Roberto Baggio. The man who missed the penalty that handed Brazil the 1994 World Cup. Standing in Rockefeller Center on Monday, telling kids to follow their dreams. That's a story.
The FIFA Museum has brought its "Legacies of Champions" exhibition to New York for the duration of the 2026 World Cup — free to enter, running from June 11 to July 19, and stacked with the kind of artifacts that remind you why this tournament still stops the planet every four years. Original trophies, jerseys from all 48 competing nations, showcases from every edition since Uruguay 1930.
The Jules Rimet trophy and a cold case that's never been solved
The centrepiece that'll draw the longest stares is the Jules Rimet trophy — the original prize handed to World Cup winners from 1930 to 1970, the last of those winners being Brazil. In 1983, it was stolen from the Brazilian Football Confederation's headquarters in Rio. Never recovered. Most people believe it was melted down.
"If someone has the original trophy, please bring it over," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said at the ribbon-cutting. A joke, but not entirely.
The exhibit also features "The Final," a video installation built around the drama of the biggest match in football, and "The Wall of Champions," honouring every player to have lifted the trophy. Sponsored by Hyundai, who have been a World Cup partner since 2002 — the same year Christian Vieri played his second and final tournament.
Baggio, Vieri, Materazzi — and the one who got headbutted into history
The launch panel brought together three former Italy internationals who represent completely different World Cup experiences. Vieri played in 1998 and 2002, scored goals, never won it. Baggio carried Italy to the final in 1994 and then stood over a penalty that decided everything — and missed. Materazzi won the whole thing in 2006, a tournament most people remember for Zinedine Zidane's headbutt. Into Materazzi's chest.
Vieri had the best line of the night. As a teenager, he'd watched Baggio play at Fiorentina. Years later, he found himself playing alongside him at a World Cup. "Dreams do come true," he said. Twice.
Also present: Youri Djorkaeff, who won it all with France in 1998, and George Weah — arguably the greatest player never to appear at a World Cup, given Liberia's failure to qualify throughout his career. Weah had no interest in dwelling on that. His son Tim Weah is in the U.S. squad for this summer's tournament.
"That's why I worked so hard to raise my children," Weah said, "so they could represent me."
The exhibit runs until the day of the final. If you're in New York before July 19 and call yourself a football fan, there's no real excuse not to go.
