Under his leadership, world football authority Fifa grew into a high-flying, billion-dollar enterprise and four-term president Sepp Blatter jetted about, mixing with kings, presidents and the rich and famous.
So influential was soccer’s prime figure that he was embraced in leaders’ parlours, actually instructing his hosts on exactly what was required, and what was to be, for his moneyed tournaments.
South Africa saw this in hosting World Cup 2010. But it was a dishevelled, vulnerable figure who announced his defiance and sense of betrayal in Zurich on Monday, his face unshaven and a plaster covering a mole removal from his cheek.
He, and former European football boss, Michel Platini, had just been banned by a Fifa ethics panel for eight years.
Glamorous, powerful and profitable though the organisers of world soccer seemed to be, there was incessant talk of graft, greed and enrichment.
This hardened dramatically six months ago into formal US indictments against Fifa officials.
US prosecutors described decades of dirty dealings, of bribes running to many millions: “They did this over and over, year after year, tournament after tournament,” said US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch.
This is not yet proven, but Blatter was presiding at the time and did not evade personal suspicion.
He was finally felled by his own organisation for paying Platini two million Swiss francs in 2011 – for services rendered nine years before. The panel did not buy their account of a verbal contract.
Blatter and Platini insist it is far from over – they are innocent, they say, and will try all means to establish this. So the saga goes on.
But for the 79-year-old fallen supremo, it will be hard to dislodge the disgrace. While he tries, there is also a Swiss criminal probe lurking in his future.
He is up against formidable accusers, there is certainly little chance of a comeback.