Although many people on this side of the pond don't know it,
this week the world witnessed one of the greatest sporting feats in the history
of sports. I know what you're thinking: that's an exaggeration. IT'S NOT.
Earlier this week Leicester City Football Club clinched the Premier League.
Everybody loves an underdog story. This is the underdog
story of all underdog stories. This time last year, Leicester City were bottom
of the league and nearly a sure bet for relegation. (In European Soccer, the
bottom three teams from the top league get relegated to the second division.
Top three teams from the second division get promoted up). Everybody wrote
Leicester off. They had dug themselves too deep and it was too late in the season
to save themselves. Miraculously, they avoided relegation by winning 7 of their
last 9 games!
Despite staying in the Premier League, pundits had little to
no confidence in Leicester at the beginning of this season. They were one of
the favorites to be relegated again, and it was widely thought that their new
manager, Claudio Ranieri, would be the first to be sacked. The foxes stood up
to the critics and started of the season at a blistering pace. They played
quick and exciting counter-attacking football which saw them hold their place
at the top of the table through the first month of the season. It is not
uncommon for a surprise team to get off to a good start, but it never lasts. At
some point they begin to fall off as teams figure them out. So why should
Leicester City be any different? It seemed every week, the media would say
"this is the week Leicester will fall". But they never did.
Even a few weeks ago, some people still doubted that
Leicester had what it took to see it out till the end. Finally on Monday, when
the second place team could not mathematically catch them, there was nothing in
Leicester's way to make history.
As it is with every other aspect of life, money, unfortunately,
runs football. The biggest difference when you compare European football to
American sports, is the immense gap between the top and bottom teams. Top
Premier League team such as Manchester United and Arsenal have net worths of $1.6
- $2 BILLION. That's more than 10 times the value of Leicester. The top clubs
have the money, which should buy them the best players, which should win them
the titles. And in European football, that is usually what happens. That is
what makes Leicester's incredible run even more improbable.
There is no reason
this should happen. At the beginning of the season, the book makers had
Leicester at 5000-1 odds to win the league. 5000-1 is essentially impossible;
to give you some context, the odds of Kim Kardashian running for president in
2020 are 2000-1! So in addition to making some loyal Leicester fans very rich
this year, LCFC reminded all of us what football really means. Especially now,
the footballing world so often gets lost in transfer fees, merchandising deals,
and money laundering scandals. Leicester reminded us that team work, dedication,
and passion can still trump all those superficial aspects of the beautiful
game.
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