Former UEFA boss Johansson dies aged 89

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Lennart Johansson, a Swede who presided over European soccer for 17 years as its new Champions League turned into a global commercial juggernaut, has died after a short illness aged 89, Sweden's soccer association said on Wednesday.

Johansson, president of European soccer association UEFA from 1990 to 2007, coincided with the birth of the Champions League and the transformation of soccer into a global business with wide appeal and income driven by TV revenue.

He was a driving force behind the formation of the Champions League, giving the continent's top club competition a new identity, a catchy anthem and worldwide reach.

UEFA President Lennart Johansson makes an address during the draw for the knockout round of the Champions League at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, December 16, 2005. /VCG Photo

His reign saw huge revenue streams flow into the continent's big clubs, turning Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and others into multi-billion dollar enterprises, and their players into global megastars.

World soccer will be "always be grateful to him for all he has achieved for the beautiful game," UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement.

Johansson took over the top job in European soccer at a turbulent time when money from television coverage was flooding into the sport and players gained complete freedom to move between countries and clubs in Europe.

Lennart Johansson (C) is applauded by attendants after not being re-elected as UEFA President during the UEFA Congress in Dusseldorf, Germany, January 26, 2007. /VCG Photo

"It was not a given that UEFA would be successful in meeting all these dramatic changes," the Swedish FA said.

"The Champions League became an enormous success, but Lennart Johansson's other major achievement was finding a fragile balance between the big clubs' demands and the needs of the broader soccer family."

Johansson ran against Swiss Sepp Blatter to head soccer's world governing body FIFA in an acrimonious vote in 1998 but lost. Blatter, who led FIFA for 17 years, is now serving a six-year ban from soccer for unethical conduct.

The men remained rivals. The Swedish FA quoted Johansson as saying: "It is my 20-year fight with Blatter that people like."

FIFA President Gianni Infantino leads delegates as they rise to mourn the death of Lennart Johansson during the FIFA Congress, in Paris, France, June 5, 2019. /VCG Photo

Blatter's successor at FIFA, Gianni Infantino, who worked earlier in his career under Johansson at UEFA, called the Swede "a friend and an invaluable source of wisdom and inspiration".

"Lennart has always been a role model of professionalism and, more importantly, of humanity," he said.

Lennart Johansson, honorary president of the UEFA, arrives in his wheelchair to attend the UEFA Congress in Budapest, Hungary, May 3, 2016. /VCG Photo

In 2007, Johansson stepped down as UEFA president after being beaten in an election by former France international Michel Platini. Johansson was given the title honorary president, a role which he took seriously, even attending meetings in his wheelchair.

Johansson was a lifelong supporter and honorary president of Stockholm club AIK.

Source(s): Reuters