Gary Cahill gave Chelsea a lifeline just before the hour, however, and substitute Eden Hazard’s superb 83rd-minute equalizer ended Spurs’ slim title hopes to the delight of Leicester and their former Chelsea manager, Italian Claudio Ranieri.
Advertisement
O’Neill, previously City’s most successful boss having led them to two League Cup victories, saluted Claudio Ranieri’s outsiders for proving romanticism still exists in football: “It is absolutely extraordinary”, he said. “It’ll be interesting to see next year again”.
Ranieri replaced Nigel Pearson last summer and first met the Leicester squad on their pre-season training camp in Austria.
Bookmaker Sky Bet said it paid out £4.6 million (S$9 million) to punters who picked Leicester to win the title, with 128 putting money on the team at the 5,000-1 odds. “Maybe in one or two years it will be easier to understand, but now it is important to stay high in the world”. “I am the Thinkerman, not Tinkerman”, he added in reference to the old nickname he earned during his days in charge of Chelsea when squad rotation was one of his traits.
“Now the second team in Italy is Leicester”.
Andrea Bocelli is taking time out from his worldwide tour to perform in Leicester.
However, the revenue from competing in next season’s Champions League will help Leicester’s bid to retain them.
“Now I am happy to plan my next football and think about 1 July to come back here and prepare for the new season”.
The Everton captain is now sidelined by a hamstring problem but is on track to return for the final match of the Barclays Premier League season against Norwich next weekend.
“Yes, one of the best”. After that, even if we get relegated and we’re in the Conference in 10 years, I won’t care.
“So I have a little love with this fairytale”.
With the Premier League a global sporting phenomenon, attracting billions of pounds in television rights deals, Leicester’s triumph has been followed worldwide.
Advertisement
There were then some larks with a Vardy look-alike, while captain Wes Morgan got into the spirit of things by buying drinks for some 55 punters at a bar in the city. It hasn’t sunk in yet. It was a long night celebrating and I am feeling a bit drained at the moment. There were a few tears.
