The experience of 77-year-old Johansson, who has been president since 1990, is on the line against 51-year-old former French midfield maestro Platini, who is the choice of change, at the vote in Dusseldorf.

Encumbent president Johansson has been pitched as the candidate of "stability" and "continuity," whose experience helped develop the European Champions League and its ensuing financial windfall.

Since the 1992/93 season, the prestigious club competition has generated more than five billion euros with 635 million euros going into the coffers of national federations and leagues.

Platini's manifesto has a different emphasis. He said the "small" nations -- UEFA has 52 members -- would also have his ear and that he would give "primary emphasis to the game," prioritising the good of all over finance.

The presidential campaigning has been eventful. Platini was the first to reveal his hand, throwing his hat into the ring on March 15 2005. At that time, a mouth-watering duel with another glamorous former player Franz Beckenbauer had been expected. Johansson announced in January 2006 that he had decided to retire but several days after the end of last summer's World Cup, he unexpectedly announced he would be a candidate once more and Beckenbauer pulled out of the race.

Platini pledged to "reinforce and strengthen the ties between national federations and the members" of UEFA, while his opponent vowed to preserve what had been achieved during his tenure. The first non-official polls of the summer indicated a big victory for Johansson.

A new twist emerged on January 2 when the president of the German football federation Theo Zwanziger put his support behind Johansson.

It was more backing from a major federation for the Swede, who already had the support of four UEFA vice-presidents in Senes Erzik of Turkey, Norway's Per Ravn Omdal, Angel Maria Villar Llona of Spain, England's Geoffrey Thompson, plus treasurer Mathieu Sprengers of the Netherlands.

The small nations all have a vote, however, meaning that the support of Armenia has as much weight as Germany, contrary to what many think.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter helped Platini on January 12 in Paris while visiting the new offices of the French football federation, along with 42 member federations of UEFA, stating his "sympathy" lay with the Frenchman.

Observers in the know predict a close race in Dusseldorf with, as usual in elections, undecided voters having the power to decide the contest. "People might say one thing and do the opposite," Johansson said recently.

It was revealed on Monday that should three rounds of voting not bring a winner, the vote would be decided by lottery. Each member state has a vote and an absolute majority is required (at least half of the votes plus one) to elect the new president.

Several days from the vote, Platini seemed relaxed, saying: "Everyone now knows what I stand for whether I win or lose. If I win, it's a show of support, if I lose it's my last will and testament in footballing terms."