World Football Association: Heart for power: Infantino ten years as FIFA boss

Where and how Infantino would spend his special day also had to be researched first at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich. The 55-year-old travels non-stop. You can lose track of things there. At a meeting in Colombia, he just dispelled concerns about World Cup security in Mexico. “We don’t live on the moon or on another planet, things happen,” he said about the violent excesses with many deaths in the co-host country of the mega World Cup. Everything will definitely be fine in the summer.

Permanent guest in the White House

Infantino is always in Washington. Like recently at the first meeting of Donald Trump’s Peace Council, the next event in a highly controversial male friendship. The presentation of the FIFA Peace Prize to the US President at the bizarre draw show in December was the culmination point so far. “Slime trail” was the catchphrase of the caustic media criticism, primarily from England, of the submissive behavior in December.

Infantino bucks and Infantino polarizes, Infantino provokes – especially in countries where football and morality are viewed as interdependent components. FIFA counters this: the association boss’s work is viewed positively in more than 200 countries and he is popular and valued. In fact, in his first decade as FIFA boss, he ensured greater global participation in competitions and material security in many places.

Infantino “has a football heart,” said Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in an interview with the world association on his official birthday. “He’s not just interested in what he’s always accused of, the income side, but he’s really interested in football,” assured the supervisory board of FC Bayern Munich, who dealt with Infantino in various functions.

Blatter speaks of “dictatorship”

The assessment by critics is completely different. Predecessor Joseph Blatter accused Infantino of having set up a “dictatorship”. “He rules like a sun king,” said his predecessor, who was once given this title, to several media outlets. Last year, Infantino kept the FIFA Congress in Paraguay waiting for hours. His private jet broke down.

There is currently no football opposition like Blatter once had. Critics from the sports orbit are largely holding back. The German Football Association and its President Bernd Neuendorf have also adopted a different tactic since the criticism debacle surrounding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Infantino’s hegemony is currently accepted. Peace with FIFA was sealed at the latest with his visit to the association’s 125th birthday in Leipzig last year. The FIFA boss gave a typically humorous speech outside of the planned protocol and shone with detailed knowledge of German football history. That went down pretty well.

Surprising election winner

On February 26, 2016, Infantino took over the FIFA leadership post as a surprise winner. With his unerring instincts from many years in the second tier of power at UEFA, he prevailed against several opponents at the congress in Zurich. “Ugh,” he said on stage as a sign of relief after the election.

Many football greats were relieved. The then 45-year-old represented a young, pragmatic, football-oriented departure after the scandalous years of the Blatter era. On its anniversary, FIFA is declaring several self-identified areas of success: football development, global expansion, development of women’s football, technological progress and good, transparent corporate management.

Critics see the latter in particular, the participation of others and permeability in hierarchies, differently. “He likes rich and powerful people, those with money,” Michel Platini recently told the English Guardian. Under the Frenchman, Infantino was UEFA general secretary. Platini was actually supposed to be Blatter’s successor, but dubious millions in donations stopped his rise. “He was a good number two, but he is not a good number one,” Platini said.

Also close to Putin and the Emir of Qatar

Next to the world politicians he ensnares for successful World Cup tournaments, Infantino always looks like an underling struggling for recognition. That was the case with Vladimir Putin, and with the Emir of Qatar, and now so much with Trump that the pain threshold has been exceeded for many football fans. Infantino is a “great guy,” says the most powerful man in the world. People constantly flatter each other.

To understand Infantino, one must take his life into account. For a long time, the Italian immigrant child in Switzerland was denied recognition, belonging and being part of the bigger picture. The “Secondo,” as they say in Switzerland, fought vigorously for this feeling. Football always offered an emotional outlet. At least as much as being close to power, Infantino loves being close to the stars of the industry.

Infantino became a polyglot top manager who speaks half a dozen languages ​​fluently and sits at the table when Trump orders the world. There is no end in sight to this cinematic rising story. Next year, Infantino can be named FIFA boss for four more years. The statutes were clarified with this in mind, and the first three years as Blatter’s replacement were not counted as a full term of office. There is no opposing candidate in sight anyway.