Germany damage World Cup trophy

German players celebrate with the World Cup after beating Argentina in the final at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro of Brazil on July 13. Germany won the trophy for the fourth time. File photo.

The chief of Germany's football association (DFB) has revealed that one of the team's triumphant players has damaged their World Cup trophy, reports Goal.com.

Joachim Low's men defeated Argentina 1-0 in the final after extra-time to win the fourth world title in their history, following on from 1954, 1974 and 1990 victories.

The world in his hands ... Germany captain Philipp Lahm holds aloft the World Cup trophy in company of his jubilant teammates after his side beat Argentina 1-0 in extra-time in the final of the global showpiece event at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Maracana Stadium on July 13. Getty Images file photo

The Germany squad were welcomed home from Brazil to jubilant scenes and toured Berlin with the trophy during midweek - but may have celebrated a little bit too hard as their World Cup trophy has been damaged by an unknown member of the team.

"At one point, a small piece of our World Cup trophy was chipped off," DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach is quoted by Die Welt as saying. "But do not worry! We have specialists on the case who can fix it.

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

Luckily for Germany, the cup they have been given by Fifa is just a replica of the World Cup trophy they were presented with at the Maracana on July 13, which is estimated to be worth over €10 million (£8m).

Fifa - it would seem wisely - tends not to trust football associations with the trophy after the original World Cup award, the Jules Rimet trophy, had a history of being a target for thieves before being stolen for good in 1983 from Brazil.