Former UEFA President Lennart Johansson Predicts Easy Win For FIFA President Blatter

It has been 17 years since Lennart Johansson "lost an acrimonious FIFA presidential election to Sepp Blatter and he has a stark message to the three men standing against his old foe -- you have no chance," according to Mike Collett of REUTERS. Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, Dutch FA President Michael van Praag and former Portugal int'l Luis Figo "are attempting to unseat Blatter." But Johansson, 85, "does not think the trio have any hope of winning and is upset" that the man he wanted to run for FIFA president -- his successor as UEFA President Michel Platini -- ignored his advice to challenge the 79-year-old Swiss who is standing for a fifth term of office. Johansson: "Blatter will win in the first round, but I can't give you the figures. ... I am not surprised he has remained president since 1998, he is an extremely intelligent man. Of course, it depends on how you use your intelligence" (REUTERS, 3/31).