Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri defends his career

The Italian tactician has always been considered a nice guy, but one who didn’t get trophies, yet is on the verge of lifting the Premier League trophy against all odds.

“Nobody gave me anything in life. I started from scratch,” Ranieri told La Repubblica newspaper.

“I was in the amateur leagues with Vigor Lamezia, then three years at Cagliari going from Serie C to A, winning titles and the Coppa Italia. Then Napoli straight after Diego Armando Maradona had left, with various satisfactory moments, including a 5-0 victory over Valencia in the UEFA Cup.

“I had four years at Fiorentina, going from Serie B to promotion, the Coppa Italia, a Super Cup and a UEFA Cup semi-final against Barcelona. Then my years in Spain and at Chelsea. I took over at Parma when they were practically relegated in February and steered them to safety.

“Juventus sacked me when I was in third place and very close to second, but ok, there were various misunderstandings. At Roma I picked up 80 points, arriving in Week 3, and we lost the Scudetto on the last day of the season to Jose Mourinho’s Inter. The second year at Roma I immediately realised there was a strange atmosphere. It was different. I asked the players if they wanted me to step aside and they said no, but after that Genoa 4-3 Roma I said goodbye to everyone.”

Ranieri reserved the most criticism for his time at Inter, lasting from September 2011 to March 2012.

“We started very well and that was eventually my damnation. When you get seven consecutive victories people think of big targets, but in the meantime they sold Philippe Coutinho and Thiago Motta from under me and at the end of the day they blamed Ranieri. I must say I have a place in history as the only Coach who Inter didn’t buy any players for, they just sold them.

“Anyway, I then went to Monaco, won the Ligue 2 title and in the next season finished second with 80 points behind a PSG side backed by the sheiks. In your view, have I had a bad career? I wouldn’t say so. People say: Ranieri didn’t win very much. But do we want to talk about the conditions certain Italian teams were in when I was there? Did those who come after me do better? I don’t think so.”

Read the original article on Football Italia - The ultimate website for English-speaking fans of Italian football