So the Champions League Cup came to
– My old grandfather was a goldsmith and used to drink coffee at a certain cafe in Bern. There he met his banner, one of Uefa’s first secretary general, says Andrin Krieg Stadelmann.
Andrin works with Business Management at the jewelry company « Stadelmann » as his grandfather, Jürg, founded in Bern 1972. He and his brother Micha is the third generation Stadelmann, who still today manages the company with his mother Nicole.
During the 1960s, Jürg worked as an apprentice in his father’s jewelry shop, just a stone’s throw from the street where he later came to open his own. Also nearby was Uefa’s headquarters, which in 1960 moved from Paris to Bern.
What many people do not know is that it was here, in his father’s jewelry shop, that Jürg forged the very first version of the present Champions League Cup in the mid-1960s.
– Banger asked if my old grandfather was interested in making a trophy. Then he replied that he was not quite sure he could, but that his son who was an rising goldsmith, was certainly interested.
Jürg Stadelmann found out the news and took on the task of developing a trophy for the tournament which was then named the European Cup. He sketched and finally showed a design that contained valuable and unique stones and crystals that he liked to work with.
But the Uefa boss rejected the sketch directly.
– His banner did not like it at all. He said « we need something that everyone likes, not just like Swiss with a lot of money and valuable stones do. We need something that Germans, French and Italians also like ».
And maybe Swedes?
– Haha, yes, too.
Further requirements were that the trophy needed to be designed with a couple of handles and a large cup, which today characterizes the masterpiece.
– Banger said that the trophy must have something so that everyone can lift it in the air. I also think the size was a requirement – that five liters of champagne had to fit in the trophy.
The trophy had to be made clear quickly, because soon Jürg would get married and go on a honeymoon with his wife Stefanie. And after a total of 340 hours of work, with the help of an external silversmith, banners finally got their trophy – just as he and Uefa wanted it, without frills.
– When it was finished, he sent his boss, ie my old grandfather, to hand it over to Uefa. It was normal then that it was the boss who handed over the trophy, even though it was the son in this case that did everything, says Andrin.
May 31 do Paris Saint-Germain And Inter up about which team is allowed to lift Europe’s most sought after trophy for club teams. But the trophy as one of those teams will be lifted, is not made in Switzerland.
The last trophy made by the family business in Bern was handed over 2005 to Liverpool after the victory in the final against AC Milan. The Swiss company was given another trophy after that question, but then UEFA stopped hearing.
According to Andrin, UEFA switched to another supplier in Italy, probably due to excessive costs.
– We have always had a good relationship with UEFA. We had to keep the original sketch but I am afraid that they ever want it back, I am very happy that we have it.
A lot of water has passed Under the bridges in Bern since then, and Stadelmann’s Champions League history has slowly but surely fallen into oblivion.
– It is crazy but no one here at the agency cares that it was here that the trophy was made. Not many people here are interested in football except me and my brother.
Has people started to forget the story?
– Yes, almost, especially in Bern and in Switzerland. When I tell my friends or others I get to know, no one believes me.
– We are not a jewelry shop that makes trophies primarily and the trophy does not define our identity, but it is a nice story to be able to tell.
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