It’s the moment that every sportsperson spends their career dreaming of: finally lifting the trophy victorious after fending off all their competitors in a gruelling tournament. Any sports trophy is a symbol of class and exceptional achievement, but some are even more unforgettable than others.
There are many factors that make a sports trophy iconic, be it the trophy’s appearance or its storied history. Here are just five of the most memorabletrophies in sports:
The World Cup
Let’s start with easily the most famous trophy cup. The Fifa World Cup Trophy, originally known as the Jules Rimet Trophy after the tournament’s French founder, is football’s greatest prize, awarded to a country only every four years. Made of 18-karat gold and standing at a mere 37 centimetres tall, those of us in England still wax lyrical about the one time we lifted the trophy in 1966. When we will next get hold of the cup again is open to debate.
The European Champion Clubs’ Cup
Also known as the European Cup and, more tenderly, Old Big Ears due to its elongated handles, this sterling silver trophy cup is handed to the winners of each year’s UEFA Champions League. It’s had many famous teams lifting it over the years, from aJohann Cruyff-led Ajax side in the early 1970s to Pep Guardiola’s 2000s Barcelona side, and its notorious difficulty to retain only adds to its stature.
The Davis Cup
Fought over by international tennis teams each year and presented on an elaborated tiered stand, the silver bowl of the Davis Cup looks more like the pick of your parents’ best crockery than a trophy. Nevertheless, the Davis Cup is highly regarded in the sport of tennis and would no doubt be ideal for drinking champagne from, if tennis players weren’t so well-behaved.
The Ryder Cup
A gold cup contested for every two years bygolfers of Europe and the United States, the Ryder Cup’s narrow stem makes it a feat of trophy design. With its distinctive figure of a man playing golf at the top, rumoured to be the cup founder’s personal instructor Abe Mitchell, the Cup carries all of golf’s gentle dignity.
The Ashes
Represented humorously by a tiny terracotta urn with a 19th Century poem stuck on it, this trophy fought over each year by England and Australia’s test cricketers may be modest but no one can accuse it of not being fiercely competed for. After the two sides expressed a desire to hold a larger trophy, the urn has now been replaced with a trophy made of Waterford crystal with the original poem classily inscribed.
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