<TR>
<TD class=yspsctnhdln><STRONG><FONT size=5>latini should have waited to run, says Beckenbauer</FONT></STRONG></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD height=7><SPACER type=\"block\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"></TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=\"100%\" border=0>
<TR>
<TD>
<>ARIS, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Michel Platini should have waited longer before running for the UEFA presidency, Franz Beckenbauer told French sports newspaper L\'Equipe on Wednesday.
<>\"At 51 years old (Platini) is often impatient...He should allow Lennart to stay in charge until the end of another mandate, and then he can succeed him,\" said Beckenbauer.
<>He added that he was throwing his weight behind incumbent Lennart Johansson as Friday\'s vote in Duesseldorf looms.
<>
<TABLE cellPadding=1 align=left border=0 hspace=\"10\" vspace=\"5\">
var lrec_flashfile="http://us.a2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/a/ya/yahoo_personals2/20051212_60812_1_300x250_lrec_premier_roses.swf?clickTAG=javascript:LRECopenWindow(1)";
var lrec_altURL="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12iv41urk/M=568929.9805167.10512028.8411986/D=sports/S=95862807:LREC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1169665484/A=3180652/R=1/id=altimgurl/SIG=12rsbdeon/*http://personals.yahoo.com/us/reg/select_package?service2buy=ypp&trialdays=7&term=monthly";
var lrec_altimg="http://us.a2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/a/ya/yahoo_personals2/20051212_60812_1_300x250_lrec_premier_roses.jpg";
<NOSCRIPT><img width=1 height=1 alt=\"\" src=\"http://us.bc.yahoo.com/b?P=i.sSPM6.I.Yhs6HWQ9z5_QrBhq4VAkW3kawADCOJ&T=1401hde5t%2fX%3d1169658284%2fE%3d95862807%2fR%3dsports%2fK%3d5%2fV%3d2.1%2fW%3dH%2fY%3dYAHOO%2fF%3d1747344833%2fQ%3d-1%2fS%3d1%2fJ%3dC123BECE&U=13a4sd8d5%2fN%3d3ld2Gc6.IsY-%2fC%3d568929.9805167.10512028.8411986%2fD%3dLREC%2fB%3d3180652\"></NOSCRIPT></TD></TR></TABLE>Beckenbauer, who captained and then coached West Germany to World Cup success in 1974 and 1990, had been a front-runner with Platini but ruled himself out when Johansson decided to stand.
<>He praised Platini, who led France tothe 1984 European title, as \"a young challenger who was a great player\".
<>But Beckenbauer also criticised the Frenchman\'s campaign, which has targeted 77-year-old Swede Johansson because of his age, saying it was \"not very clever\".
<>He reserved his highest praise for Johansson\'s attitude during the leadership campaign.
<>\"I find him very elegant and smart, not rising to the attacks and provocations against him.\"
<P>Beckenbauer also said he was not tempted to run for the position of UEFA president in the future.
<P>\"No, that\'s now in the past. I don\'t know what is going to happen in four or eight years time. I don\'t even know if I will still be alive.\"
<P>The 61-year-old, who could still win a place on the executive committee of world governing body FIFA, along with Platini, also said executive positions in UEFA and FIFA did not always have to be filled by ex-footballers.
<P>\"I do not think it is a necessity (but) if an ex-player has the abilities, then why not?\" </P></TD></TR></TABLE>
<TR 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes\">
<TD #ece9d8; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #ece9d8; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #ece9d8; PADDING-TOP: 0in; BORDER-BOTTOM: #ece9d8; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent\">
< 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>(adds quotes, reaction of Platini camp) <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
< 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>By Mike Collett, Soccer Editor <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
< 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>DUESSELDORF, Jan 24 (Reuters) - <FONT color=#f70909>Senior members of the campaign team supporting Lennart Johansson\'s bid for re-election as UEFA president said on Wednesday he had secured enough votes to win Friday\'s ballot. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></FONT></P></TD></TR></TABLE>
< 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>The claim, however, was rebuffed by Francois Manardo, the agent for Johansson\'s opponent Michel Platini, who dismissed their figures as \"totally laughable\". <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
< 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#ff0000>A majority of the European governing body\'s 52 voting associations is required to secure victory at the UEFA Congress and Johansson\'s team claimed they had 36 confirmed votes.</FONT> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
< 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>er Ravn Omdal of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>, a UEFA vice-president and long-term supporter of the 77-year-old Swede, told Reuters: \"We now have enough confirmation from 36 associations backing Lennart in Friday\'s vote. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>\"Delegates have said they will support him, not just once but twice and three times. The level of support reflects the leadership he has brought and will continue to bring to UEFA.\" <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>UEFA vice-president Angel Maria Villar Llona of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region> added: \"The support for Lennart Johansson is very strong and the feeling among the majority of delegates is he should serve a final term of office.\" <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>SEPARATE VOTE <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#ff0000>Earlier, <FONT size=4>Franz Beckenbauer</FONT>, standing for election as one of UEFA\'s representatives on the FIFA executive committee in a separate vote on Friday, followed the lead of the German Football Association (DFB) when he endorsed Johansson\'s candidacy in an interview with L\'Equipe newspaper. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#ff0000>\"At 51 years old (Platini) is often impatient...he should allow Lennart to stay in charge until the end of another mandate and then he can succeed him,\" said Beckenbauer.</FONT> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>The vote is a two-horse race between Johansson, UEFA president since 1990, and Platini, who captained <st1:country-region><st1:place>France</st1:place></st1:country-region> to victory at the 1984 European Championship and has been on the UEFA and FIFA executive committees since 2002. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>Platini\'s agent predicted a close contest on Friday. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>Manardo told Reuters: \"If you want to take this election seriously, then every observer knows how close the race is between Lennart Johansson and Michel Platini. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>\"Anyone who says Mr Johansson has 36 votes secured has no credibility at all. It is an attempt to destabilise our campaign but it is amateurish and the figures are meaningless. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>\"We could say we have 37 votes but we are not going to use these kind of tricks because we feel just as confident as they do, and perhaps more seriously confident with good reason.\" <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>FIFA president Sepp Blatter has given support to Platini, who has worked as his special adviser for four years. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#ff0000>If Platini loses, his immediate involvement with UEFA will end as he is not standing for re-election to the executive committee following the end of his four-year term of office.</FONT> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 15pt\"><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>The Frenchman will, however, remain a member of the FIFA executive committee for at least another two years and could therefore serve with Beckenbauer on that body. <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P 0in 0in 0pt\"><o:p><FONT face=\"Times New Roman\"> </FONT></o:p></P>
>
楼主