Yes, you heard it right – Leicester City are champions of England! After fighting relegation for most of last season, the club has defied all odds as well as England's football giants to write one of the most inspiring football fairytales in history. We at Soccer Laduma are still in awe of Claudio Ranieri and his men's achievement, which is why we decided to honour them in this week's Editor's Column.
Jamie Vardy, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez are names that have been on our lips since the start of the season, but there is so much more to the Foxes' title-winning campaign than meets the eye. Leicester were bottom of the Premier League table on New Year's Day in 2015 with just 14 points. Now, one-and-a-half years later, they are deservedly champions of England. They collected 27 points between New Year and the end of the 2014/15 campaign to jump off the relegation train and were listed 5000 to 1 with the bookmakers to win the title this season. Betting experts believed it would be more feasible that Christmas would be the hottest day in England's frosty winter than Leicester coming out top of the Premier League table. And what's even more impressive is that Ranieri's men won the title with two games to spare.
In October 2002, Leicester went into administration with debts of £30 million (R630 million) and were only saved by a consortium led, in part, by former England international and ex-player Gary Lineker. Back in 2008/09 they were playing in League One – England's third tier. However, the Foxes have since risen like a phoenix from the ashes and written their names into the history books in one of the greatest David versus Goliath (multiple Goliaths in this case) stories in football history. Leicester's title win was confirmed on Monday evening when their closest rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, were unable to hold onto a 2-0 lead at Stamford Bridge to draw 2-2, meaning Spurs' young side ended game week 36 seven points behind Leicester. Dilly-ding, dilly-dong… like Ranieri said in a press conference after the dramatic victory was confirmed, Leicester have turned football upside down!
But their title win is one of many fairytale stories. Jamie Vardy, Leicester's key striker, who has netted 22 goals this season already, will reportedly have his own Hollywood movie made about his rise to glory, where he came from non-league football to winning a Premier League medal (something many stars like Steven Gerrard never achieved throughout their entire careers). That will surely be worth watching. Algerian Mahrez was playing second division football in France just two years ago and now has been named PFA Player of the Year. He is the first African to have achieved this. Even Claudio Ranieri's tale is something special. The 64-year-old was sacked by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in 2004, with the Russian boss allegedly suggesting the Italian would never win a league title. 12 years later and Ranieri will return to Stamford Bridge on the final day of the season to receive a guard of honor from dethroned Chelsea.
So what can South African clubs and Bafana Bafana learn from this fairytale? Simply, it is that the sky is not the limit! Leicester's triumph has proven that with hard work, dedication, belief, passion and teamwork one can outsmart any opposition, including big-money giants. Mpumalanga Black Aces have somewhat surprised the Absa Premiership this season, but in the end Mamelodi Sundowns or Bidvest Wits will decide the title between them. This season Leicester has been a team with no real superstars, yet are the first new English champions in 28 years, with the league having been dominated by Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers during that period. Surely Shakes Mashaba and his men are not considered such massive underdogs when it comes to African Cup of Nations qualifiers, or even World Cup qualifiers.
I believe the lesson here is that if we play our hearts out on the pitch, work harder than our opponents – both big and small – outthink opposition coaches and simply enjoy our football, maybe one day Bafana will be able to write a similar success story to Leicester City. Until then, take a moment to pay Leicester the credit they so richly deserve! And if you are ever looking for inspiration on the pitch, or for life in general, think back of the likes of Vardy, Mahrez and Ranieri, who defeated odds of 5000 to 1 to become champions for England!
