It's the biggest and strangest question of the season: how has Claudio Ranieri transformed Leicester City from the largely rubbish side that just about escaped relegation last season, to the thrilling team that dismantled Manchester City on Saturday and now sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League? Well, thanks to the man himself, we know the answer: no training, no tactics and an all-you-can-eat buffet.
The secrets of Leicester City’s success, according to their manager
Claudio Ranieri, Leicester City manager and nicest man in the world, has revealed the precise methods behind the madness that sees his team top of the Premier League.
Michael Regan/Getty Images
Sort of.
Ranieri’s been talking to Corriere della Sera about how things have unfolded this season, and we’re grateful to the Guardian’s Daniel Harris for bringing the translation to our attention. The full thing is below and is well worth a look, but here are our favorite revelations about everybody’s favorite title challengers.
1. Tactics are less important than running
Claudio Ranieri: basically Tim Sherwood with an accent?
When speaking to the players, I realised they were afraid of Italian tactical approaches ... They didn’t seem convinced and neither was I. I have a lot of admiration for those who build new tactical systems, but I always thought the most important thing a good coach must do is build the team around the characteristics of his players. So I told the players that I trusted them and would speak very little of tactics. It was important to me that they all ran hard, just as I’d seen them running towards the end of last season.
The obvious comparison here is with Manchester United, who have spent much of this season and last labouring under the yoke of Louis van Gaal's philosophy. But from a wider point of view, it's interesting and heartening to see a manager achieving something special through deliberate and applied modesty; by starting not from his own thoughts but from the identities, strengths and opinions of his players. If nothing else, it's a pleasing contrast to the manager-as-dictator model that so often seems to dominate.
It also emphasises the importance of buy-in. Later in the piece, Ranieri says that “This is the pact I made with the players, ‘I trust you. I’ll explain some football ideas to you every now and then, as long as you give me everything.’” And he’s been as good as his word: as SB Nation’s own Michael Caley noted over at the Washington Post before Saturday’s game, Leicester have developed tactically throughout the season, and are now a more solid, distinctly more awkward opponent.
Essentially, it looks as though Ranieri’s managed to introduce careful tactical developments by stealth, having first persuaded all his players that no, they didn’t need to worry their heads about all that stuff. Which is, frankly, adorable. And exactly the opposite of Sherwood, who told all his players they didn’t need any of that stuff and then lost his job when they listened.
2. “I always tell my players to find the fire within themselves ...”
In some ways, foreign coaches have a hard time of it in England. There’s a stubborn streak of insular exceptionalism that still permeates much of the football discourse, regardless of all the evidence to the contrary. But there are advantages to coming in from the outside, from the strange and mysterious Continent, chief among which is the ability to say things like this ...
I always tell my players to find the fire within themselves. A chance like this will never come round again. Seek that fire, don’t be ashamed of it. And they are not ashamed. If anything they demand to dream.
... and not sound like a total buffoon. Imagine if Brendan Rodgers had said that.
3. Having a week between games is absolutely crucial
Here’s Ranieri describing Leicester’s weekly schedule:
In England the football is always of a high intensity and wipes people out. They have more need to recover. We play Saturday, then Sunday is a day off for everyone. On Monday we resume with light training ... Tuesday is hard training. Wednesday absolute rest. On Thursday another hard session, Friday preparation for the match, Saturday another game. I make sure the player have at least two days off from football each week.
This is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the months to come. Leicester — who aren't in Europe and who are out of the FA Cup — can carry on taking advantage of their relatively light schedule by sticking to Ranieri's plan. Arsenal and Manchester City, meanwhile, head back into the Champions League in a couple of weeks' time; even though Arsenal may not get past Barcelona, that's still two more weeks with huge distractions.
Perhaps this won’t make too much difference: City and Arsenal went into the season expecting to challenge on all fronts and so have — in theory — built squads that can stay competitive despite the fixture overload. But it does illustrate nicely the one advantage that underdogs have in any Premier League race. Their rivals may have the money, but Leicester have the time.
4. Careful nutritional maintenance is for losers
Sometimes we sit at the dinner table and I am frightened by how much they eat. I’ve never seen players so starved! The first times I was surprised, but now I learned to smile. If they run that hard, they can eat what they like.
5. Ranieri is doing it for the people
Obviously, the paper asked if Leicester could win the league. Obviously, Ranieri fudged the question. And obviously, he did so in twinkly and avuncular fashion, just teetering on the edge of ridiculousness and just getting away with it.
I don’t know, but it’s fantastic that we earned the question. ... In an era when money counts for everything, I think we give hope to everybody.
It’s really going to sting when they fall to pieces, isn’t it?
This is brilliant: Claudio Ranieri explains how he's done it (translation from Corriere della Sera) pic.twitter.com/dzUIj5ogLF
— Daniel Harris (@DanielHarris) February 8, 2016
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