When Brazil won the World Cup for the third time in 1970, they were given the Jules Rimet to keep and a new trophy was made for the 1974 tournament. Germany were the first winners of this and this trophy is still used to this day, with Spain being the latest recipients when they won the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

The World Cup trophy is one that all soccer players dream about winning, although with the tournament only played every 4 years very few actually get the honor. To date eight countries have won the World Cup soccer trophy, with 5 of these coming from Europe and 3 from South America.

The trophy of the FIFA World Cup, which measures 36.8 inches and weighs 6.175 kg of 18 carat gold, is the most prestigious award in world football. The original is still in possession of FIFA and the winner of World Cup wins FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy. In the future, thanks to this new collaboration with Louis Vuitton, the original trophy will travel in an elegant briefcase unique.

Click Here For Full Stream – Watch FIFA WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010

Louis Vuitton has always been a fine blend of tradition and innovation, know-how and creativity, history and modernity. In 1837 Louis Vuitton became an apprentice to a famous layetier-packer instead of Paris, Mr Marshall, who taught him the design and implementation of chests and trunks for travel. A few years later, in 1854, Vuitton opens his own house that will, over time, a luxury brand known for its know-how and expertise in the manufacture of special items to measure.

Today, his shops Asnieres (France) design and build some 450 special items a year, honoring the most outstanding orders. True to its original vocation of layetier packer, Louis Vuitton has always made carrying cases for transporting the most precious assets of its customers.

Aware of the exceptional know-how, the FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter has decided to place an order for very special kit for the most coveted award in the world. “The Trophy of the FIFA World Cup is our most valuable asset. It is the reward the most popular in the football world and beyond. It is the element that unites fans from around the world a healthy competition. A trophy as valuable as the FIFA World Cup deserves a briefcase at the height of elegance and prestige. Now, the trophy will travel not only safely, but also in style .

Louis Vuitton is honored to lend its expertise to the most prestigious sporting events accompanying the legendary trophy for his next trip around the world.

Antoine Arnault, Director of Communications for Louis Vuitton, for its part said: “We are very proud to have been chosen by FIFA and put our expertise at their disposal to carry the casket of the finest trophies: the World Cup by FIFA. From the legendary trunk bed created by explorers for George and Louis Vuitton in 1868 to showcase the oldest trophy in sport, the America’s Cup, through the iPod box, special order from a famous designer, the Vuitton has always stepped up Smart and stylish ways to meet a particular need for customers to express their individuality, or realize their dreams. “

It’s also fair to say that a double dream didn’t even dominate his thoughts while wearing a Linfield jersey — particularly when storm clouds gathered over Windsor.

Lowry has had to develop the winning mentality at Linfield, an environment where the pressure can be intense.

As David Jeffrey indicated after the Irish Cup win, talented players have donned the famous jersey but struggled to cope with the insatiable demands of the Blues faithful.

Lowry’s first Irish Cup final got off to a dream start when he headed in the second goal to put Linfield firmly in command of the final.

Kevin Braniff replied for Ronnie McFall’s men but Lowry’s strike proved decisive and a season in which he has blossomed into a wonderful player ended on a real high.

“I can’t really remember the goal at all,” he said. “Damien placed the ball down and before the match I was told to go to the front post, that’s what I done and was able to get a free header in.

“One of the defenders asked who was picking me up and as soon as I heard that I made the dart and the ball just came right on top of my head.

“Four or five months ago a double wasn’t thought of. People would have questioned you but since Christmas we have been deserved winners in the league and cup. The whole season has been quite unbelievable and I’ll just enjoy it as long as it lasts.”

Lowry came to the Blues to win trophies and his first season has been a roller-coaster ride.

There was little time to settle in as fans demanded silverware after last season’s trophyless campaign.

It’s been a long hard struggle for all the players, particularly the younger ones like Lowry who are still being educated in the art of winning trophies.

“I knew when I signed I would be challenging for leagues and cups but now that is has happened it is just so unreal,” added the 20-year-old.

“I can remember sitting in the manager’s office and talking about all the great things that could happen at Linfield. It’s just surreal to see things happen this way.

“It does whet the appetite. Once you taste success and see the fans celebrating of course you want that to happen again and again.

“This success will galvanise us and it bodes well for the future.”

Thousands of South African football fans, many sporting the national team’s shirt, queued for hours in Khayelitsha, one of Cape Town’s townships, to have their picture taken next to the solid gold trophy.

The World Cup trophy is only allowed to be touched by the winners and by heads of state. On arrival in South Africa, it was taken to Johannesburg to Nelson Mandela by the head of FIFA, Jerome Valcke. Mandela, of course, could touch the trophy, and was photographed grinning with his hand on the globe that tops the trophy. Mandela has been heavily involved in the arrangements for the World Cup, and Valcke said there was no question that he wouldn’t be the first stop the trophy made on its tour of the first ever African country to host the tournament.

The trophy, prior to its tour of 33 South African cities, had been on an international tour covering 81,000 miles and 86 different countries. After the tour it will be taken to Soweto, where the opening match between South Africa and Mexico will take place on June 11th.

Whilst there is not much chance of the South African team getting their hands on the statuette, as rank outsiders in the competition, thousands of fans will at least get the opportunity to see the majestic golden trophy close up and get a picture with it.

The World Cup Trophy is actually the third World Cup trophy that has been made. The original was won outright by Brazil in 1970, and so a second of the original Jules Rimet trophies was made. This was stolen in 1983 and never found. The trophy had been stolen once before and found a few days later under a bush wrapped in newspaper (found by a dog called Pickles – this is the kind of thing that comes up in pub quizzes so remember it), but after the 1983 theft a new trophy was designed, made of solid 18 carat gold. Lifting the trophy is not as easy as the elated winners will undoubtedly make it look – it weighs over 6 kilos (13.6lbs), which is 5 kilos of solid gold and a malachite base. Unlike the original, this trophy cannot be won outright, the winners of every tournament do get to keep a gold plated replica, however.

NICK BARMBY picked up five trophies in one season at Liverpool but leaving hometown club Hull in the Premier League will match anything he has achieved in an 18-year career.

Barmby, 36, plans to play on for at least another season before moving into junior development and he said: “I want to leave a lasting legacy here by being in the Premier League.

“To do that would be right up there with the best of the things that have happened in my career. It is just the same as the five trophies or the 23 England caps I won. The achievement the club has made in the last three or four years is immense.

“If you stay in this league for three years you’ve really set your foundations and you can bring in even better players.

“This was a dream, to get in the Premier League, but it was realistic when you looked at your Readings and your Fulhams.

“The kids in the streets all wear Hull strips but when I was young it used to be Liverpool and Manchester United. My sole aim is to keep us up but I’d love to finish here and be involved with the young lads.”

First the former Everton forward, who famously crossed Stanley Park, must face the wrath of a set of supporters who have never forgiven him.

“Fans chant whatever they want to chant, but it’s never really bothered me,” he added.

“I never took the move lightly, I knew what it meant. But then I won all those trophies in the first season.

“Whether you get jeered or not, you should be giving your all so it’s never bothered me throughout my career. Everyone gets stick, it’s just the way it is.”

Hull will welcome back star midfielder Jimmy Bullard as they look for their first away win in the Premier League for 12 months, although Anthony Gardner is out for six weeks.

Catalonia manager Cruyff, who played for Barca from 1973 to 1978 and managed the side from 1988 to 1996, believes a number of players have now abandoned the footballing philosophy that made the team so successful and has urged the underperforming stars to examine their own performances.

“The players were warned and they do not learn,” he wrote in El Periodico. “Atletico, Racing, Stuttgart… after three bad games, they put in a good performance against Malaga.

“On that day, they were all willing to run. They all were all willing to hold onto the ball and to play in our traditional way. Their positional work was good in that game and they moved the ball around quickly, and all this work created a lot of space on the pitch.

“If they want to, they can play one or two levels higher than they are at present. As things stand, there are a few players who are not giving their all. I would invite them to look in the mirror and to examine what they have been doing and what they are doing now.

“It is a question of individuals but it impacts on the whole team. There is time to return to the top, but everything depends on the players looking at their own performances. If they do not recover their original philosophy and apply it on the pitch, there will be more performances like Saturday.”

After a slow start to the season, the Toffee’s are now enjoying a fine run of form, including their outstanding 3-1 victory over Manchester United on Saturday.

David Moyes’ side are currently eighth in the table, with fourth place Tottenham Hotspur only eight points ahead.

The club also hold a 2-1 lead over Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League last-16 and Neville is promising the Goodison Park faithful an exciting end to the season.

“It’s going to be a fantastic end to the season,” Neville told the official Premier League website. “Everton are playing really well at the moment and we’re hoping to push up the league.

“For large parts of the season we’ve been looking down and have been worried we were going to get sucked into a dog fight.

“Now we’re looking up and the end of the season looks like it’s going to be really exciting for all Everton fans.”

“We’d love to win a trophy. At the start of every season we look to win a trophy and a club that’s progressing like ours it’s always the next step – this team’s got to be winning trophies.”

Visit the Seattle Sounders team site here.

DC United's Trophies

The team will embark on a 20 day tour, the We Win Trophies Tour, with their U.S. Open Cup trophy in tow. Four of the many local bars that they will be stopping at will each host one of United’s four MLS Cup Trophies.

Kevin Payne, the President and CEO of United reasoned why the tour was a good idea, “We thought it made sense to share our success with our supporters through this We Win Trophies Tour. Though we have a lot of trophies to choose from, we decided it appropriate to visit our fans with the club’s most recent trophy and the one we will try to defend on September 2.”

You can find a full schedule of the tour with the bars they will be stopping at HERE.

soccer trophies

Before United’s frailties were exposed in a 4-1 loss to Liverpool last month, the Red Devils had conceded only 10 goals in 23 Premier League and Champions League matches stretching back to Nov. 1. Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar even set a British record by going 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal.

Those days are long gone.

“I don’t think it’s a case of players not having the confidence but maybe we’ve had so many games and also we’ve had players injured,” defender Nemanja Vidic said.

United is chasing an unprecedented five trophies this season. The three-time European champions have already won the Club World Cup and League Cup, and they face Everton in the semifinals of the FA Cup later this month.
“At this stage of the season you need all your big players to be ready,” Vidic said. “After the Liverpool game we said we had to fix it but we didn’t. Now we have to put it right.”

The injury-depleted defense was taken advantage of again Tuesday when FC Porto scored valuable away goals, leaving Old Trafford with a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. Midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo and Jonny Evans gave the ball away for Cristian Rodriguez to score the fourth-minute opener, and Mariano Gonzalez was left unmarked by Gary Neville in the 89th to equalize.

Before that, the Premier League champions had lost the match against Liverpool 4-1, fallen 2-0 at Fulham and rallied to beta Aston Villa 3-2 with two goals in the last 10 minutes.

“If you look at the last four games then obviously we haven’t played like we did in the 10 games before that. We have conceded too many,” said Vidic, who partnered Evans in central defense Tuesday. “We need to get back on the right road and we need to get back that mentality.”

The errors in the Premier League could prove less costly, since the two-time defending champions remain a point ahead of Liverpool with a game in hand. But if the team is to become the first to win back-to-back Champions League titles, it will have to become the first English club to win at Porto.

“We need to change our mentality,” said Vidic, who was being touted as a player of the year contender a month ago. “We can’t go to Porto and be stupid and go into attack with all our guns. We need to be clever.

“They have some good players, they have quick players up front and they are going to be waiting for our mistakes.”

That wasn’t something opponents were anticipating as United had rivals quaking during its record-breaking run of 14 clean sheets in the English league. That streak ended in February with a 2-1 win over Blackburn.

“We had been doing well when we were not conceding goals because of the record because we had something to protect,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “Since we lost the record against Blackburn we’ve lost a lot of bad goals.”

Ferguson blames that in part on the congested schedule. But the team plays Saturday at Sunderland after three days without action and has another three clear days before playing the second leg at Porto.

But the already-creaky defense could remain fragile if central defenders Rio Ferdinand and Evans, who limped off with a groin injury Tuesday, remain sidelined.

“Rio was nowhere near being fit (for Porto), so it is difficult to see him being fit for Saturday,” Ferguson said. “Jonny should be OK in a week, but he is a 21-year-old lad and this is what happens when you play two big games in three days.”

Originally posted by Rob Harris at usatoday.com.