Leicester City - Underdogs Win Premier League
Leicester City have won the English Premier League title for the first time in the 132-year history of the club. At the beginning of the season, the team was a 5,000 to 1 underdog after they had struggled to stay in the top division a year before.
For the first time in many years has a small club overpowered the top teams from Manchester and London.
The "Foxes", as they are nicknamed, are a team without big names and international stars, but they managed to play consistently over the whole season. Two days before the final whistle, they clinched the title when Tottenham only played 2-2 at Chelsea.
While Leicester City, owned by Thai billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, only invested 20 million dollars in new players, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea spent hundreds of millions. Jamie Vardy, the club's leading scorer, played in lower leagues and worked in a factory before he came to Leicester City. Now he is a member of England's national soccer team.
Team manager Claudio Raneiri had a big part to play in one of the most remarkable victory stories of sports. Although the Italian coached teams in England, Spain and Italy he had never won a league title before. With his tactics of a strong defense and quick offense Leicester City became a team that could not be stopped.
The provincial club from the English Midlands will make about 200 million dollars next season from prize money , participation in UEFA's Champions League and revenues from ticket sales.
Related Topics
- Soccer - European Football
- Chelsea FC - One of England's Greatest Football Teams
- China Wants To Become A Soccer Superpower
- Do Women and Men Play Soccer Differently?
- Dutch Football Legend Johan Cruyff Dies at 68
- David Beckham - The Mission is Over
- Liverpool Win Champions League For 6th Time
Words
- although = while
- billionaire = person who has billions of dollars, euros etc...
- clinch = to finally get or win something
- coach = to train a sports team
- consistently = here: at the same level the whole season
- defense = players who try to stop the attacking team from scoring a goal
- division = league
- final whistle = here: the final day of the season
- leading = number one, the best
- manage = to be successful in doing something which is not easy
- manager = person who organizes and trains a sports team
- Midlands = central part of England, once an industrial region
- nickname = the informal name that you give to someone
- offense = players who try to score a goal
- overpower = to win against others by being stronger than they are
- own = belong to
- participation = here: to play in an event
- Premier League = the top league in English soccer
- provincial = from the country , away from the capital city
- remarkable = unusual and very special
- revenue = money you get from selling something
- scorer = person who makes goals against the other team in soccer
- struggle = fight
- underdog = here: a team that has less money than other teams and which nobody expects to win