FIFA World Cup Trophy Damaged by Mystery German Player

The German football federation (DfB) has admitted that the FIFA World Cup trophy has been "chipped" during celebrations after the national team arrived in Berlin on a special flight after beating Argentina 1-0 in the final at Rio on July 13. According to reports, it is not clear who damaged the trophy.

The FIFA usually presents a replica of the World Cup to the champions. When Germany won their fourth World Cup to become the first European side to win a world championship in Latin America, Philipp Lahm and his team were presented with a look alike golden Cup. The original trophy remains at the FIFA headquarters. It is worth 8 million Pounds.

Germany's players have been accorded heroes' status with players parading on bus tops. But the celebrations have had a controversial touch too. The German players were criticized for mocking the Argentinians with a dance act led by Mario Goetze, the man who scored the only goal in the final.

DfB president Wolfgang Niersbach has admitted the damage to the World Cup. "At one point, a small piece of our World Cup trophy was chipped off," Niersbach has been quoted by Die Welt. "But do not worry! We have specialists on the case who can fix it."

The German official said: "We have investigated persistently who it was that damaged the trophy, but the investigation was concluded without a result."

The World Cup trophy has always been a target of thieves. The original trophy - the Jules Rimet Trophy - was stolen for good in 1983 from Brazil.