Claudio Ranieri’s Premier League story comes full circle on Sunday as he returns in triumph to Chelsea for the final fixture of title-winners Leicester City’s momentous and historic season.
Ranieri’s sacking by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in May 2004 set in motion a succession of managerial posts – at Valencia, Parma, Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan, Monaco and the Greek national team – that seemed to confirm his reputation as one of football’s eternal nearly men.
But Leicester’s 5 000-1 success has earned him sporting immortality and when he returns to the Stamford Bridge touchline, the 64-year-old Italian will do so as a hero.
“It is amazing,” Ranieri said. “I have been back there with Juventus in the Champions League, but this time is different because this time it is with Leicester, another English club.
“It is emotional. I hope my old fans are happy. When I came here, I said ‘The last match is at Chelsea. Wow.’ Now I come back as a champion. It’s a good story.”
Ranieri’s engaging character and gift for a soundbite made him a popular figure during the three and a half years he spent at Chelsea.
But his tactical tweaking earned him the nickname of ‘Tinkerman’ from the British media and despite four seasons of steady progress, culminating in a second-place finish in 2003-04, he was sacked because Abramovich reportedly felt that he could not win the league.
Nevertheless, he brought in some of the players who were to form the core of the team that would win back-to-back league titles under his successor, Jose Mourinho, blooding John Terry and notably signing Frank Lampard, Claude Makelele, Joe Cole and William Gallas.
It was Chelsea, ironically, whose 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur two weeks ago delivered the title to the King Power Stadium and as the minutes ticked down at Stamford Bridge, a chant of “There’s only one Ranieri!” echoed around the ground.
Leicester’s players will receive a guard of honour from their opponents when they take to the field, but regardless of the formalities, they still have milestones in sight.
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