The story does not say whether he whistled the Scorpions tube during the 800 kilometers or so from his town of Grosuplje, in Slovenia, to the shores of Lake Geneva.
But we would bet dear that Aleksander Ceferin saw his life as UEFA president pass before his eyes and his enthronement of 2016 where he had promised a "wind of change" (
Editor's note: the wind of change
), over the terminals swallowed while driving his car to reach his office in Switzerland.
A journey precipitated by the announcement Sunday evening of the creation of the Super League.
Twelve dissident clubs, including monuments like Real Madrid, Liverpool or Juventus Turin, the front unit of the continental round ball which shatters and the prospect of a heavy threat to the showcase of UEFA, the prestigious League champions. “When I saw this information drop, I was afraid for football, but also for my brother, says the eldest of the president of the European body, Rok Ceferin. I called him on Monday, he said:
Everything is under control, everything is going to be fine
. He was very confident. "
Sunday, the boss of European football deployed his entire network to defeat the coup d'etat of the twelve dissidents, killed in the bud on Tuesday. "He kept repeating that we had arguments and that we were going to get by," said a close friend of UEFA. On Monday, the 53-year-old leader holds a press conference. "A spitting in the face", "a shameful proposal", a Super League which exists "only for the money": the Slovenian lets go and does not hesitate to ironize on the status of great Europe of Juventus Turin and Manchester United. Ceferin goes there free. He, the unknown to the general public when he was elected almost five years ago to complete the mandate of Michel Platini, suspended by the internal justice of Fifa for a payment of 1.8 million euros without a written contract.
"During a family meal, he let go that he wanted to become UEFA president"
Unlike the former number 10 of the Blues, he did not come from the seraglio.
A criminal lawyer, he switched to the world of sport by becoming a manager in futsal, then in football.
President of the Slovenian federation, he has access to the UEFA legal committee.
“He began to lay the groundwork, little by little,” says one of his former colleagues.
Let's be frank: it was nobody.
His strength lies in having known how to pose as the man who would appease UEFA in a tumultuous period.
“During a family meal, he let go that he wanted to become UEFA president.
We were all surprised, says Rok Ceferin, who was one of his partners in the family law firm founded by their father.
He detailed his project and convinced us all.
"
Read alsoSuper League: how the project turned into a fiasco in 48 hours
During his election at the head of UEFA, the Slovenian passes for the candidate of small countries.
His opponents describe him as the puppet of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, former UEFA general secretary elected boss of world football a few months earlier.
He presents himself as the man who will bring more transparency and equality within the body, and insists first of all on internal reforms: he limits to three the number of mandates within the executive council, where can now sit only the leaders who occupy an active role within the federation of their country.
"His character is like his physique: sharp"
“He had the intelligence not to betray himself. He understood very quickly that it was not a question of competing with the figure of Michel, his past as a player, manager, his way of being, etc., describes the former journalist of Canal + Nathalie Iannetta, to head in the era of UEFA social responsibility. He is a lawyer who knows football. "" He was not a football player or club president, he does not come from a large European nation, he is a lawyer for subjects which were not necessarily related to football. He had to find his place, ”continues Jean-Michel Aulas, president of OL and member of the board of directors of the influential ECA, the European association of clubs. Le Lyonnais praises the merits of a “very precise, very rigorous” Ceferin.
“His character is like his physique: sharp. He gets to the point, is very direct, ”describes Nathalie Iannetta. The Slovenian leaves the outpouring and demonstrations of love to one of his trusted men, the warm Greek Theodore Theodoridis, his secretary general who worked to get him elected. He avoids red meat, gluten and endless meals. “If you spend a week eating with him, you keep your line,” smiles Nathalie Iannetta.
So, Aleksander Ceferin, monk-soldier of the children of European football?
“The UEFA budget has increased by 68% if we compare the periods 2012-2015 and 2016-2019, underlines Luc Arrondel, sports economist.
There is also talk of bringing in an investment fund to strengthen the budget of the Champions League.
And that is not to do patronage.
"" It makes me laugh to see him pose as a defender of values against bad finance, says one of his former colleagues.
He criticized the old formula of the Champions League for helping to lay something even more favorable to big clubs.
"
A very resentful man
Adopted on Monday, the new formula will bring together 36 teams instead of 32 from 2024, with more matches in the group stages and still as many qualified from major football countries. We have known more social, even if the Slovenian pushes to increase the share of the solidarity fund of the body. "He is a man of compromise, while having principles and he has just demonstrated it", supports Jean-Michel Aulas. A man of paradox too? In 2019, he tackles Emmanuel Macron, whose merits he praises in private, guilty of criticizing the C1 reform project. That did not prevent him from publicly thanking the tenant of the Elysee Palace for having contributed to the front against the Super League.
All agree on one point: he is very resentful. Godfather of the last daughter of Juventus Turin boss Andrea Agnelli, Aleksander Ceferin, re-elected by acclamation in 2019, could not bear that the one he believed to be his friend was hiding his Super League project from him. “He does not like people who do not have the courage of their convictions, says a connoisseur of UEFA records. He is personally very touched by this story. "" He will be able to forget and work with him again, nuance a close relative. Forgiveness is characteristic of great leaders. The kind of maxim to think about to kill time on the road between Switzerland and Slovenia.