Silvio Gazzaniga, the sculptor from Milan who designed and sculpted the famous World Cup trophy, has passed away at age 95.

Silvio Gazzaniga designed and created the World Cup trophy in 1971 after Brazil retained the right to keep the Jules Rimet trophy by winning its third World Cup in 1970.

Gazzaniga's son, Giorgio, said his father passed away in his sleep at home in Milan.

"He just didn't wake up this morning. It was a peaceful death," Giorgio Gazzaniga told The Associated Press on Monday, adding that his father had been in the hospital recently for a series of minor ailments.

May the soul of the man who created perhaps the most iconic trophy in the history of sports rest in perfect peace.

Story by Daraja Mutari/ghanaguardian