Leicester fans will help complete Vichai memorial
LEICESTER will today open the VS Memorial Garden to provide a lasting tribute to late chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
The garden is located on the site of the helicopter crash that exactly a year ago killed Vichai, who was 60, along with two of his staff and two pilots.
A private ceremony takes place this morning before supporters are invited to help complete the garden. A Leicester spokesman said: ‘The club wished to give some supporters the opportunity to play a role in the final stages of construction, with several tasks still to be done such as the planting of flowers in key areas of the site.’
A year has passed since the tragedy but grief has no time limit.
BBC Radio Leicester journalist Ian Stringer had just left the ground and was driving home when he took a call from his brother, who had seen the news on television. ‘I remember driving back to the stadium, getting there towards 9pm, and there was an eerie silence where people were still coming to grips with the fact of an accident,’ said Stringer.
‘There were club employees there who were inconsolable, one of them in floods of tears. I remember giving him a hug. Not a lot was said. We knew the chairman was on board. One thing that will never leave me from that night is the smell of aviation fuel.
‘Khun Vichai’s legacy is kindness and the devoted spirit he has given his children. His son Khun Top is a chip off the old block. They made dreams come true here.’
The first manager appointed by the family was Sven-Goran Eriksson. Though the former England boss could not deliver promotion to the Premier League and was sacked, they remained on good terms.
‘They took care of the people, the players and staff, they wanted everything to be very nice,’ said Eriksson. ‘I was sacked but that was absolutely fair. They gave me
resources to buy players and sadly we did not buy the right ones, so results did not come as I had hoped and everyone had hoped.
‘There were no hard feelings. I sent messages to him now and then and he would do the same.
‘They would invite me down for lunch and we would enjoy each other’s company. I liked them very much.
‘When Leicester won the title it was something out of this world, beautiful for the city, for England and for football in general.’