New book by Sepp Blatter: Infantino bashing and lack of self-criticism

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“Sometimes I think I’m in the wrong movie. My successor wants to destroy what I have built over the past four decades at FIFA, with almost pathological consequences. Already at the beginning of the book, Sepp Blatter, who celebrates his 88th birthday on Sunday, plays the man. He later wrote about FIFA president Gianni Infantino (53): “I firmly believed that with Infantino as his successor, an orderly and dignified handover of the baton was guaranteed. It was probably my biggest misjudgment in half a century of professional life.”

The personal dislike of his successor runs like a thread through the book. Blatter repeats accusations that his successor had considered selling FIFA’s rights to a Middle East consortium for $25 billion. He also supports the claim that the ban imposed by FIFA on him and Michel Platini may have been initiated by Infantino and his entourage to eliminate Platini in the battle for the FIFA presidency. The resident of Upper Valais is critical of the expansion of the World Cup field, the lack of democracy in the awarding of the 2030 and 2034 World Cup tournaments, the gradual withdrawal of FIFA from Zurich and the introduction of VAR. His message is: “We have to take care of the football!”

Desire for rehabilitation

You don’t learn much new. These are the statements Blatter has made over and over again in recent years: he never bought a vote and never took other people’s money. You also feel the difficulty of letting go, the desire for rehabilitation and the lack of recognition for his life’s work – both by FIFA and the general public. After all, it was he who transformed FIFA at the end of his presidency from a small, indebted association with eleven employees into a global brand with a capital of 1.5 billion francs.

Self-criticism is rare for the most famous Swiss sports official. “It was a mistake to go to Qatar – I bear some of the responsibility for that.” There isn’t much left. The corruption affair surrounding former members of the FIFA Executive Committee, which led to the 2015 raid on the luxury hotel ‘Baur au Lac’ in Zurich, is only mentioned in passing. Anyone hoping to gain inside information from encounters with the world’s powerful will be disappointed. Blatter’s memories of why Angela Merkel is a big football fan and how he first met Nelson Mandela are entertaining – but nothing more. Or how he would have asked ex-Nati coach Köbi Kuhn to call him up for an international match.

No critical voices

In his foreword, former federal councilor Ueli Maurer praises Blatter as a “visionary and assertive personality who has achieved something unique in the world of sports.” Other companions such as Theo Zwanziger, Blatter’s daughter Corinne or Erich Vogel, who wrote the last word, also – not surprisingly – refrain from critical comments and praise the author immensely. ‘The true story’ is the subtitle of the book. It is Sepp Blatter’s own truth.

Source : Blick