Johansson's rich legacy

Regarded as the "father of the UEFA Champions League", Lennart Johansson leaves behind a rich legacy after a revolutionary 17-year tenure as UEFA President.

In charge of change
Mr Johansson's term of office ended after the election of Michel Platini as UEFA President at the XXXI Ordinary UEFA Congress in the German city of Dusseldorf on Friday. In Malta 17 years ago, the Swede had gained a narrow win over Swiss candidate Freddy Rumo. Since then, the face of the European game has changed completely, in sporting and commercial terms, with Mr Johansson at the helm.

Modern UEFA
UEFA itself has developed from being a purely administrative body in a suburb of the Swiss federal capital Berne to a dynamic modern business enterprise based in impressive style at the House of European Football in Nyon, on the banks of Lake Geneva in western Switzerland.

Since 1990
Football has changed irrevocably too. The UEFA Champions League was launched at the start of the 1990s and has turned into the world's most prestigious club competition, a lucrative sporting and commercial money-spinner bringing together the best players on the planet and followed by millions of football enthusiasts.

Popular event
National-team football has also flourished, with the UEFA European Championship final round growing into one of the most popular events on the world sporting calendar alongside the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games. Football simply is not the same animal it was when Mr Johansson took over from Frenchman Jacques Georges.

Solidarity theme
Amid football's myriad developments over the decade, solidarity and the maintaining of strong links between all sectors of the game and its stakeholders has been an essential theme of the 77-year-old Mr Johansson's outstanding reign as UEFA President. "Throughout my Presidency I have given everything to deliver progress, integrity and commercial success," he stated in his presidential manifesto, "while underpinning all of this with the key principle of solidarity."

Solna support
Mr Johansson's travels on behalf of football's wellbeing took him to all four corners of the globe in his role as President of UEFA and a vice-president of the world soccer body FIFA. Yet he has always remained loyal to his home-town club - Swedish outfit AIK Solna. "I have belonged to the club for 50 years," he said in an interview in 2005. "I've been in charge of the family section and the football section, as well as president of the whole club, and now I'm honorary president, so it's definitely been a one-club love."

Firstly a fan
Mr Johansson has never been afraid to admit that he was not a very good player - he was a centre-half - but he is certainly passionate as a fan. He said: "I get nervous when I watch Solna or Sweden play. On the other side, if I'm watching a match in which neither my club nor Sweden is involved, I find myself being quite objective - I watch in another way, and I don't put any blame on the referee."

Surprise at success
And Mr Johansson's holding of the highest office in European football was never an ambition he expected to realise. He once said: "It's quite something to be President of UEFA. I didn't even imagine that I could be president of the AIK club, I was happy just to have the autographs of the players and watch the matches. I'm still surprised that I've reached certain positions."

Time to watch
The end of his lengthy spell as UEFA President will at least allow him to watch even more football. "If I see five boys playing football in a meadow, I stop and watch them," he said. "I will obviously have even more time to watch football live and on television. As long as I am alive, I will remain as fanatical about football as I am today."