At the other end of the scale, there have been headlines of 'Sepptic Blatter', he has been described as 'the most successful non-homicidal dictator of the last century', and there has been widespread astonishment that he has refused to step down as FIFA president despite the biggest crisis the world footballing body has ever encountered.
That, in a nutshell, sums up the contrasting views of the man who has ruled FIFA for 17 years and now has a mandate to do so for four more after his victory in the FIFA presidency vote after the second-round withdrawal of Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein.
Blatter was born on 10 March, 1936 and grew up in rural Switzerland in the small, Alpine town of Visp. His father had a modest job in a chemical plant and the family earned extra money growing fruit and vegetables in an allotment to sell at market.
A promising youth footballer, Blatter says his father refused to let him take up the offer of a professional contract with Lausanne. Instead, having shone at school, Blatter took up a profession working in tourism and then moved into sports administration, working as general secretary of the Swiss ice hockey federation and then moving to watch manufacturer Longines.
In 1975, Blatter joined FIFA, where Brazil's Joao Havelange had just taken over as president. The world governing body's workforce totalled just 11 employees - Blatter became number 12. Havelange saw in Blatter someone to mould in his own image, and in 1981 installed him as general secretary, a post he held until 1998 during which he presided over huge growth in football's wealth thanks in large part to sponsors such as adidas and Coca-Cola.
In 1998, Blatter beat Sweden's Lennart Johansson in the election to succeed Havelange as FIFA president, a post he has held ever since after seeing off several challenges to his authority despite waves of allegations of corruption and wrongdoing surrounding numerous FIFA officials.
Significantly, the number of FIFA member associations when Blatter joined in 1975 was 144 - now there are 209 and it is the smaller and newer countries where Blatter has developed his powerbase, aided by FIFA's development programmes channelling money to countries to build facilities and fund their organisations.
It is that core support that has allowed him to survive the fall-out from a series of scandals, starting with the ISL bribery scandal involving FIFA's former marketing partner that a Swiss investigation found had paid kickbacks totalling millions of pounds to Havelange and other leading South American FIFA members.
Another bribery scandal surfaced in 2011 involving his challenger Mohamed Bin Hammam, while a series of allegations have targeted money paid around the bidding for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups won by Russia and Qatar.
Through all these crises however, Blatter's support has barely wavered, though this week's events in Zurich may have finally persuaded some associations to question their backing for the incumbent.
The FBI investigation may yet pose the greatest threat to his long-term future, and he will himself just become a figure from history.
As to what Blatter's re-election means for football, here Press Association Sport's Martyn Ziegler briefly assesses what a victory for the 79-year-old means for football.
::The position of Russia and Qatar as hosts of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups will be protected despite the ongoing investigation.
::The FIFA World Cup final will remain a 32-team tournament - Prince Ali had promised to increase the tournament to 36 spots.
::There is a threat that the number of FIFA World Cup places for European nations will be cut.
::A period of real instability in football could ensue, with serious divisions between FIFA and the European governing body, UEFA.
::England will not bid for a FIFA World Cup while Blatter remains as FIFA president.
::European nations are unlikely to boycott FIFA tournaments - however, they may take action to snub FIFA committees and events.
::We can look forward to more 'handshakes for peace'.
