France soccer great Michel Platini defeated Sweden's Lennart Johansson to be elected UEFA president in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Friday.

French soccer legend Michel Platini sits on the podium of the UEFA congress in Duesseldorf, western Germany. Platini won the vote for the presidency of UEFA dethroning long-time incumbent Lennart Johansson of Sweden with a call for reform.

The 51-year-old Platini won by 27-23, with two invalid votes, in a secret ballot of UEFA's 52 federations, ousting the 77-year-old Swede after 17 years at the helm of world soccer's biggest regional body.

Platini was a three-time European player of the year who led France to the European Championship title in 1984. The former Juventus star helped organize the 1998 World Cup in France and has worked closely with FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who publicly endorsed him on the eve of the vote.

Immediately after the result was announced, Platini asked the congress to elect Johansson as honorary president. The Swede was approved by acclamation.

(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2007)