Platini promotion puts Sepp in control 'With Johansson defeated, Blatter has reached nirvana'
TOM ENGLISH
(tenglish@scotlandonsunday.com)
THE old master, Sepp Blatter, was in Dusseldorf during the week; dropped in at the Uefa congress, pressed the flesh, plunged a knife in Lennart Johansson's back. Standard stuff really. After 17 years at the head of European football, the admirable 77-year-old Johansson had his title taken away on Friday by the 51-year-old Michel Platini. Sepp's man. His protégé, if you like. So now, with an acolyte in charge of Uefa, Blatter's influence grows wider.
Platini's support base in Europe will come in handy if anybody dares to take on Blatter as president of Fifa. A rival wouldn't have stood much of a chance before but with Platini's influence the possibility of a contest - even a token one - is now rendered pointless. With his nemesis Johansson finally defeated and a devotee now in charge at Uefa, Blatter has reached his footballing nirvana. He cannot be touched.
The headlines were all about Platini, though. His "philosophy" - much the same as Blatter's - worries the more powerful nations in European football. He's the Robin Hood character, intending to reduce the number of foreigners per club to five and to limit the number of Champions League places per country to three, a policy that would take one slot away from England, Italy and Spain while helping smaller nations who have to trek through qualifying rounds.
There will be war on this issue in time. Already you've had Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and others advising Platini against messing around with the Champions League, a tournament Johansson has done a fine job in building up. Platini's relationship with some of Europe's elite clubs will get nasty soon enough.
But if Friday was a victory for Platini, the subplot belonged to Blatter. Just as Joao Havelange, his predecessor at Fifa, tutored Blatter, so Blatter tutored Platini. He and the French legend have been tight from way back. Platini has supported Blatter through all his travails. No matter what allegations were levelled at the Fifa president, he had a supporter in the Frenchman. Through the dirty wars Blatter fought with Johansson, Platini was on his side. Blatter called him his "footballing conscience" and made him his special adviser at Fifa. He groomed Platini, personally, for high office.
Championing Platini's cause made sense for at least three reasons: first, Platini's loyalty to him in the past demanded it; second, his loyalty in the future would give Blatter reams of allies in Europe. When Blatter looks to be re-appointed at Fifa, it will be nice for him to know he's got dozens of votes sewn up thanks to his friend; and third, quite simply to give Johansson a bloody nose.
On Thursday, on the eve of voting, Blatter came out publicly with a statement of support for Platini. It was unprecedented. It was like holding an SNP drive round Jack McConnell's place. This show was supposed to be run by Johansson but Blatter tried to hijack it. And he did a reasonable job.
Blatter's stunt cannot have surprised Johansson. Ever since Blatter won an extraordinary - and, to put it mildly, dubious - victory over Johansson in the race for the Fifa job in 1998, he has consistently asked questions of his administration; about Fifa finances, about corruption and lack of transparency and all manner of dodgy dealings. "Blatter has sold Fifa's family jewellery," he said. "It has become personal with Mr Johansson," Sepp said.
He's had to wait a while but he struck back at his old foe last week and now Johansson has been voted out and replaced by a man who feels he owes Blatter a debt of gratitude. The world of football is nicely tied up now. It's Sepp's world. We, Platini included, just happen to be living in it.
