Gisele Bundchen to give away World Cup trophy
Neymar's hot on the field, but Gisele Bundchen is coming home to Brazil to remind everyone who the hottest Brazilian in the world really is.
The 33-year-old model and businesswoman will be on hand at the final game to, get this, present the winning team with the FIFA World Cup trophy.
It's possibly a first for a celebrity - usually, the trophy is presented by the country's president.
But according to The Boston Globe, Brazil president Dilma Rousseff is not exactly anyone's favourite person at the moment, with his citizens protesting the US$11 billion (S$13.75 billion) on getting the country ready for the games, while millions of Brazilians remain below the poverty line.
And as befitting a world-class supermodel, the trophy will come in a custom-made case designed by Louis Vuitton, according to Women's Wear Daily. The luxury brand first designed for the World Cup trophy for the South Africa edition in 2010.
PHOTO: Pinterest
Five facts about the World Cup trophy
Winners don't take home the real World Cup trophy - they get a gold-plated replica, while FIFA keeps the original 18-carat gold trophy.
Brazil once owned the real World Cup trophy, after they won the tournament three times. Unfortunately, the trophy was stolen in Rio de Janeiro in 1983, and the thieves are believed to have melted it down.
The trophy you see today is actually the World Cup trophy's second design - the first, designed by French sculptor Abel Lafleur, depicted the Greek goddess of victory Nike holding up a cup.
During World War II, the trophy was kept by 1938 winners Italy and the Italian FIFA vice-president took it out from a bank in Rome and hid it in a shoe-box under his bed to keep it safe from the Germans.
The new trophy made its debut at the 1974 World Cup. The names of winning countries are engraved on the trophy's base, and there is space for only four more winners after 2010 champions Spain. It is not known whether FIFA will debut a new cup after space runs out, which should happen in 2030, when the tournament also celebrates its 100th anniversary
Sources: The Boston Globe, Women's Wear Daily, FIFA
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