London - The Leicester story is growing and the responsibility of Ranieri and his team now is to ensure it has the right ending.
In 1981, a record label based in the East Midlands released a compilation of punk tracks entitled Where The Hell Is Leicester? It sold in the region of 175 copies and was a nod towards the city’s anonymity, which it had little choice but to revel in.
More than 35 years on, vinyl is back in fashion and so are Leicester. The question is still being asked but in a more satisfactory context.
On the front page of America’s Wall Street Journal they have been educating readers how to pronounce the name of the Premier League leaders. ‘LESS-ter, not LIE-ches-ter,’ explained an editorial and indeed a web video.
In France, a recent sports panel show saw two guests declare Leicester to be ‘somewhere in the suburbs of London’.
What is not in doubt is Leicester’s position at the top of the Premier League table. If English football is unsure what to make of their ascent - and what it means - the complexities of that debate are irrelevant to a global audience transfixed by a story unlike any in the modern age.
Jason Becker of the New York Foxes - a Leicester City fans’ group based in Manhattan - told Sportsmail: ‘My colleagues used to say, “How did your little soccer team do this weekend?” Then it was, “Did Leicester win and did Vardy score?” Now it’s, “Hey, great win for Leicester and what a goal by Mahrez!”
‘That sums it up. Last year nobody here had heard of Leicester or could even pronounce it. Now every soccer fan is pulling for them. They have become the story because things like this don’t happen in American sport.’
On US television, NBC are using Leicester on their trailers to pull in viewers. Across Europe, the story is similar. In Spain, the story of Los Zorros (the Foxes) has captured the imagination, even if supporters of Deportivo, Valencia and Atletico Madrid argue their clubs have achieved similar without Premier League TV riches.
In France, where the Premier League is shown live on Canal+, English football has long since been sold on the back of the teams from Manchester and London and Gallic links such as Arsene Wenger.
But Erik Bielderman, a respected journalist with French sports paper L’Equipe, said: ‘Every Leicester game is live now. They are treated the same as Manchester United.United are always a story here. Arsenal are always a story. But not a story like this story! There has been criticism of Premier League clubs in France because they haven’t achieved in Europe. But we recognise that this Leicester story shows us the Premier League is still one of the most competitive leagues in the world.’
Within the English game, there have been whispers about what a Leicester title win would do for the Premier League. Can a league with a small team from the provinces as champions still be exported as effectively, and lucratively, as one with a traditional powerhouse such as United or Chelsea at the helm? Former England full back Danny Mills suggested this week that a Community Shield between Leicester and Watford next August would be an ‘embarrassment’.
A similar theme was struck recently by American promoter Charlie Stillitano, whose Relevent Sports company heads up the International Champions Cup pre-season jamboree in the US.
Stillitano’s insinuation was that Leicester lack cachet and therefore do little for the Premier League brand. But Becker - a Leicester fan since 1998 - said: ‘Charlie said he was taken out of context but if he wasn’t then his words were a bit insulting and the negative reaction showed what people think.
‘In America we don’t just watch English football because of the so-called big teams and brands. We watch it for the sport, for the competition. The Leicester story is why people watch sport, isn’t it? It’s what makes football great.’
@Ian_Ladyman_DM
Daily Mail