Claudio Ranieri has transformed Leicester City from a side gearing up for a relegation scrap to Premier League champions in one season.
The charismatic Italian is credited with the success of the Foxes. The 64-year-old endeared himself to fans, pundits and players from the off.
The likeable Leicester boss also kept a lid on expectations. Insisting for most of the season that his only aim was Premier League survival.
Here are some of his best quotes over the 2015/16 Premier League season.
"I don't believe in the bookmakers, bookmakers at the beginning predicted that the first (manager) that would be sacked would be Ranieri. The first!"
- Not a popular appointment, but Ranieri was quick to remind people he was on the cusp of being axed on day one.
“Why can’t we continue to run, run, run? We are like Forrest Gump. Leicester is Forrest Gump.”
- He took inspiration from Tom Hank’s Forrest Gump and they just kept going.
"Hey, man, we are in Champions League! We are in Champions League, man! Dilly-ding, dilly-dong! Come on!"
- Excitement about the title was building but Ranieri was urging people to keep context with their already wonderful achievements
“I said to the players, 'When we keep a clean sheet, I pay for everyone a pizza.' Maybe they wait for me to say, 'Ok, a good dinner instead.' They seem to be waiting until I improve the offer. Maybe a pizza and a hot dog!”
- Good work was rewarded, and pizza kept the players happy
"It’s important not to look down or behind you. Like a climber, you need to look up. If you look down, you go, ‘Oh! My God, look where we are!'"
- The Italian said it would have been easy to become overwhelmed by their success, but he tried to avoid thinking about it
"From the beginning, when something was wrong I've been saying: 'Dilly-ding, dilly-dong, wake up, wake up!' So on Christmas Day I bought for all the players and all the staff a little bell. It was just a joke."
- The Italian explains the meaning of his infamous phrase
“I told my players ‘when you go on the pitch and you hear the song from Kasabian, that means they want warriors’. I want to see them as warriors for the fans. Kasabian are a fantastic rock band from Leicester and I think the guitar man, Serge, is Italian.”
- Serge Pizzorno of Kasabian predicted big things for his home town club early in the year, but undoubtedly could never have expected this.
(Clips from Sky Sports)
