Press hails homegrown UEFA president Platini

PARIS, Jan 27 (Reuters) French newspapers have hailed Michel Platini's election as UEFA president as the start of a new era for football.

''Mr President'', ran sports daily L'Equipe boldly today's front page.

''Huge,'' wrote the paper's columnist Michel Dalloni, adding: ''Michel Platini showed it was possible to win without arrogance, to convince without corrupting and to be French without failing close to the goal.'' Platini, 51, beat incumbent Lennart Johansson by 27 votes to 23 in yesterday's election at the UEFA Congress in Dusseldorf.

''Platini opens a new era for European football,'' wrote daily Le Parisien.

Platini said in his campaign he wanted to bring from four to three the number of clubs from the major leagues qualified for the Champions League in order to open the competition to small countries.

''Platini will not launch a revolution but he will work for more sport and less business (in football)'', wrote Italy's La Gazetta dello Sport.

''For once, the winner is the one who talked to people's hearts, not to their wallets,'' said daily La Stampa.

Platini, whose father came to France from Italy, played for Juventus in the 1980s, winning the European Cup with them in 1985.

He was voted European footballer of the year three times in succession in the 1980s and played 72 times from France captaining them to victory in the 1984 European Championship at home.

REUTERS SAM PM1632