Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri won the Best FIFA Men’s Coach of the Year award on Monday after beating Portugal’s Fernando Santos and Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane on the shortlist.
Ranieri defied odds of 5,000-1 to lead Leicester to the Premier League title last season — the first-ever top-flight title in their 132-year history — and has overseen a strong start to the club’s first ever Champions League campaign this season, despite his side struggling in the league.
At receiving the honor, Ranieri was at his humble best and said: “Our supporters made something fantastic this year. My philosophy is to forget and look forward. The keys to success were many. Everything flowed in the right direction.”
Congratulations, Claudio Ranieri!
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Men's Coach 2016 ?https://t.co/LO8lWBKxpn pic.twitter.com/8czujwPzIz— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) January 9, 2017
Leicester City’s remarkable journey rolls on
When Claudio Ranieri walked in at King Power Stadium in 2015, who would have thought Who would have thought that he was about to write a story which will live in fans’ memories forever!
Ranieri has cemented his legacy in the world of football and tonight it was his night to enjoy a more personal glory after being written off by the pundits for not winning a single league title in his career.