…if David Gill is upset with the way the Champions League is run now, he won’t like reading about Platini’s plans. This from the Times:
‘Electoral campaigns in football are not so different from those in politics. The way you are perceived is as important as the way you really are, making image and communication skills paramount. It is not surprising, therefore, that campaigning for the Uefa presidency has started and, although the election is at least 18 months away, Michel Platini, the most prominent confirmed candidate, has already taken pot-shots at Franz Beckenbauer, who hinted only yesterday that he might run.
‘The possibility of a heavyweight clash between the two is intriguing. For the first time in decades, European football would be led by someone who played the game at the highest level in the not-so-distant past. The common points between the pair end there, however.
‘He (Beckenbauer) is easily the “safe” choice for European football, a man skilled at maintaining the status quo and balancing the power of Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president. By contrast, Platini is a populist, some might say a demagogue. “All this money in the game has caused us to lose our way,” he said recently. “Football today scares me. Business shouldn’t be driving football, it should be the other way around. I understand the fans; they are the only ones who still guarantee a club’s identity.”
‘Platini campaigned to outlaw the tackle from behind, he was the first high-profile figure to back Jean-Marc Bosman’s lawsuit (which granted players freedom of movement once their contracts expired) and, instead of the present Champions League format, he favours a 256-club knockout competition, a money man’s nightmare.’