After announcing his retirement, Claudio Ranieri looks back over his career, including the Premier League triumph with Leicester City and two incredible Cagliari achievements. ‘I could’ve done more, but I had fun.’
The 72-year-old has been all over Europe in his coaching career and decided to call it a day after helping the Sardinians to first promotion into Serie A, then retaining their status.
“If I had different agents, maybe some family help along the way, I could’ve done something more in my career,” he told reporters at the Festival della Serie A in Parma.
“I adapted to a few different situations, having to make do with what I had. First and foremost, I had fun, so much fun. For example, I didn’t know Spanish, English, French, I had to learn them all.”
The highlight of his career is for most the totally unexpected Premier League success with Leicester City in 2016, one of the biggest shocks in the history of the sport.
“I arrived with a team that had just about avoided relegation. I studied the whole squad, watched five or six games. I was eager to get back to England and changed several things, for example the system from 3-5-2 to 4-4-2.
“As time went on, I managed to introduce players who got into great shape, including Kante.”
When they did win the Premier League, Andrea Bocelli came over to sing Nessun Dorma during the title celebrations.
“Bocelli actually called me before Easter, he said we were doing something exceptional and he wanted to come and sing with us.”
Ranieri loved Cagliari experiences more than Leicester City
However, Ranieri would not say that Leicester City was the most important achievement of his career, looking closer to home instead.
“Sorry, but Cagliari remain in my heart and I would not change those two Cagliari experiences for my time in England.”
The coach first really made his mark in Sardinia when taking them from Serie C to the top flight from 1988 to 1991, then returned with the club in Serie B in January 2023.
Ranieri took them to promotion again and secured safety in the final few weeks of the campaign, after which he announced his retirement.
“I am convinced that I made the right decision. In fact, I could not have dreamed such a good way to close my career as this.”