Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
When Leicester City won the Premier League earlier this year, it was hailed as a footballing miracle. Until last spring, it seemed as though the Premiership was now permanently dominated by a select few super-clubs, where success was self-perpetuating and major financial backing would always guarantee the best players, training facilities and so on.
Leicester City, a medium-sized provincial club, seemed to come from nowhere and embark on a run of giant-killing form that took them right to the top, it seemed like suddenly British football was being played on a level playing field again. Is this just a fanciful illusion that too many of us want to believe? Was the Foxes’ victory just a fluke, or are we entering an era when underdog teams will once more stand a chance of going head-to-head and even winning against the big-name sides?
Every dog has its day
The definition of an underdog is relative, of course. As 888sportsbetting points out, Leicester City won seven of their final nine matches in the 2014/15 season, ending up in 14th position in the Premiership. They weren’t entirely coming out of nowhere, and star scorer Jamie Vardy was already making waves. The idea that Leicester took on the likes of Manchester United without financial support is also somewhat simplistic, as the club is owned and generously funded by Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and has a state-of-the-art stadium and excellent training facilities.
Turning point
It’s generally agreed, however, that it was the appointment of manager Claudio Ranieri that was the turning point. Not initially a popular choice, the 64-year-old Italian was seen by some as a has-been leading a team of never-were’s. However, after quietly signing French unknown N’golo Kanté, he was determined to get the best from what he had, and his tactics and discipline united good players in a team that had the potential to be truly great.
Against the odds
Famously, Leicester’s chances of winning the Premiership were listed as 5,000/1 at one point and didn’t noticeably improve until well into their winning run. Using an old-fashioned 4-4-2 format, they wrong-footed their opposition by seeming to break all the rules of how to succeed in contemporary football. They eschewed the importance of possession for its own sake in favour of using the ball well when they had it, and generally fielded the same starting 11 time after time.
When the big teams did wise up to the serious threat that Leicester posed, it was too late. The top clubs had become complacent and were underperforming, whereas Leicester were hungry and had something to prove.
Next time
Could it happen again? The answer is yes, but probably not for some time to come. After all, the only comparable event in Premiership history is Blackburn Rovers’ 1994/95 win, and even they didn’t exactly come from nowhere – plus they had Alan Shearer in their side.
Everyone loves an underdog, with the possible exception of the bookies. Leicester’s win rejuvenated the Premiership as a whole, and justified its claim to be the most exciting league in the world. It showed that anything can happen, just when the contest was starting to seem a little stale. Just don’t expect a repeat performance any time soon.
