UEFA Champions League Trophy, which stands 73.5cm tall
and weighs 8.5kg, is the sixth overall and dates back to 2006.
A rule introduced in the 1968/69 season allowed the cup to become the property of any club which won 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. Under new regulations, any club which wins the trophy three consecutive times or five times in total receives a special mark of recognition, with the club then starting a new cycle from zero.
A rule introduced in the 1968/69 season allowed the cup to become the property of any club which won 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. Under new regulations, any club which wins the trophy three consecutive times or five times in total receives a special mark of recognition, with the club then starting a new cycle from zero.
The trophy that the winning captain will lift at Wembley Stadium
in London is the fifth version of the current design. After Real Madrid were
allowed to keep the original in 1967, UEFA's General Secretary, Hans Bangerter,
decided to create a new design and called in a local specialist in Berne, Jürg
Stadelmann.
"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.
"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."
"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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