Leicester City were an eye-watering +500000 to win the 2015/16 English Premier League (EPL) title before the season started. Putting a single $1 on with a sportsbook would have yielded an incredible $5,000 return. The Foxes, as they are affectionately known by their fans, achieved one of the most remarkable feats in world sport. At the time of those juicy odds, sportsbooks deemed there to be more chance of Scotland discovering the Loch Ness monster than Leicester winning the EPL.
The side from the East Midlands had only just survived relegation from the EPL in 2014/15 and the following season supporters only had one thing in mind – to see their team stabilize and cement themselves as an EPL club for the long-term. No-one in their wildest dreams could have anticipated what manager Claudio Ranieri and his hotch-potch collection of journeymen footballers would go on to achieve. It’s not the only EPL campaign where Leicester has upset the pre-season form book. Leicester is currently in great shape to push for a runner-up finish in the 2020/21 EPL season under Brendan Rodgers. They come up against league leaders Manchester City on 3 April in what will be a stiff test of the credentials of this year’s team. As of 16 March, US licensed online sports betting operator FOX Bet has the Foxes priced at +475 underdogs to overcome Pep Guardiola’s City on home soil.
The enigmatic Ranieri had very little track record of turning relegation fodder into title contenders, but what did the Italian have up his sleeve? He said that the “most important ingredient” was “team spirit”. It was a team greater than the sum of its parts in many ways. Let’s delve deeper into the psychological factors that transformed Leicester City from also-rans to champions of England overnight.
Their sense of belonging
In the EPL, with all its riches and illustrious players, it’s important to cultivate a team spirit that makes every player feel part of an inclusive locker room. You only have to look back at previous player revolts, like Chelsea’s fall-out at the end of Jose Mourinho’s time at Stamford Bridge, to see that modern-day sportsmen and women need to feel loved and wanted. The team forged an unbreakable bond on and off the field. Whether it was fancy dress nights out dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or having pizza bought for them by Ranieri for every clean sheet, it was an enjoyable environment to be around.
Continuity and consistency in style of play
Sports teams are also far more likely to be successful if they know their roles inside out. Ranieri quickly ascertained that his players had all the attributes to be a ruthless counter-attacking side. Their 4-4-2 formation was consistent throughout the season. Opposing managers would know exactly how Leicester were going to play, but Ranieri had a self-belief in his players to execute their game plan week in, week out. That sense of continuity in terms of team selection and patterns of play is a huge factor in building a successful team identity.
Every player had a sense of purpose
Aside from the continuity of team selection, every player also had a meaning; a sense of purpose that ensured the locker room had no bad apples to ruin the vibe. Claudio Ranieri proved himself to be a master at handling his squad players with the utmost respect. Super-sub striker Leandro Ulloa is a perfect case in point. The Argentine powerhouse had to bide his time throughout the season but was always ready and raring to go to help his team win tight games from the substitutes’ bench.
A sense of freedom to express themselves
We’ve already noted that the height of Leicester’s pre-season aspirations in the summer of 2015 was to steer clear of the relegation zone. The fact that Ranieri’s men all but secured safety well before the Christmas period was a major psychological barrier lifted for the players. Having virtually achieved their season objective, the players could play with gay abandon, free to express themselves in all areas of the pitch without fear of making mistakes.
Even players with limited ability like central defender Wes Morgan stood ten feet tall at the heart of the Leicester defense. Clever recruitment also enabled City to field cherry-picked starlets like Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy and give them a platform to shine. Mahrez would eventually get a life-changing move to Manchester City, while Vardy earned senior England international honours and remains a Foxes player to this very day – such is the love he has for the club.
Leicester City’s success story is a triumph for man-management. Proof, if proof were needed, that even athletes can find that extra 10% when they are treated with the utmost fairness and respect. Managing a sports team is certainly one way of developing good leadership skills that can have a transformative impact on your wider life too.
