“Chase your dreams, dreams do come true”
The rise of Leicester city, who by this time last year were struggling to stay in the premier league, is one that proves that dreams do come true.
Managed by former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri, Leicester City have broken the myth that only money can buy you success in football. In a season where the defending champions struggled to even make a top 10 finish and the other so-called ‘Big 4’ struggled to maintain consistency, Leicester City not only made full of their chances but also proved why the Premier League is the best league in the world.
The Foxes, were made a 5,000 to 1 title contenders in the pre-season. Ranieri was tasked with avoiding relegation at the start of the season as the Leicester board had an eye on the new Premier League TV deals which will see the team at the top of the league pocketing a lucrative 150 million pounds a year. Call it the genius of Ranieri or the passion of the players, it is a scenario which not even the most ardent fans of the Foxes could possibly have imagined just a few months ago.
Leicester City is an example of the drastic change in the English Premier League. Just thirteen years ago, they were on the verge of bankruptcy, with no hope for the future. Whereas they were playing in League One just six years back. Survival in the top flight wasn’t an easy task last season as well, it took seven wins in the last nine games to guarantee another year in the top division.
This season is being considered as a fluke by some, owing to the surge in the form of the Vardy-Mahrez duo, but the fact is that last year these two were also special. The run of form that Leicester showcased at the end of last season is proof enough of the potential this squad has. The form that the Leicester players displayed in the last nine matches must have had a positive impact on their confidence and put in a belief in them that they belong in the Premier League, and that they are just as good as their opponents if not better.
Non-rich club ownership was not an issue for Leicester as the club owners are billionaires, but the club never had an opportunity to go all out on a spending-spree, the sheer amount of passion showed by the players, good players performing like world class players, sticking to the basics and making the most of what was provided has been the difference between the top-dogs and this charismatic small club.
The three top performers were all bought at throwaway prices with Jamie Vardy being bought for £1 million when the Foxes were in the Championship and Riyad Mahrez costing the club just £400,000 while the never tiring N’Golo Kante was bought for £5.6 million.
Since the start of this seasons campaign Leicester City have looked like a team on a mission, a team of so-called average players, some of whom were football nobody’s till a couple of years back, for a team with average players achieving all that they have is a remarkable, and if they win the Premier League title this club and these players would have written their names in history forever.