Beckenbauer says he's interested in UEFA top job

Germany's Franz Beckenbauer said yesterday he was interested in becoming the next UEFA president and was ready for a "fair and clean election battle" with France's candidate Michel Platini.

"The interest is there," said Beckenbauer, 59, who led West Germany to World Cup victory as captain in 1974 and coach in 1990 but has remained coy until now about whether he would run to lead European soccer's governing body.

"I've taken responsibility all my life and never worried about possibly failing," he said in an interview with the German FA's (DFB) website.

"The presidency of such a successful organisation as UEFA would be an appealing challenge."

The charismatic Beckenbauer said, however, he wanted to wait to make sure UEFA president Lennart Johansson would definitely retire before formally announcing his candidacy. Beckenbauer won unanimous backing last week from the DFB's executive last week.

"I'm in favour of going one step at a time," Beckenbauer said. "Whether Johansson definitely steps down at the end of the current term is, as far as I know, not yet clear. I'd never run against Lennart. I admire him, and I'm a friend of his."

Beckenbauer, leading Germany's 2006 World Cup organising committee, has long dropped hints that he wanted to succeed Johansson who has held office for 14 years and will be 76 by the time he completes his fourth term in 2006.

But it was not until after former France captain and manager Platini, 49, announced his candidacy last week that Beckenbauer, pressed by DFB chiefs, began raising his voice with increasing clarity.

"Everyone has the right to put themselves forward," Beckenbauer said when asked about Platini's candidacy. "Michel Platini was always a man with ambitions. We've met often and I greatly admire him."

Platini praise

Beckenbauer praised Platini for helping Germany's organising committee with his know-how and experience and said he was not worried about a showdown against the Frenchman.

"If it does come to that, I'm sure it will be an absolutely fair and clean election battle," Beckenbauer said. "But we don't know yet if there will be other candidates. So let's wait and see."

Platini, in an interview with Germany's Sport Bild magazine said he wanted to avoid a battle with Beckenbauer and thinks the German should have run a decade ago.