Ranieri plays it for laughs again
LEICESTER BOSS WRITING NEW FAIRYTALE
As discussion centred on Leicester’s prospects of stunning Europe this season in the same manner they did England last, Claudio Ranieri broke into his familiar laugh. The one that starts quietly like a humming bee before erupting into a full-blown cackle.
It was the soundtrack to Leicester’s Premier League title pursuit, as Ranieri tried week after week to dismiss out of hand the thought Leicester could actually beat the rest to finish first. He did it to alleviate pressure.
And on the eve of the club’s first foray into the Champions League the laugh was back — this time in a conference room at Club Bruges’s Jan Breydelstadion.
Wes Morgan had just replied ‘Why not?’ when asked for his thoughts on potentially lifting another, bigger trophy in May. Ranieri, breaking into a wide smile, wanted to adjust the parameters.
‘I love to laugh,’ he said after composing himself. ‘It is good when the players believe in something. I think we wrote a fantastic fairytale last season because no one, including ourselves, believed it was possible at the start.
‘I think winning the Champions League is impossible because there are so many big teams involved and to do it we have to write another big fairytale, the second story.
‘I don’t want to make an illusion to our fans. This season is so difficult. Last year everyone gave 120 per cent and everything was perfect. But perfection doesn’t exist.
‘Maybe we have to pay the price for this now, this season. But I am happy to pay because we broke a lot of things last year.’
The question came again: so why can’t Leicester smash through the glass ceiling once more? Ranieri budged slightly, before elaborating. ‘Of course I say it is impossible but Leicester showed the impossible was possible,’ he said.
‘But now we have to think about Bruges. They are a good team, well organised. They are used to playing in Europe. They are full of experience. That means something.
‘some people say, “Oh, Leicester can win the group”. Hey, calm. We are the last, along with Rostov, in this competition. Of course we want to show our best but we have to have a lot of respect for everybody. Yes, Leicester won the Premier League, fantastic, but it is behind us. It is a new season. We want to write something good. But slowly, slowly. We have to fight.’
There are gaps in Ranieri’s argument. Not least the fact Bruges’s last campaign in this competition came in 2005-06 and seven members of his own squad have had a breath of this rarefied air before.
But the sentiment rings true. For Leicester’s key players, Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, Danny Drinkwater, Kasper schmeichel, European football is completely new.
Also, Champions League debutants tend to find things tough. Only nine of 46 fresh faces since 2002 have managed to progress from the group stage.
‘The target now is try to go to the knockout, if it is possible,’ added Ranieri. ‘If not, we need to achieve third position, because we need to make experience and you get that also in the Europa League.’
Morgan, the captain, exemplifies the novelty of Leicester being in company with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. The 32-year-old defender had never played top-flight football until two years ago, sinking as low as League One while with Nottingham Forest. ‘Normally I am watching the Champions League on TV with friends,’ said Morgan. ‘I go to my mate’s house and just chill. To be involved now feels special.
‘We know it’s not going to be easy but we proved last season how good we can be on our day. Our style is different and I’m not sure teams will be prepared for that.’
Ranieri’s experience should prove valuable. His Fiorentina side beat a Benfica team containing Bruges boss Michel Preud’homme as goalkeeper in the 1996-97 Cup-Winners’ Cup and he first entered this tournament as a manager with Chelsea in 2003-04, reaching the semi-final. He was last involved as Inter manager in March 2012.
‘I’m very happy to come back,’ he said. ‘This will be my 45th game in Europe. The Champions League is not new to me and I can tell my players something about it.’
sadly, the ground — capacity 27,800 — is only expected to be two-thirds full, with Bruges supporters apparently underwhelmed by the opposition and their own team’s form. The Belgian champions lie 10th in the table.
Danny simpson is a doubt for Leicester with a hamstring injury but there is expected to be a debut for new signing Islam slimani. He has scored in the Champions League for sporting Lisbon and will at least appear off the bench.