Five years ago, Leicester City did the unthinkable, pulling off undoubtedly one of the greatest underdog stories in sporting history.
Heading into the campaign, the club were famously a seemingly irrelevant 5000/1 to lift the Premier League trophy after finishing just six points off the relegation spots the season before.
What unfolded over the next year would send shockwaves around the world. Jamie Vardy’s rise, Ranieri’s tears and of course, Andrea Bocelli bringing the King Power stadium to its knees with a spine-tingling rendition of Nessun Dorma in the centre circle – it was truly once in a lifetime.
At the heart of it all, was this unwavering determination and much-talked about spirit among the squad. In a special episode of SPORF’s Back Yourself, in collaboration with partypoker, Christian Fuchs spoke candidly about how the club became, and remains, such a special place to be.
“It’ll never disappear, I don’t see anything bigger ever coming again. I mean, I’m not sure, there are always Cinderella stories out there but it wasn’t only that one season. It started two years before when Leicester got promoted into the Premier League, then almost relegated, then suddenly to win the Premier League – that doesn’t make sense, that simply doesn’t make sense.”
Fuchs called time on his career with the Foxes at the end of last season, and is set to join Charlotte FC who will make their MLS debut in 2022. However, he’s still in regular contact with the squad he helped to defy all footballing odds.
“I’m staying in touch with them all the time. With what happened to Christian Eriksen a couple of weeks ago, right away I got in touch with Kasper [Schmeichel]. Seeing those pictures, I was following him because I know how emotional he is, even though he doesn’t show it at times, or the outside perception of Kasper is a very different one. I knew I had to text him right away, to see if he needs anything. He came back to me a couple of days later to tell me everything was fine now, it was a big relief.
“Not just the title win, everything we went through in those six years I was at Leicester. We went through ups, the highest highs, but also experienced the deepest points in a team setup that you can imagine. All these experiences that we had together, they bond you so tight.
“It’s amazing what we have lived through and how it will be with us for the rest of our lives, players who have left before are still part of the group and are still in touch with us, it doesn’t have to be every day or every week, but this bond will always be there.
“You’ve seen the pictures when we were successful and had great achievements, but also when the tragedy happened with Vichai, you have those things surrounding the stadium as well, huge posters outside and inside the stadium of him – that’s just the way the club dealt with all that, it was amazing, I’ve never experienced a club being run the way Leicester was run and I’m very proud to have experienced it.”
Leicester, of course, have by no means faded away since that historic title win. Last season they overcame Chelsea to win the FA Cup final and they’ve also cemented themselves as regular challengers for the Premier League’s European spots.
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Featured image credit: Getty