Leicester’s extraordinary achievement beats all others by a long shot
WIND the clock back to November and recall how you reacted when 100-1 shot Prince Of Penzance won the Melbourne Cup. You couldn’t believe it, right?
Now you might appreciate why the sporting world has been left gobsmacked following Leicester’s staggering success in the English Premier League.
Having just avoided relegation last year, the Foxes with DAVID WHITE started this season at a lazy 5000-1 to win the EPL.
It’s an amazing achievement and something extraordinary would have to occur for it not to be the sporting story of the year.
For those of you who love their sport it’s unlikely you’ll see something similar for as long as you remain on earth.
Australia II winning the America’s Cup in 1983 is the one sporting event that comes to mind as an incredible sporting upset.
To put things into perspective, Leicester’s triumph leaves Australia II’s success in its wake by the length of Conrod Straight.
When the EPL started in 1992, the unfancied Norwich led by eight points at Christmas before faltering to third behind champions Manchester United and Aston Villa.
Everyone was just waiting for Leicester to fall over after having made an encouraging start to the season, but following the festive period, they were still perched at the top.
They just kept winning and the “impossible dream” started to grip the sporting world in February when they crunched Manchester City 3-1.
Not being involved in European competition helped Leicester and the Foxes had a dream run with injury, but full credit must go to manager Claudio Ranieri.
The 64-year-old Italian was dumped as Chelsea manager in 2004 before the London club enjoyed years of success under Jose Mourinho.
Had Ranieri, who replaced Nigel Pearson as Leicester manager this season, remained at Chelsea as manager, the Blues would have more than likely endured similar success.
The day the GWS Giants win the AFL premiership will be huge, but it’s unlikely they will take 132 years before winning their first title.