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Unless Tottenham Hotspur upset the applecart, then Leicester City are on the verge of completing a modern football fairytale. This time last season, the Foxes were battling hard under Nigel Pearson to earn their Premier League survival.
Having been given his marching orders in the off-season, maligned Italian manager Claudio Ranieri was handed the reigns. Not only has the veteran tapped into the team spirit that saw Leicester stay in the league, but his tactical nous, sense of humor and experience is guiding the club to unchartered territory.
This run atop the richest league in the globe defies all logic. For years the English Premier League dictated table position according to wage bill, commercial dealings and historical precedent. Put simply, the disparity between the haves and have not’s meant this run was not supposed to happen under any circumstance.
Star players Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, Danny Drinkwater and N’Golo Kante emerged from the backwaters of European football, plying their trades in second divisions throughout competitions that the major scouting networks fly over on route to something grander. Stalwart defenders Robert Huth and Wes Morgan are throwbacks to a different time, when center-halves tackled and headed their way out of trouble.
2015/16 is a perfect storm coming together at the best of times. Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have all faltered badly and were it not for a great run of form under Mauricio Pochettino for Spurs, then this title race would already be over.
But where does it rank among the sport’s greatest fairytales? Are they truly comparable? Taking a look back in time, it is hard to build a case for an achievement that would usurp a Leicester City EPL title.
10. Senegal 2002
Without any pedigree on the world stage to speak of, Senegal’s stunning run to the quarter-finals stage at World Cup 2002 is one of the great soccer underdog stories. Shocking France 1-0 in their opening encounter, the African nation took out Sweden in the round of 16 with a group of players mostly based in France’s Ligue 1.
9. Cameroon 1990
Emerging from pot 1 in the draw of Italy 1990, Cameroon went against all the odds by conquering Argentina to open proceedings before toppling the might of the Soviet Union in their group. Roger Milla came out of retirement to star for the team, inspiring a continent on course to the quarter-finals where they were undone by England. Such was their success, FIFA decided to grant their confederation CAF another qualification spot largely due to their efforts.
8. FC Steau Bucharest 1986
There was a time when the UEFA Champions League, formerly known as the European Cup, was not held to the whims of a cartel of mega clubs and global brands. Romanian champions FC Steau Bucharest had beaten modest opposition in the form of Anderlecht, Lahti and Budapest Honved on route to the 1986 final, but were expected to be swept aside in Seville against Barcelona. Yet the Blaugrana could not penetrate against a stubborn defense and completely bottled the shootout with Helmuth Duckadam preventing any Barca player from scoring.
7. Wigan Athletic FA Cup
Roberto Martinez could not do enough to see the Latics drop from the English Premier League in 2013, but managed to grab the sizeable consolation prize that was the FA Cup in the process. The Spaniard took the highly unfancied outfit into the Wembley final against the might of Manchester City, playing the better football before snatching it at the death courtesy of a Ben Watson flick-on. It was the final death nail for City manager Roberto Mancini whilst proving enough to give Martinez another top-flight job with Everton.
6. Denmark Euro 1992
Similar in some respects to the Leicester story, Denmark weren’t even supposed to be there. With Yugoslavia fighting a war, they cancelled their participation at Euro 1992, handing Denmark a chance to try their hand in Sweden. Scraping through the group stage with a 2-1 win over France, the Danes went on a run to beat the Netherlands on penalties before stunning Germany 2-0 in the final.
5. Greece Euro 2004
No one in their right minds gave Greece a hope to win at Portugal in 2004. With only two other tournament qualifications in their history leading in, the small nation defeated the hosts 2-1 in the group stage to give them an opening. Three successive 1-0 victories followed, first in the Quarter Finals against France, the Semi Finals against the Czech Republic and hosts Portugal again in the Final.
4. Western Sydney Wanderers Asian Champions League
In the space of two years, the Western Sydney Wanderers went from a concept of a club to the champions of Asia. Formed in 2012 as part of the domestic A-League competition’s expansion plans, the red and black club quickly utilized on their 1st place finish in 2013 to qualify for the Asian Champions League at the first time of asking. With a team largely consisting of players deemed unworthy of making other A-League teams, Tony Popovic oversaw wins against the likes of Ulsan Hyundai, Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Chinese powerhouse Guangzhou Evergrande, FC Seoul and Al-Hilal in a two-legged final. Along the journey, the team bus was interfered with and players were deliberately deprived of sleep in their hotel rooms. No one saw it coming.
3. Hellas Verona 1985 Serie A Title
Arguably drawing the greatest parallel to the story of the 2015/16 Leicester City fairytale, Italian minnows Hellas Verona backed up a stunning 6th place finish in 1984 to snatch the Scudetto from powerhouse clubs like Milan, Napoli, Inter and Juventus. With a record of 15 wins, 13 draws and 2 defeats, the small club had conquered the odds with a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.
2. Nottingham Forest’s European Cup Double
Before Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, there was Brian Clough. The cocky Yorkeshirman lifted Nottingham Forest from 13th in England’s second tier to champions of England and consecutive champions of the European Cup. The 1979 victory over Malmo was followed by a win over Hamburg, completing one of the most remarkable turnarounds in sport and arguably the greatest achievement in the game. Clough’s Forest came from obscurity to the top of the European mountain, but was that team up against the talent that is consistently on show in the EPL?
1. Leicester City 2015/16
What favors Leicester is that their potential achievement is in a league format, having to play almost every team home and away, whilst combating mega-wealthy clubs armed with the richest talent money can buy. The Verona side played 30 games rather than 38 whereas the other fairytales are all essentially cup competitions. The headline “5000-1 odds” are the same bookmakers give for Elvis still being alive. In a team sport spanning 9-months of the most widely broadcasted competition on the planet, this means the investment and scrutiny is on another level, making this underdog tale the best of them all.
