Taça Jules Rimet

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Lore & Background

Brazil's relationship with the trophy culminated on December 20, 1966, when captain Hilderaldo Bellini lifted it high to show photographers, a gesture every winning captain since has repeated. The decisive moment arrived in 1970 when Brazil defeated Italy to claim their third title, satisfying the FIFA rule established in 1930 that the winner could keep the trophy in perpetuity. Following this victory, the original was placed in a wooden cabinet with a glass front at the Brazilian Football Confederation headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. However, on December 19, 1983, the wooden rear of the cabinet was forced open with a crowbar, and the cup was stolen. Two men were arrested and tried; one was acquitted, and the other was convicted. While widely believed to have been melted down, some argue it was sold to the black market as the gold content was insufficient for bars. Only the original base, recovered in the 1980s and kept by FIFA in Zurich since then, has ever been found.

In Their Own Story

The theft of the Taça Jules Rimet remains one of football's most enduring mysteries. Before its final disappearance, the trophy had already survived a dramatic incident during World War II when Italian vice-president Ottorino Barassi hid it in a shoe-box under his bed to protect it from the Nazis while Italy held it as 1938 champions. In 1966, four months before the tournament in England, it was stolen again but found seven days later wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a garden hedge in Upper Norwood by a collie named Pickles. Following the 1970 victory, the trophy sat on display until that fateful night in December 1983. The Brazilian military president João Figueiredo was later presented with a replica made by Eastman Kodak using 1.8 kilograms of gold. The original remains missing, leaving only stories and the empty space where the goddess Nike once stood.

Reader's Guide

For fans tracing the history of this trophy, it is crucial to distinguish between the original and the replicas that followed its theft in 1983. A replica was secretly manufactured by the English Football Association for exhibitions after the 1966 theft; FIFA denied permission, and this version was kept under a creator's bed until sold at auction in 1997 for £254,500, where testing confirmed it was not the original. The trophy made of gold-plated sterling silver on a lapis lazuli base is distinct from the current 18 karat gold FIFA World Cup Trophy introduced in 1974. While the Jules Rimet Trophy is lost, its legacy persists through the rule that granted Brazil permanent custody after their 1958, 1962, and 1970 victories. The story of the trophy includes unique details like the base replacement in 1954 to accommodate more winners' details and its journey aboard the Conte Verde ship from Villefranche-sur-Mer to Uruguay for the first World Cup.

Did You Know?

• The original trophy was hidden in a shoe-box under Ottorino Barassi's bed during World War II to prevent Nazi seizure.
• A black and white collie named Pickles found the stolen trophy wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a garden hedge in London seven days after it vanished in 1966.
• The English Football Association secretly made a replica for exhibitions, which was later sold at auction in 1997 for £254,500, ten times its reserve price.
• Only one piece of the original trophy has ever been found: the base, which was recovered in the 1980s and has been kept by FIFA in Zurich ever since.
• The base was replaced with a taller version in 1954 specifically to accommodate more winners' details before Brazil secured permanent custody.