Lennart Johansson

Lennart Johansson was the man in charge of international football at a team when money was being siphoned away from the smaller sides towards the bigger teams, player (and agent) demands were seen as more important than financial stability, and the stench of corruption followed a number of surprisingly well-funded smaller FAs. Thank God we’ve moved as far away from that as possible in 2019.

Johansson was the FIFA president before Sepp Blatter (and the UEFA president before Michel Platini), and despite attempts to paint him as just the “gee shucks” Swedish layperson who couldn’t hold back that duo’s Cayman Island-fuelled avarice, it was under him that the Champions League was formed and the Bosman ruling was passed. He was also the man who got bandy included as an Olympic sport for the first time, so swings and roundabouts.

Lennart Johansson
5 November 1929 – 4 June 2019
Died aged 89 (unique hit)