Cast your mind back to July 13th last year when Claudio Ranieri was named Leicester City manager. A lot of people, me included, thought it was a strange appointment considering he'd had such a bad spell in charge of Greece. It was also 11 years since he had managed in the Premier League but the 64 year old has made fools of so many of us who thought they would be in another relegation scrap.
Ranieri has always been a likeable character but up until now he had never won a top division league title despite going close on a few occasions. Nigel Pearson kept Leicester up last season with an incredible run of seven wins from their last nine games but the club decided to get rid of him, stating that the working relationship between Nigel and the Board was no longer viable.
Esteban Cambiasso left the club just a week after Ranieri was appointed but N'Golo Kante was brought in and what a signing he has proved to be. Leicester's head of recruitment Steve Walsh had some convincing to do before the Kante signing was given the green light and I think the French midfielder turned out to be their most important player this season. Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy have both picked up awards but Kante was my player of the season. He covered so much ground that he allowed Leicester's 4-4-2 formation to flourish and at times it seemed there was more than one Kante on the pitch.
Leicester were unbeaten in their first six games but then they were on the receiving end of a 5-2 defeat against Arsenal at the King Power Stadium at the end of September. That was the only time they conceded more than two goals in a game and I think it changed the mindset of Ranieri. The Italian was so desperate to stop conceding goals that he told his players he'd take them for pizza if they kept a clean sheet. The Foxes beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in their tenth league game of the season to get their first clean sheet and the players were taken out for some pizza.
Jamie Vardy has scored 22 league goals this season and when he put Leicester ahead against Manchester United at the end of November that was the 11th game in a row he found the net. Riyad Mahrez was equally as impressive in front of goal and he scored a hat-trick away to Swansea the following week. Leicester were showing no signs of a drop off in form and they beat Chelsea 2-1 in their next game which also proved to be Jose Mourinho's last match in charge. Leicester were so impressive that night that a lot of people were starting to think maybe they are title contenders. When they followed that up with a 3-2 win away to Everton it meant that Leicester would spend Christmas on top of the league 12 months after they were bottom. Leicester's title success means that six of the last seven sides that have spent Christmas at the top have gone on to win the league.
A 1-0 loss away to Liverpool on St. Stephen’s Day raised more questions about their durability but Robert Huth's late winner away to Tottenham got Leicester back on track. They showed that night that they were able to dig in and defend which they did for the rest of the season. Jamie Vardy scored his best goal of the campaign against Liverpool in early February a few days before they won at Manchester City and it was the day at the Etihad that they convinced most they could win the league. I was a believer now and even more so after the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal. I was very impressed with the way they played at the Emirates on Valentine’s Day and they could have got something from the game if it wasn't for a late Danny Welbeck goal or the Danny Simpson red card early in the second half.
Ranieri produced a masterclass in talking his side down week after week as they kept grinding out 1-0 wins, starting with the late win over Norwich. Leonardo Ulloa's late goal shook the King Power and yet we still had our doubts that Leicester could actually win the league. The Foxes had the advantage of playing before Tottenham most weekends and they continued to lay down a marker for their title rivals who did their best to match them until Tony Pulis and West Brom threw a spanner in the works. Leicester had beaten Swansea 4-0 the day before and just a few days before that Ranieri finally admitted his side could win the league.
Tottenham's trip to Stamford Bridge was always going to be tricky considering Spurs haven't won there since 1990 and it was on the back of Leicester's 1-1 draw at Manchester United. It was all going according to plan for the chasers but Chelsea produced one of their best performances of the season last night, especially in the second half.
Leicester's success this season has to go down as one of the greatest achievements in sport, never mind football. There have been plenty of comparisons to the Nottingham Forest title winning team in 1977-78 but I always think it's hard to compare when you think how the game has changed down the years. However I do agree with Claudio Ranieri that this season is a one-off but it's one we'll never forget. Leicester will have to contend with European football next season and greater expectation but what player wouldn't want to be part of that. It will be hard not to have a smile on your face when Wes Morgan lifts the Premier League trophy on Saturday night.
