Opinion | Leicester success gives hope to the world’s bottom-feeders
Italian strugglers Udinese are among Europe’s smaller clubs inspired by the Foxes’ Premier League triumph
You try to find words for what Leicester City have done in winning the English Premier League title this past week and none suffice.
The 5,000-1 shot came in and while the history of sports is rife with great upsets, they were mostly a single game or match. This was a championship won over a 38-match schedule in the world’s most popular professional league, one that has basically been the sole domain of mega-rich clubs and global icons like Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City the past 24 years.
The Foxes were founded 132 years ago and in that time the highest they ever finished in the top-flight was second in 1929. One year ago they needed a miraculous finish, winning seven of their final nine games, to avoid relegation.
And now this indescribable season, one that is without question the single most remarkable and unlikeliest season in the history of global professional sport.
In the end there may be only one word that is truly apropos of what Leicester City has done: inspirational. Every single underdog player and every single underdog team from tykes to professionals the world over regardless of the sport has taken notice.