The Foxes have outfoxed the rest of England’s top flight teams to claim their very first Premier League title. This supposed ragtag bunch of budget-buys and cast-offs rallied under the supervision of their reject manager, Claudio Ranieiri, to overcome the odds. 5000-to-1, to be precise. Over the weekend, Leicester City needed a win to secure the title but a valiant effort by Manchester United resulted in a draw, delaying the Foxes’ celebrations. Fortunately for them, that wait only lasted a day. Tottenham, who had to win at Stamford Bridge yesterday to keep their title hopes alive, only managed a draw even after leading Chelsea 2-0 at half time. This costly mistake meant no one will be able to catch Leicester City this season- even with two games to go.
Footballer of the Year
Image Credit: independent.co.uk
Jamie Vardy, Leicester City’s 29-year-old forward, has been named Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association. His story is also that of an underdog’s. In an era where footballers as young seven years-old are handpicked and groomed to be stars by big clubs like Barcelona, Arsenal, and Manchester United, Vardy was still playing for lower league clubs when he was 25. But of course, his high work rate and uncanny ability to find the back of the net saw him rising through the ranks. In 2012 he signed for Leicester City, who were competing in the second highest division of the English football league system. With his 16 goals in the 2013-14 season, the Foxes were crowned champions and promoted to the Premier League. Still, there were those who doubted his ability to punch above his weight-class.
To silence the naysayers, Vardy went on to beat Ruud van Nistlerooy’s record by scoring goals in an incredible 11 consecutive games in December last year. Van Nistlerooy’s “goal scoring-run” of 10 games was held from 2002-2015. Vardy has gone from having to supplement his football career with a job in a carbon-fibre splint factory to celebrating his new contract with Leicester City by buying a Bentley Continental. At 29, most footballers are considered past their prime, but something tells me we’re going to see quite a bit more of this English marksman.
Cheeky Diss
Two weeks ago Tottenham’s star striker Harry Kane posted the image below, presumably to signal Spurs hunting down the Foxes in the closing weeks of the Premier League.
…
A photo posted by Harry Kane (@harrykane) on Apr 17, 2016 at 8:16am PDT
Jamie Vardy’s retort on Twitter yesterday was as cheeky as it was ingenious. Obviously, scoring goals is not the only thing this striker is good at. We reckon Kane will still be feeling the burn of this one when the Premier League starts anew.
…. pic.twitter.com/nnwmRyOg6y
— Jamie Vardy (@vardy7) May 2, 2016
Ecstatic Celebrations
CHAMPIONS!!!! pic.twitter.com/pFtvo5XUNx
— Christian Fuchs (@FuchsOfficial) May 2, 2016
Considering they could do nothing but hope and pray that Spurs slip up, the Foxes gathered at Vardy’s residence to watch the game. Naturally, things got pretty crazy when the ref blew the final whistle. The raucous celebration is proof that there is nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of sports. Congratulations, Leicester City! A hard-fought and well-earned title indeed. It was about time someone shook the Premier League’s tree. Here are the teams that have lifted this prestigious trophy through the years.
