“My father knew Hans Bangerter, the UEFA general secretary, very well. Our company had supplied many trophies and medals to UEFA in the past. However, this was going to be my job. My father would give advice, help out, but basically I was on my own. I was quite young then, only 25. Out of art school with lots of ideas and I wanted to make my own mark in the world. For our first meeting, I created around 30 designs. I went into Herr Bangerter’s office and laid out all the sketches on the floor.
“I had my favourite, a huge plate with football imagery in the centre, but it soon became clear that nothing I presented that day would be chosen. I can picture Bangerter as if it was yesterday, saying: ‘You’re a young man. Everything here is just too modern and won’t appeal to all Europeans.’
“In essence, the requirement was to make something important that reflected the prestige of the competition. The trophy had to be visible on television for the winners’ ceremony. It had to hold four bottles of champagne for the post-match celebrations. And, most important of all, the handles had to be much bigger than on the original trophy, so the cup could be easily carried on the victory lap. The trophy handles were awfully important to UEFA. I even had to create a set of ‘wooden ears’ for approval. We all lifted handles with no trophy for days!
“My father knew Hans Bangerter, the UEFA general secretary, very well. Our company had supplied many trophies and medals to UEFA in the past. However, this was going to be my job. My father would give advice, help out, but basically I was on my own. I was quite young then, only 25. Out of art school with lots of ideas and I wanted to make my own mark in the world. For our first meeting, I created around 30 designs. I went into Herr Bangerter’s office and laid out all the sketches on the floor.
“I had my favourite, a huge plate with football imagery in the centre, but it soon became clear that nothing I presented that day would be chosen. I can picture Bangerter as if it was yesterday, saying: ‘You’re a young man. Everything here is just too modern and won’t appeal to all Europeans.’
“In essence, the requirement was to make something important that reflected the prestige of the competition. The trophy had to be visible on television for the winners’ ceremony. It had to hold four bottles of champagne for the post-match celebrations. And, most important of all, the handles had to be much bigger than on the original trophy, so the cup could be easily carried on the victory lap. The trophy handles were awfully important to UEFA. I even had to create a set of ‘wooden ears’ for approval. We all lifted handles with no trophy for days!
“Once I had the brief, I sketched out the trophy quite quickly. A full 60cm-high drawing, it had some plaques for the previous winners and the shape of a football underneath the UEFA badge. The overall shape was liked but the details weren’t, so I had to redraw the top half of the trophy and this was eventually approved, with the size going up from 60cm to 78cm.
“The trophy is made of solid silver and it looks quite rough when you work with it. When it’s finally polished and coated, you hold it up and all you can see is your face; it’s just like a mirror. That’s exactly what I wanted. When such a big trophy picks up the reflection of the players and the lights, it’s quite a spectacle.
“It took three of us around five weeks to make it. The biggest stress was that I was getting married on 28 March, around the time the UEFA Executive Committee had to approve the new trophy, two deadlines that I had to stick to.
“My father ended up presenting the trophy to UEFA, so I missed out on that honour. That being said, the trophy I created has been lifted by the game’s all-time greats. I had to make the trophy many times. It’s fantastic that something I created 50 years ago is still so popular.”
“My father knew Hans Bangerter, the UEFA general secretary, very well. Our company had supplied many trophies and medals to UEFA in the past. However, this was going to be my job. My father would give advice, help out, but basically I was on my own. I was quite young then, only 25. Out of art school with lots of ideas and I wanted to make my own mark in the world. For our first meeting, I created around 30 designs. I went into Herr Bangerter’s office and laid out all the sketches on the floor.
“I had my favourite, a huge plate with football imagery in the centre, but it soon became clear that nothing I presented that day would be chosen. I can picture Bangerter as if it was yesterday, saying: ‘You’re a young man. Everything here is just too modern and won’t appeal to all Europeans.’
“In essence, the requirement was to make something important that reflected the prestige of the competition. The trophy had to be visible on television for the winners’ ceremony. It had to hold four bottles of champagne for the post-match celebrations. And, most important of all, the handles had to be much bigger than on the original trophy, so the cup could be easily carried on the victory lap. The trophy handles were awfully important to UEFA. I even had to create a set of ‘wooden ears’ for approval. We all lifted handles with no trophy for days!
“My father knew Hans Bangerter, the UEFA general secretary, very well. Our company had supplied many trophies and medals to UEFA in the past. However, this was going to be my job. My father would give advice, help out, but basically I was on my own. I was quite young then, only 25. Out of art school with lots of ideas and I wanted to make my own mark in the world. For our first meeting, I created around 30 designs. I went into Herr Bangerter’s office and laid out all the sketches on the floor.
“I had my favourite, a huge plate with football imagery in the centre, but it soon became clear that nothing I presented that day would be chosen. I can picture Bangerter as if it was yesterday, saying: ‘You’re a young man. Everything here is just too modern and won’t appeal to all Europeans.’
“In essence, the requirement was to make something important that reflected the prestige of the competition. The trophy had to be visible on television for the winners’ ceremony. It had to hold four bottles of champagne for the post-match celebrations. And, most important of all, the handles had to be much bigger than on the original trophy, so the cup could be easily carried on the victory lap. The trophy handles were awfully important to UEFA. I even had to create a set of ‘wooden ears’ for approval. We all lifted handles with no trophy for days!
“My father knew Hans Bangerter, the UEFA general secretary, very well. Our company had supplied many trophies and medals to UEFA in the past. However, this was going to be my job. My father would give advice, help out, but basically I was on my own. I was quite young then, only 25. Out of art school with lots of ideas and I wanted to make my own mark in the world. For our first meeting, I created around 30 designs. I went into Herr Bangerter’s office and laid out all the sketches on the floor.
“I had my favourite, a huge plate with football imagery in the centre, but it soon became clear that nothing I presented that day would be chosen. I can picture Bangerter as if it was yesterday, saying: ‘You’re a young man. Everything here is just too modern and won’t appeal to all Europeans.’
“In essence, the requirement was to make something important that reflected the prestige of the competition. The trophy had to be visible on television for the winners’ ceremony. It had to hold four bottles of champagne for the post-match celebrations. And, most important of all, the handles had to be much bigger than on the original trophy, so the cup could be easily carried on the victory lap. The trophy handles were awfully important to UEFA. I even had to create a set of ‘wooden ears’ for approval. We all lifted handles with no trophy for days!
“Once I had the brief, I sketched out the trophy quite quickly. A full 60cm-high drawing, it had some plaques for the previous winners and the shape of a football underneath the UEFA badge. The overall shape was liked but the details weren’t, so I had to redraw the top half of the trophy and this was eventually approved, with the size going up from 60cm to 78cm.
“The trophy is made of solid silver and it looks quite rough when you work with it. When it’s finally polished and coated, you hold it up and all you can see is your face; it’s just like a mirror. That’s exactly what I wanted. When such a big trophy picks up the reflection of the players and the lights, it’s quite a spectacle.
“It took three of us around five weeks to make it. The biggest stress was that I was getting married on 28 March, around the time the UEFA Executive Committee had to approve the new trophy, two deadlines that I had to stick to.
“My father ended up presenting the trophy to UEFA, so I missed out on that honour. That being said, the trophy I created has been lifted by the game’s all-time greats. I had to make the trophy many times. It’s fantastic that something I created 50 years ago is still so popular.”
“My father knew Hans Bangerter, the UEFA general secretary, very well. Our company had supplied many trophies and medals to UEFA in the past. However, this was going to be my job. My father would give advice, help out, but basically I was on my own. I was quite young then, only 25. Out of art school with lots of ideas and I wanted to make my own mark in the world. For our first meeting, I created around 30 designs. I went into Herr Bangerter’s office and laid out all the sketches on the floor.
“I had my favourite, a huge plate with football imagery in the centre, but it soon became clear that nothing I presented that day would be chosen. I can picture Bangerter as if it was yesterday, saying: ‘You’re a young man. Everything here is just too modern and won’t appeal to all Europeans.’
“In essence, the requirement was to make something important that reflected the prestige of the competition. The trophy had to be visible on television for the winners’ ceremony. It had to hold four bottles of champagne for the post-match celebrations. And, most important of all, the handles had to be much bigger than on the original trophy, so the cup could be easily carried on the victory lap. The trophy handles were awfully important to UEFA. I even had to create a set of ‘wooden ears’ for approval. We all lifted handles with no trophy for days!
