When Claudio Ranieri was named Leicester manager last summer it was not a hiring that was met with widespread applause. In fact many pundits criticized the hiring of Ranieri over Martin O’Neill and Guus Hiddink.
One former Leicester legend not impressed with the hire was Gary Lineker who had this to say on Twitter:
Former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp also announced his surprise at the appointment tweeting:
Tony Cottee, who played for the Foxes between 1997-2000, said he is ‘astonished’ by the appointment.
The knock on Ranieri was that despite a great CV that included stints at Juventus, Inter Milan, Roma and Monaco, was that he was not a winner, That previously he had won two trophies in the last 15 years – the UEFA Super Cup with Valencia in 2004 and Ligue 2 with Monaco in 2012–13.
Claudio Ranieri has answered his critics in the best possible way. By doing the unthinkable and winning the Premier League title with the Foxes.
No longer will Ranieri be the ‘tinker man’. Now he will be remembered as a Premier League champion. As the manager who oversaw the biggest upset in sports history. And suddenly that CV looks a little better than it did last summer!