Leicester City's dream won't end in Madrid.

I am not a Leicester City Football Club fan, but I have followed their run from relegation survivors to Premier League champions like a hawk hovering its prey. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off them for a number of reasons; their underdog tag, their battler archetype, and their fighting grind. But when they face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final, the Foxes’ dream is finally at risk of coming to an end. 

Christian Fuchs celebrates the Foxes win over Sevilla.

Leicester’s decisive midfielder and last season’s Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year, Riyad Mahrez, suggested late last week that winning the Champions League was ‘impossible’. A fair suggestion given the clubs’ they would have to surpass to even get to the final. 

With Atletico their next hurdle, Leicester would be looking at tackling the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Monaco, Juventus, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, or Real Madrid should they move past the quarter-final stage. 

While Mahrez has no doubt played down his side’s chances of even progressing to the final four, he did pay recognition to what his side are capable of on their day. 

"We're capable of the best and the worst. We won the league last year when no-one believed in us, no-one expected us. This season, we're in the quarter-finals even though we're 14th, 15th in the Premier League,” the Algerian told SFR Sport. 

“We're a crazy team, we can do everything. We're capable of going I don't know where.”

It’s been just one month since the Leicester City owners made the difficult decision to cut ties with manager Claudio Ranieri following a shocking run of results. Down and out in 16^th place on the Premier League ladder, the Foxes had not won a League game since New Year’s Day; were barrelled out of the FA Cup against Millwall; and had just lost 2-1 away to Sevilla in the Champions League. 

A tremendously bold decision by the King Power hierarchy given the sentiment surrounding their 133-year wait for a title, but one that has now been vindicated. The Foxes have won all four matches since assistant Craig Shakespeare took over, and importantly, seem to have their mojo back. You know; that fearless fight, relentless aspiration, and never-say-die attitude. 

Against Sevilla, before Claudio Ranieri was sacked, something happened at halftime that led to Leicester returning more determined than they’d played all year. Jamie Vardy looked like the greyhound chasing a hare he can be when pressing the ball; and crucially, he broke a goal-scoring drought, providing much-needed confidence to himself and handing the Foxes a vital away goal. In the stands high above the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, Vardy’s goal also gave 2,500 travelling Leicester fans some hope. And that’s all they needed. 

Two weeks later when Sevilla arrived to the King Power Stadium in Leicester for the return leg, it was evident the fans had their mojo back. The atmosphere was labelled the best of the year, the players played like the team of old, two goals were put in the back of the net, and a quarter-final birth was secured. The King Power Stadium was buzzing. 

Leicester player celebrate after progressing to the Champions League final 8.

Following that night in Sevilla and with Ranieri sacked just a couple of days after, Leicester have gone on to embarrass Liverpool, put three through Hull and edge past West Ham. Furthermore, they’ve had seven different goal scorers across their four games. Vardy & Mahrez have also scored more than once, proving their attacking threat has resumed. 

Both actually look like themselves again; Vardy up to his usual antics of getting penalties and people sent off, Mahrez twisting and turning players inside out like a washing machine. The influence of goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel can not be undersold either, his performances over the last month have been nothing short of brilliant.

So when Leicester return from the international break to take on Stoke, Sunderland and Everton before they head to Vicente Calderón Stadium to take on Atletico in the Champions League, will they keep their form alive? 

The Vicente Calderón Stadium - No easy place to play.

If they can, they remain a realistic chance of keeping the dream alive. While Mahrez gave a grim outlook of their chances, make no mistake – Leicester can get past Atletico if they want to. It will come down to their desire, their belief and whether they refuse to give up. 

The Champions League is a knockout competition and teams can falter in a game and be out the back door the next. If Leicester turn up in Spain ready for a fight, anything could happen. Impossible is only a suggestion until it’s done, just like 5000-to-1 right? 

Bring on Thursday April 13, because the dream’s not dead.  

Foxes Never Quit.

Foxes Must Take Fearless Fight to Sevilla

Leicester City Football Club are again on the verge of creating world sporting history. Although this time it will be for acheiving the most amazing fall from grace ever. Premier League champions and unstoppable just under a year ago, to sitting two points outside relegation and unable to stop a slide so slippery even Claudio Ranieri’s tinkering can’t put a halt to.

Where has LCFC's spirit gone this season?

Having lost seven games out of their last 12 games in all competitions, and only won three from that same number, Leicester have dropped from sitting comfortably inside the Premier League top ten, to 16^th position and facing the likelihood of relegation. They were also cheaply knocked out of the FA Cup over the weekend by League One side Millwall.

Tonight, they head into the final 16 of the UEFA Champions League against Sevilla FC at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. While the Champions League has been a happy hunting ground for The Foxes, having topped their group and conceded only one goal in six games, their opponents in Spain present a formidable challenge.

What awaits the Foxes in Sevilla, Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium

Sevilla sit third on the La Liga ladder, having won 15 from 23 games and lost only four. They have developed further under new Argentinean coach Jorge Sampaoli this season and look well-placed to achieve their best La Liga finish in over a decade. Basically, they are in red-hot form.

Further compounding the difficulty of the task on Leicester’s hands is the fact Sevilla have form in big matches. Brilliant form, in fact. Europa League champions for the last three years running, Sevilla are used to playing under the bright lights and know how to strike and make it count.

The Foxes only have to look at how Liverpool were destroyed in the Europa League Final in Basel, Switzerland last year. Up by a goal after just 35 minutes, Liverpool looked set to go on and take the title that they had been building towards with some impressive victories throughout the tournament. The Reds knocked off Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Villareal before making the final and were carrying serious momentum. Sevilla had other ideas though, and cut Liverpool to pieces in the second half to take the title 3-1 winners.

So with Leicester competing so poorly in recent times, do they have any chance against SFC? The odds would suggest not.

Around 42,500 fans will cram into the Nervión ground tonight, and around 40,000 of them will be wearing red, white and yellow. Crucially, however, about 2,500 will not be.

Foxes' fans at Etihad Stadium against Manchester City in 2016.

And that is wear Leicester City must draw their inspiration from tonight. They can look at nothing else. Two-and-a-half-thousand’ of their fans will have made a 23-hour drive, 30-hour train trip, or 3-hour flight from the East Midlands to Spain, and they will be going there carrying something Claudio Ranieri’s side hast lost this season. Something they built their history-making campaign on last season – Fearlessness.

The fans carry belief. They carry hope. They carry determination. They carry the flag of the Fox. They carry what the players so desperately need to regain; a fighting spirit.

Not since their relegation escape of 2014/15 have Leicester’s backs been more up against the wall. Not since their dreams of 2015/16 became a chance have they needed to step-up to the plate more.

That is why Claudio Ranieri must ‘roll the dice’ in the south-west of Spain tonight and go all-out for a victory. Make no mistake, Leicester City cannot return to the King Power in three weeks with a goal deficit. A draw at least, will put them in prime position to push for the Champions League final 8, while a win could potentially inspire a late season survival charge.

Yes, Leicester lost their linchpin and in hindsight the key to their success in N'Golo Kanté at the start of this season, but he isn’t the reason they lost all the qualities that made them irresistible in 2015/16. That comes from within; within the team and within each individual.

Can Leicester recapture the spirit that led them to a maiden Premier League title?

Spearheading that group of individuals is none other than Jamie Vardy. His work ethic and determination tonight will be a signifier of what the team’s mentality and approach is.

"Anything short of a ruthless, greyhound-like effort from Vardy in Spain tonight will be unacceptable."

He optimizes the fight in The Foxes, and he, along with the rest of the team, owe a barnstorming and committed performance to those 2,500 fans at the ground tonight. They must have a take-no-prisoners approach, they’re not in Sevilla to make friends.

The odds are against them, but they were against them once before too.

2016: The Sporting Review

One year, 12 months, 366 days. What an incredible year in sport. Insane, even. 

2016 captivated the imagination of sports fans around the world. Drought-breaking, underdog, and resilient tales of success echoed around the globe’s codes and competitions. The constant theme uniting them all has been the ending of historic and long-held losing streaks. There’s never been a time like it. 

Consider that in just the four major American sports alone, two teams broke a combined 154 years of title droughts (MLB – Chicago Cubs, 108 years; NBA – Cleveland Cavaliers, 46 years). 

Across the Atlantic, Leicester rode football’s most unlikely fairy tale at yes, the odds of 5000 to 1. A feat as unlikely to occur again as it ever was in the first place. 

Champions of England, Leicester City.

Closer to home, the Western Bulldogs ended a 62-year wait in the AFL, while in the NRL, Cronulla finally turned off the porch light after 49 years in the competition. Both Australian premierships doing wonders for the rusted-on and long-serving fans of the game. 

On the international scene, the Rio Olympic Games came and went without the much anticipated fuss the world thought the first South-American location would bring. Star of the show Usain Bolt completed a trio of victories in the Men’s 100m, 200m, and 4 x 100m relays to claim all three gold medals for the third Olympics in a row.

Just sit back for a minute and reflect on what that represents in the context of historic places in sport. What a moment in time. While there are many champions and phenomenal achievements this year, it is impossible to not hand Bolt the title of sportsperson of the year. 

Bolt first, daylight second.

Moving back to team games, and specifically to Euro 2016 football championships. The surprising efforts of minnow nations Wales and Iceland surpassed any of the big-guns who simply didn’t fire. Wales, backed by an enduring team-spirit to honor their late manager and a group of players who thrived on their national pride, took themselves to the semi-finals after topping their group through sheer commitment and will, along with the right-foot of Gareth Bale. 

But they eventually ran into Bale’s teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who led Portugal all the way to the final. There they faced France, winning in the most bizarre fashion after Ronaldo limped off early into the game, leaving the world’s best player unable to captain his side to a victory from the field. But, taking it in their stride, Portugal threw off the one-man team perception of them, coming away with a 1-nil extra-time win. Their first major tournament win ever. 

The NRL proved once again, that it is the media’s gift that just keeps on giving, with more scandals, controversies and unpredictable events than ever before. The year began with Mitchell Pearce enjoying Australia Day with a feline friend, moved to Parramatta showing they are the most-dysfunctional club in history, and a betting scandal unfolding that put every Tom, Dick and Harry at the center of. 

It is truly hard to believe sometimes how this sport continues to roll-on through everything uppercut it gives itself. By the end of the season though, the soap-opera somehow always seems to have its football push all the negatives to the side. 

The Robbie Farah farewell, Jarryd Hayne’s return that came with the ‘This is my house’ match-winning field goal, Dane Gagai’s Origin hat-trick, Ricky’s Raiders bringing new Glory Days to Canberra along with their spine-tingling Viking Clap, Penrith’s emergence as the best young-side in the comp, Melbourne’s everlasting and assured success deep into September, and last but not least, Cronulla’s Grand Final victory.

The Sharks celebrate after Ben Barba opens the scoring in the 2016 NRL Grand Final.

In sport, they say there is no better story than a comeback story, and if Cronulla’s meteoric rise to the competition’s highest rank isn’t the comeback of the year, then I’m Miles Davis. Just Two years after going through a near club-destroying drugs scandal, Shane Flanagan and the Sharks fought off their rivals to have the best season in the club’s history. It was their time to win it, but it certainly wasn’t easy. 

They almost lost Ben Barba after a mid-year punch up against Sosaia Feki, could have been without Andrew Fifita following his run-in with public criticism, and had to win in Canberra without inspirational skipper Paul Gallen. 

But the two people that brought the Sharks the stability and steadiness they needed to go to the next level were Michael Ennis and Lyall Gorman. Ennis, the side’s hooker provided the competitiveness, confidence, and guidance the team so desperately lacked. In Gorman, the club’s CEO, the Sharks became a club that looked, acted, and smelt-like a professional organisation. 

Congratulations Cronulla, comeback of the year.  

Despite all the crazy triumphs that 2016 brought, there was nothing that brought world sport to the ground more than Leicester City’s English Premier League title win. Every week, every game, every goal, every moment, fans road Leicester’s journey from the start to the end. 

Their success did more for football and the business that sport has become than anything else in the past decade. It gave hope, to every team, coach, player and fan out there, that sport is still a game. 

It can still be won against the odds. No matter the price-tag or the cost of an opposing line-up; hard-work, grit, determination, teamwork, togetherness, fearlessness, and a fighting spirit can still produce a miracle. And that is exactly what Leicester City’s 2016 win was, a sporting miracle. 

Could there ever have been a more wild ride as a fan than the Foxes journey?

A 132-year wait for a title conquest that was built on everything described, and an unbreakable amount of belief combined with a momentum and resilience never seen before. Foxes Never Quit. 

Sports team of the year, Leicester City Football Club.

What a twelve months, what a time to be alive.

Long live the year of the drought-breakers.

But bring on 2017!

The team that never quit.

Before players walk out onto the field at Leicester City’s home ground – King Power Stadium – they walk through a set of double-doors with three simple words written above them; Foxes Never Quit. A brief and often overlooked motto for the opposition, but not for the Leicester City class of 2015/16. They are a powerful and ingrained message that has driven the belief behind their entire, incredible Premier League-winning season.

The final message before entering the King Power Stadium.
Image: LCFC.com

But it was not this season that the current crop of Leicester City players learnt how to never give up. For that, you have to look back to the end of the 2014/15 season. With nine games left to play, they looked to be dead and buried. Certain for relegation and headed for The Championship.

Not so. Then coach, Nigel Pearson, led the side through a relegation escape almost half as crazy as this season. It was then, that Leicester City learnt how to fight; how to scrap; how to play desperate. They went on a run – winning seven out of nine games – to narrowly avoid the drop to obscurity. Their season finished with a belief-instilling 5-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers. Belief that they would be quickly called upon come the 2015/16 season.

When Claudio Ranieri took over from Nigel Pearson in the summer, he was given one goal by the club’s owners. Avoid relegation. So he set a target: 38 points. The touted number that would ensure survival for another year. In what now looks like a masterstroke, Ranieri had a clause inserted into his contract that would have him pocket an extra £100,000 pounds for every position Leicester finished above 17^th. A salary bonus that no man could now be more deserving of than the 64-year-old Italian.

The appointment of Ranieri to the club was seen as a backwards step by some, with many of the club’s greats snarling at the news. Every footballing pundit in the world had them penned in to finish in the bottom three, with relegation not only predicted but expected. The bookies, as we now know, had them listed at 5000-1 to win the title. More likelihood of Elvis being found alive they said. No one gave them a hope.

Ranieri has taken Leicester and himself to a maiden major title.
Image: TheSun.co.uk

But Ranieri went about his business. He knew he had a good base to work with; a side that had shown they could play and that had a hunger inside them when it was called upon. Identifying the side’s strengths and weaknesses can be a point of achievement for the veteran manger, but playing a full season based upon them without changing the tactics – when he had long been known as ‘The Tinkerman’ for a history of changing his line-ups – can be heralded as the greatest move in his long managerial career.

But to chart the course of Leicester’s outrageous season, you can’t look past the progress of their title aspirations on a month-by-month basis.

In October, a dream was born.

In November, a thought stemmed.

In December, a consideration pondered.

In January, a hope lingered.

In February, a belief grew strong.

In March, a prospect rose.

In April, a probability beckoned.

In May, a dream became a reality.

Or maybe that’s looking too broadly, maybe you have to take the game-by-game approach that Ranieri adopted. With his side on the verge of changing footballing history, the manger continued to reiterate that the club would not be looking any further ahead than the next match. And how it worked.

Over the course of the season, Leicester beat long-standing heavyweights: Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City. Many have said their best work was in the games that they didn’t lose. Drawing with Arsenal, Manchester United and swagger of others.

Opening their season with a 4-2 win over Sunderland at home, we saw a glimpse of what we never knew was to come. A magical performance that built from their form of the previous season. A highly-spirited team display.

Then came the come-from-behind 2-2 draw with Southampton on Day 9 when Vardy played possessed with passion. Mahrez’s crafty double in the 3-2 win against West Brom on Day 11 in the derby.

Who can forget Vardy’s record-breaking goal against Manchester United on Day 14 back in November? With the weight of expectation, Vardy displayed the coolness that would be representational of his season at large when he scored for the 11^th consecutive game. The goal itself a representation of Leicester’s deadly pet-play of the long ball to the nifty striker.

A week later Mahrez and Vardy were at their best, in an assist-filled class act that saw them down Swansea 3-0 away on Day 15. In reality it should have been five or six such was their efforts.

They didn't do it on their own, but they'll sure be remembered for it.
Image: Express.co.uk

They backed-it-up the following week with a goal each against the defending-premiers Chelsea to light up the King Power Stadium on Day 16.

Vardy’s absolute screamer formed part of his double against Liverpool on Day 24 when they took down Jurgen Klopp’s supposed re-born side.

But don’t think it was just the Vardy & Mahrez show, towering defender Robert Huth bagged a brace in a 3-1 win over Manchester City on their own turf. That was Day 25 and when things really got serious for The Foxes.

They lost just one game since. A reality-checking but fighting defeat to Arsenal at The Emirates. Oh what a bump in the road that now seems.

All up, 13 players have scored for Leicester this season. With Leonardo Ulloa and Shinji Okazaki the best complements to Vardy (22) and Mahrez’s (17) combined 39.

However, on Day 34 of the Premier League season against West Ham United, a red card to star-striker Jamie Vardy look to have put a jolted-halt to their unbelievable momentum.

When referee John Moss delivered the red card to Vardy, not only did he secure a key-place in the Hollywood blockbuster in the years to come, he delivered a knife through Leicester City fans’ hearts. That knife was twisted and turned when Andy Carroll and Aaron Cresswell put West Ham in front just 20 minutes later.

But in a reflection of just how crazy Leicester City’s season has been, they were handed a 94^th minute injury-time penalty by the man who once looked like the only way he would ever leave the midlands city was in a six-foot casket.

When Andy Carroll bumped Jeffrey Schlupp at the corner of the box without even attempting to play at the ball, he effectively saved Leicester City’s title chances. Or maybe that gong belongs to referee Moss for blowing the mere square-up penalty?

No, it deserves to go to Leicester City the team, because a champion team needs people to stand up when others can’t. It needs people who can react when called upon, who are humble and content enough to simply play their role – however small that may be. And that’s what Leonardo Ulloa did when he stepped forth to take the pressure-engulfing penalty in the absence of Vardy. It’s what he’s done all season when called upon by Ranieri. A team-man, in a team full of men who are all about nothing but the team.

They played for each other, with passion and pride.
Image: Leicester City Mercury.

If Leicester City don’t get that 94^th minute penalty against West Ham and Ulloa doesn’t drive that ball into the back of the net, Tottenham would still be in the race for the title today.

But then you could say that about the draw Leicester scrapped home with against Aston Villa, or the 89^th minute winner and only goal of the game that got them home against Norwich.

Perhaps the most intriguing story of the journey is how when early in the season a frustrated Claudio Ranieri offered a reward to his players before the Day 10 match against Crystal Palace. The gentle manager had become increasingly fed-up with his players letting in as many goals as they scored, so he set them a task to not let in a goal. Score as many as you like, just don’t let one in. If they did, he would shout them all Pizza. A reward for the players and a favourite cuisine for the former Juventus, Roma, and Internazionale gaffer.

When the players lived up to the challenge, the manager made good on his word. Except there was one catch; they would not be delivered the pizza’s, they would have to make them themselves. In a team-bonding session that no doubt formed part of the close bond they built throughout the season, the players headed to a local pizza shop in Leicester Square where Ranieri had pre-arranged for the playing group to mix and throw the dough.

Which is where this story completes itself; food.

While the players were quite literally enjoying Jamie Vardy having a party when they watched Chelsea bury Spurs hopes of a maiden Premier League title and make fruition of their own, Ranieri was back in Italy having dinner with his mum. Bless him.

In a true-showing of both his quirkiness and grounded-sense of decency, Ranieri refused to watch the Tottenham match and instead chose to fly back to Italy and enjoy some time with the one that has loved him the most. But that will all change next Saturday when 32,262 Leicester City fans watch his side lift the Premier League trophy for the first time in the club’s 153-year existence.

Bravo, Claudio; Bravo, Leicester; and Bravo to the best sports story we’ve ever known.

From the side that never, ever quit. The Foxes.

Vardy & The Foxes.

Leicester City Football Club has charged through the 2015 season with Jamie Vardy leading the way.

Leicester City last night continued their run of form when they took down Swansea City three goals to nil at Liberty Stadium in Wales. Their man-of-the-moment, and striker, Jamie Vardy, once again spearheaded the line-up. The win will be just one in a list of many this season, but it was another three points for the Foxes, and in the end that’s all that will count. The record-breaking streak of goals by Vardy came to a close, and while everyone would have loved it to continue, it will likely be a good thing for Leicester as a team that it’s finished.

For all of Vardy’s accomplishments during his prodigious rise from obscurity, he has managed to maintain a real sense of humility and an acute awareness that team achievements come before his own. Ironic, when you consider that after scoring against Manchester United last weekend - and claiming the Premier League goal-scoring streak record - Vardy ran to the sidelines of King Power Stadium and professed to the Foxes’ fans that he was the man. “I am the man,” he screamed; whilst passionately pointing to his own chest.

A week later with the knowledge of having the opportunity to equal an English League all-time record that was set in the 1930’s, Vardy played the team part. He wasn’t ‘The Man’ as he was a week earlier; he was simply one man, in a side of eleven who were at Swansea to continue their hot run of form. This can be no more evidenced than Vardy’s pass to teammate, Riyad Mahrez, in the 67^th minute. This is the teammate who had blown a clear opportunity to set Vardy up for a goal in the first half. Despite receiving the ball inside the box and within striking range, Vardy didn’t hesitate, passing straight to Mahrez without a second thought. A team pass, an unselfish play. It was now three-zip to Leicester, and a guaranteed victory.  Another three points secured along with first spot on the Premier League ladder. A position no one in their right mind thought this side could be.

At the start of the season they had come off a tumultuous summer of hiring’s and firing’s, made a managerial appointment that many groaned at, and were predicted by many to occupy the depths of the premiership ladder. But somehow they have become momentous, clearing anything in their path. Their presence in the top-spots was weeks ago thought of as a fluke, written off as an easy-draw, a position they were not worthy of and would eventually lose. But The Foxes now lead the competition. To put that in perspective, they are now six points clear of fifth place Tottenham. Furthermore, they are just six points shy of their ‘season-goal’ of 38 points with 23 games left to play. Incredible.

With Chelsea’s early season fall from grace, there was always going to be a spot for someone to fill at the top end of the table. There were some upsets in the early rounds that gave you the impression a team from left-field might occupy a higher than usual spot, but who would have thought it would be Leicester City?

With four rounds left to play in 2015, Leicester have the opportunity to head into the New Year having reached their season goal and with the world at their feet. Literally, keep kicking goals and who knows how far they could go. The next four games coming up see them facing heavyweights in Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester City. If Claudio Ranieri can push the side to take six points from those four matches, then Leicester can be seriously considered as a genuine chance of upsetting the status quo at season’s end. Pleeeeeeeeease, I hear you say. But why can’t they? Man-City can’t string a line of form together, Arsenal are having draw’s with teams they should demolish, Man-United can’t score a goal, and Chelsea are, well, Chelsea.

Barring injuries or self-destruction, there is no reason why The Foxes can’t keep progressing. Keeping a lid on it all will be a challenge for Claudio, but so far the side seems to not be getting ahead of themselves. Last night against Swansea they should have been up by five midway through the match, and although leading, it would have been easy for them to get frustrated at themselves and each other for the rued chances, but they were able to stay calm and keep sight of their team priorities.

Clean, quick, and sharp passes are how Leicester cut the opposition up. Speed, counter-attacking and a little bit of flared risk are how they put sides to bed. They are a ruthless, determined, and hungry bunch of men who aren’t scared of anybody. They’ll need all that fearlessness they have about them in the next month of football, but what a truly inspiring story they have become. Invigorating a league that has been historically dominated by the clubs with the most money and setting alight the competition with something completely unexpected and out of the ordinary.

Go The Foxes.