Claudio Ranieri used to be one of the best losers. Best because he was still a good manager, but loser because he hasn’t won any title in a top tier across Europe until Leicester City came and offered him a job. He is the living proof that nice guys don’t always finish last. Sometimes they finish first and in a spectacular way.
You can imagine how many times Claudio Ranieri’s teams have failed bettors when they were placing ‘To Win Title’ bets. However, this year Ranieri made up for all of those loses. There were reports that some bettors made up to £100,000 from betting on Leicester City. They would rather play blackjack for free with these bonuses than bet on Ranieri. With Leicester’s win bookmakers faced £25 million in payouts to sports bettors.
When Ranieri took the job at Leicester last summer, Harry Redknapp was in shock to say the least. He sent lots of negative feedback on Leicester’s decision to employ Ranieri, who had a very bad run with Greece months prior to that which culminated with a humiliating loss against Faroe Islands. Now he admitted that he was wrong.
Even Tony Cottee, the former Leicester City striker expressed astonishment and was skeptical with the appointment of Ranieri. He predicted that he would be gone by Christmas… and he was so wrong. Gary Lineker, who was Leicester’s best and most loved forward until Jamie Vardy, was another expert that doubted the Italian’s credentials, whose career was a real rollercoaster. Mourinho too had a go at belittling Ranieri. He called him yesterday’s man when he defeated Roma then led by Ranieri and grabbed the Serie A title as a manager of Internazionale in front of his nose.
A year after the charming 64-year old Leicester City mastermind took over the team’s helm, one of the best fairytales was written in the history of football. He managed to prove to a horde of sceptics that he was the right choice and made them admire him with all the due respect.
In reality, Ranieri’s resume was filled with achievements, but all of them overshadowed by near-misses. He was unlucky to be the one to lay the foundation for other managers to claim the credit with the teams that he managed. But that will no longer happen, because now he has the chance to create an Empire with Leicester City, a team that never had much fame in its 132 years of history.
Now his unshakable bond with the players at King Power Stadium and his good grace has earned him the respect from his critics. Ranieri recognised the foundation set by his predecessor Nigel Pearson who despite saving Leicester from relegation was sacked, and built down his own structure which included team spirit and fitness regime.
This was wise of him instead of tinkering with the team as he used to do with his previous teams, which earned him the nickname “The Tinkerman”. His interventions were spot on and very decisive. He made the team strong in the defense and lightning quick in the attack. On top of that, he perfectly judged the team’s psychology, he kept everything simple, lift the pressure and focused every time on the next game. He made teamwork fashionable again, just like Diego Simeone did in Atletico Madrid.
This is huge considering the £200m-plus gulf in value between Leicester City and the elite like Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea. The Premier League finishing positions are historically linked with huge wage bills. But, instead of relying on players that cost as much as the entire team, Leicester City relied on Robert Huth, a journeyman in the Premier League, and unsung heroes such as Kante, Vardy, Mahrez and Drinkwater.
A great deal in this fairytale has played the owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, a billionaire that invested wisely in the team’s infrastructure. This ensured the progress of the team as a whole. Ranieri himself said that his jaw dropped when he arrived at the club’s grounds and saw all the work done there. Together they wrote one of the biggest success stories.
