Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
STARSTRUCK 70 AT
Birthday boy Ranieri is SEVENTY today but insists he still loves football as much as ever
CLAUDIO RANIERI may have reached his 70th birthday today but the Italian dreamer insists that he is still utterly starstruck by football.
The new Watford boss got off to a less than stellar start on his return to English football following the 5-0 thumping by Liverpool at Vicarage Road last Saturday.
But the quirky Italian, who won the Premier League with Leicester in
2016 and is now on his fourth manager’s job in the Premier League after previous stints at Chelsea and Fulham, revealed he is still as in love with the game as ever.
Ranieri, who takes his struggling Watford team to Everton on Saturday, said: “Enthusiasm is my North Star.
“Finding me on the pitch, taking in the smell of the grass, living the daily adrenaline of my trade, is a beautiful thing.
“I see my 70 years on my passport – but the truth is I don’t think about my age. I am a lucky man. I do a job that I like.”
Ranieri is now on his 21st club job across Italy, Spain, France and England. The Premier League’s oldest manager has also taken charge of the Greece national side. He said: “I don’t live on memories. The day of my presentation at Watford, they
showed a long film in which a lot of space was dedicated to the season at Leicester. It was the first time I had rewatched that adventure. I even discovered some unseen footage. “I always look forward. I am always looking for something new, a new challenge. My mission at Watford? To save the team and lay the foundations for a new cycle. I like to sow. If others are there at harvest time, I am equally happy.” The secret of that extraordinary year at Leicester was consistency, says Ranieri. “The famous Big Six of the Premier League alternated between good results and unforeseen collapses. “We travelled like a train at high speed with few station stops on our journey. That Leicester had high quality players like N’golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy.”
In his 35 years in management since his first job in Italy, with Vigor Lamezia, Ranieri named Gianfranco Zola, Gabriel Batistuta and Francesco Totti as the best players he had worked with. He added: “Not to hurt anyone, I will mention a couple of English players to whom I am attached. Above all, John Terry and Frank Lampard.”