Lecester wins Premier League: Ranieri's spectacular revenge

What people think of Claudio Ranieri is a coach who has only won two trophies in the past 30 years. Now, the Italian strategist can think of a change when the opportunity to win the Premier League is very close.

The nickname “The Tinker” stuck with Ranieri when he frequently rotated his squad during his time at Chelsea. Later, this strategist was also called “The Walking Dead” when the Stamford Bridge team raised the issue with Jose Mourinho.

No longer worth laughing at

When Leicester appointed the 64-year-old last summer, Gary Lineker, a former player, was unhappy with the job, using one adjective: “uninspired”. Another former player, Tony Cottee, said it was a gamble.

Now, things have changed. Ranieri is no longer a tinkerer, with Leicester’s success this season based on a relatively unchanged squad. He will not be a walking corpse, with his value rising significantly along with the journey to the Champions League next season.

And his players, Jamie Vardy, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez, have been nothing short of inspirational. They have flourished under Ranieri, and the Italian's calm style has helped Leicester ease the pressure in one of the craziest Premier League title races in history.

After disappointment comes the peak

Ranieri’s managerial career has been a strange one. He has had 16 different jobs in 30 years, with a long list of big names such as Napoli, Roma, Inter, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and many failures. The low point of his career was Greece’s defeat to the Faroe Islands.

Yet Vichai's decision to appoint Ranieri was a wise one. First of all, the 64-year-old is very adaptable. Having worked in France, Italy, Spain, Greece and England, he had no trouble getting the job done at the King Power Stadium. Ranieri's vast experience was enough to help his players overcome the shock of Pearson's departure. Instead of making his own mark, Ranieri sought to gain the confidence of his players before making any changes. Defender Fuchs shared: "Before the season, Ranieri rarely oversaw everything. He just gave us suggestions and ideas about his philosophy to help us play better."

Leicester started the season with a 4-2 win over Sunderland, then went unbeaten in their first seven games of the season. After a 5-2 defeat to Arsenal, Ranieri's men went on a 10-game unbeaten run. That's the form of a champion.

In Italy, Ranieri was considered a second-rate coach. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t talented. At Leicester, Ranieri dared to make Kante, a relatively unknown player, the key figure in midfield, instead of Gokhan Inler, a star who had played for Udinese and Roma. If the first half of the season was marked by the attack, Ranieri strengthened the defense in the second half, with pillars like Wes Morgan and Kasper Schmeichel.

In November 2014, Ranieri was considered an unlucky choice for the Greek national team. Now, he is a lucky name for Leicester.

According to thethaovanhoa