Ranieri: National treasure

Leicester City’s title triumph has turned its players into heroes but for their Italian manager Claudio Ranieri the transformation into a national treasure is complete. Adam Bate looks at how Ranieri has handled an extraordinary year…

It’s less than a year since Claudio Ranieri turned up at Sky studios as an out-of-work manager, part of the parade of pundits who flow through the building in the course of an average day. The unfussy Ranieri stood out chiefly for his trademark courtesy. Welcoming and patient, he was happier discussing Frank Lampard’s future plans than his own.

Eleven months on, in the grand surroundings of the Café Royal hotel in Piccadilly, it was interesting to see how his reception had changed. Ranieri was the star guest as the Premier League announced their latest tie-in with Swiss watch company Tag Heuer and suddenly the only person anybody wanted to talk about was him.

“What he has been doing is a piece of history,” enthused Tag Heuer’s chief executive Jean-Claude Biver. “He has brought football back to the people and to simplicity.” Familiar platitudes in the world of corporate advertising. But there was a sense in which Biver was utterly sincere in his sentiments. Leicester’s story does that to people.

The mood has changed but Ranieri has stayed the same. He’s enjoying it but remains embarrassed by it. From someone else that shtick might feel like false modesty. Instead, he’s become arguably the most loved manager in English football since Sir Bobby Robson. Leicester MP Jonathan Ashworth is already pushing for a knighthood.

There aren’t many dissenting voices in the city. A video showing the people of Leicester – black, white, young and old – recording thank you messages for Ranieri shows that much. But outside Leicester, Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard prompted more empathy than antipathy when coming out in support of the Foxes. Even Tony Pulis is …

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