The Jules Rimet trophy — stolen from Brazil in 1983, almost certainly melted down — is somehow back on display in New York. Or at least a version of it is. That detail alone is worth the trip to Rockefeller Center.
The FIFA Museum's free "Legacies of Champions" exhibition opened Monday with a ribbon-cutting from Gianni Infantino, a panel of Italian legends, and a genuine moment from George Weah that cut through the ceremony. The exhibit runs June 11 to July 19, right across the duration of the tournament, and it's free — which, given the cost of attending an actual World Cup match, feels almost radical.
Baggio, Vieri, and a stolen trophy
The showcase covers every World Cup since 1930. Original artifacts, trophies, jerseys from all 48 competing nations, and immersive installations including "The Final" — a video piece built around the drama of the decisive match — and "The Wall of Champions," honoring every player to have lifted the trophy.
The Jules Rimet story is the haunting thread running through it all. Brazil won permanent custody of the original prize in 1970 after their third title. Thirteen years later it was gone — stolen from the Brazilian Football Confederation's HQ in Rio, never recovered. "If someone has the original trophy, please bring it over," Infantino said at the launch. Half-joke, half-genuine plea.
Roberto Baggio, Christian Vieri, and Marco Materazzi represented Italy at the panel. Baggio — who missed the penalty that handed Brazil the 1994 final — kept it graceful: "Talent is a gift, but dedication is a choice." Vieri, who played in 1998 and 2002, recalled watching Baggio at Fiorentina as a teenager before eventually lining up alongside him at a World Cup. "Dreams do come true," he said. Materazzi, for his part, won the whole thing in 2006 — after being headbutted by Zinedine Zidane in the final, which remains one of the strangest paths to a winner's medal in tournament history.
Weah's take was the best line of the night
Youri Djorkaeff, who was part of France's 1998 title-winning squad, also appeared. But the moment that landed hardest came from George Weah — one of Africa's finest players ever, and someone who never got to play at a World Cup due to Liberia's repeated failure to qualify.
Asked about the absence, he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he pointed to his son Tim Weah, currently in the U.S. squad for this summer's tournament. "That's why I worked so hard to raise my children," he said, "so they could represent me."
The exhibition is sponsored by Hyundai, a FIFA partner since 2002, whose "Be There With Hyundai" campaign includes children's artwork that will appear on official national team buses across host cities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico during the tournament. Corporate activation, yes — but the exhibit itself is free and open to anyone who makes it to Rockefeller Center before July 19.
