He was once the most influential and appealing figure in the world's sports world, and was worshipped as a guest of honor by politicians from all over the world; Now, he lives alone in the mountains and no one asks, and everyone avoids him.
He was a "tyrant" and "dictator" who rose to the pinnacle of power through party rivalry; Now, he faces the calamity of imprisonment, and the glory and pride of a lifetime may be destroyed in an instant.
He was once the strongest man of his time, and his tenacious fighting spirit and competitive spirit made him invincible; Now, suffering from illness, he has succumbed to fate and has begun to consider how to reserve a dignity for his old age...
He is Joseph Sepp Blatter, former FIFA president.
Blatter was interviewed by the Swiss newspaper Jungfrau: I have no regrets at all
After a 7-year-long forensic investigation, on June 8, local time, the suspected fraud case between former FIFA president Blatter (86 years old) and former UEFA president Platini (66 years old) will begin a two-week trial at the Federal Criminal Court in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona. According to the schedule, the "Trial of the Century," dubbed the football world, will end on June 22, with three judges ruling on July 8, with defendants potentially facing up to five years in prison or a fine. In a statement released through his lawyer, Blatter said, "I am optimistic about the federal criminal court trial and hope that this story will end here and that all facts will be properly handled." ”
Blatter appeared in court
Fast forward to 29 May 2015, at the 65th FIFA Congress, Blatter was re-elected as FIFA President for the fifth time, and his term of office will end in 2019. But just four days later, Blatter announced he would resign. Although Blatter did not announce the reason for his resignation, the world knows that this is directly related to the multinational joint investigation into the FIFA corruption case, which included the then FIFA president Blatter and UEFA president Platini.
In July 2015, FIFA president Blatter, who had not yet officially abdicated, was thrown a note at a press conference by American comedian Simon Brodkin.
According to the Swiss prosecutor's findings, Platini asked FIFA to pay him 2 million francs (2.08 million US dollars) in 2011, and with Blatter's participation, FIFA paid Platini the above amount in early 2011, including social security contributions of 229126 francs. Evidence gathered by Swiss prosecutors confirmed that the payments made to Platini had no legal basis, and that Blatter was accused of fraud, forged documents, embezzlement and mismanagement, while Platini was charged with these crimes. In addition, according to people familiar with the matter, the payment is not a work remuneration, but a reward for Blatter to let Platini give up challenging his position in the 2011 FIFA presidential election.
On December 21, 2015, FIFA's Ethics Committee imposed an eight-year "ban" on both Blatter and Platini, and although Blatter received a commutation of sentence after appeal, the 6-year and 8-month "ban" meant that his glorious football political career had ended prematurely. After being "grounded" all over the world, Blatter disappeared from people's sight and lived a life of seclusion, so many years, the rhythm of Blatter's life has hardly changed, 70% of the year, he lives alone in Zurich, he said that he has worked hard in FIFA for 45 years, has been inseparable from Zurich, "Zurich is my home." Another 30 percent of the year, he returns to his hometown of Valais to be reunited with his daughter Corinne, son-in-law Andern Martun, and granddaughter Selena, 21.
Blatter and ex-wife Linda Gabriel (right), daughter Corinne (center), granddaughter Selena and son-in-law Dominique Andenmaten (left).
Blatter was once known as the "Pope of Football", he was extremely intelligent and conceited, and he had the deepest connections in the football world, but now, he admits that almost everyone has broken off contact with him, which makes him deeply appreciate the cold and warm of human feelings, the taste of the world, "I only stay with real friends, very few of them are from the football world." ”
Of Blatter's few remaining "true friends", the only one barely related to football is Swiss celebrity chef Jackie Donats, owner of Sonomberg's restaurant, who, when Blatter was at the helm of FIFA, took over the fifaith zurich headquarters canteen and was also a meeting place for FIFA's top brass. Unfortunately, Donats died some time ago, which sadd Blatter for a long time.
After the death of Jackie Donats, Blatter expressed his condolences to an old friend, who said Donats "made Sonenberg's restaurant the culinary pinnacle of world football"
Blatter has always given the image of a strongman with a tough wrist, but what is less known is that Blatter was a premature baby, because he was too small to fit in the crib after birth, and his parents could only put him in a basket, and his nickname was "Korbi (German: basket)". Who would have thought that this baby boy, who was born in a basket and waited to be fed, would later become a legendary leader with boundless power and unshakable power in the world football world. During his lifetime, Blatter traveled to more than 200 countries and territories, and during his presidency of FIFA, he was also a guest of honor to the Queen of The United Kingdom, the Emperor of Japan, and the Father of the Nation of South Africa, Mandela, and it can be said that his influence in the world even exceeded that of the President of the Swiss Confederation.
It is widely believed that an important reason for Blatter's rise is to catch the express train of FIFA's first non-European president, Avilange.
But now, as he gets older and weaker, Blatter has had many health problems in recent years: in 2015 he was admitted to an intensive care unit with a breakdown of his immune system, and in 2016 he was treated for a skin tumor and underwent knee surgery; In November 2020, he contracted the coronavirus; A month later, he underwent heart surgery and fell into a coma after the operation, and his condition was very critical. This time, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court spent two weeks trying his case, and it was only in the morning every day, also out of consideration for his physical care.
Although Blatter has now recovered from surgery, he finds himself unable to do much of it. He had wanted to drive from Zurich to his hometown of Valais as usual, but he gave up because he could no longer judge the driving distance normally. For nearly two years, Blatter chose to take the train back to his hometown, and during the two-hour train journey, people often recognized him and took photos with him. Blatter's answer to this is a bit poignant, "Popularity isn't always great, but at least it shows that your influence is still there." My father always said: As long as people still talk about you and write about you, it means that you are still alive..."
After Real Madrid won this season's Champions League, Blatter congratulated Florentino and Ancelotti as an honorary member of Real Madrid, but did not receive any response
However, in the past two years, Blatter has become more and more aware of the loneliness and sadness of the twilight of the dead years. Blatter, who had three siblings, was the second oldest in the family, his sister Ruth had died very early, and his older brother Peter had died last January. Blatter's younger brother Marco is 6 years younger than him, once served as ceo of the Swiss Olympic Committee, so for so many years, Marco will drive to visit Blatter at least once every three weeks, but recently Marco's health is not very good, Blatter always advises his brother, "I can run a few times here, please be sure to take care of your body." ”
Despite Blatter's long history of being "grounded", his connection to football has not actually been completely severed. Now, he is also bent on appearing at the World Cup in Qatar, which will be held at the end of the year. On December 2, 2010, FIFA awarded the right to host the 2022 World Cup to Qatar in Zurich, and in fact Blatter had a different view of it at the time, "I wanted to bring the 2022 World Cup to the United States at the beginning, but the FIFA Executive Committee had a different decision, of course I support this decision. ”
If Blatter fails to make his appearance at the World Cup in Qatar, it will be his first absence from the World Cup in 50 years. Four years ago, at the World Cup in Russia, he participated as a special guest of the Russian government, and now that the World Cup in Qatar has entered the countdown, can he still get his wish this time? "If I could be invited, I would definitely go, but at the moment it is not clear that FIFA will certainly not invite me, compared to the Qatari government, who is more likely to invite me."
Associated Press: Blatter attends the 2018 World Cup in Russia
Of course, before packing his bags and heading to Qatar, Blatter must first clear his "grievances" in court. Blatter vehemently denied all the allegations made by the Swiss prosecutors, but what annoyed him most was not the lawsuit itself, but his "betrayal": "I signed an oral agreement with Platini, and from a legal point of view, oral agreement is as important as a written contract." To me, this is a very obvious case and there is no doubt about it. Emotionally, though, the current state of the case makes me feel more and more disgusted as FIFA, or rather the current president, joins the ranks of the plaintiffs. Now, they've taken me to court, and that's where the story really gets dramatic. ”
Interestingly, this time to Go to Bellinzona for trial, Blatter and Platini will be arranged to stay in the same hotel, that is, outside the courtroom, they may meet on some occasion. For the two biggest football giants of the past, this is really an "All or Nothing" battle, and this lawsuit will largely determine how they will spend the rest of their lives.
In recent years, Blatter has given very few media interviews
But for his current life, Blatter insists that he is satisfied, and he never regrets everything he has done, "My life is very good now, I don't regret anything." My philosophy of life is: life is not rehearsed, you can't let history repeat itself. Of course, if I've ever hurt anyone, now I'm going to sincerely say 'I'm sorry' to him. ”