Claudio Ranieri says Leicester are ‘having a strange year’ but that ‘we’ll continue to target the Premier League top spots.’
The former Juventus and Roma boss has unexpectedly led the Foxes to the top of the Premier League in his debut season.
He praised Kasper Schmeichel, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy and discussed comparisons to Foggia, Chievo and Empoli in an interview with Corriere dello Sport today.
“Schmeichel as a big personality, he gives security to the team,” Ranieri said.
Claudio Ranieri says Leicester are ‘having a strange year’ but that ‘we’ll continue to target the Premier League top spots.’
The former Juventus and Roma boss has unexpectedly led the Foxes to the top of the Premier League in his debut season.
He praised Kasper Schmeichel, Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy and discussed comparisons to Foggia, Chievo and Empoli in an interview with Corriere dello Sport today.
“Schmeichel as a big personality, he gives security to the team,” Ranieri said.
“He has incredible feet, he plays the ball 50 metres as if he was a trequartista. Because of this the defenders play the ball to him too, knowing they can trust him with the ball as if he was a normal player.
“This year Mahrez has given us incredible magic. Technically I don’t know who he resembles, he has immense quality and is our reference point: when we need to create, we give the ball to him.
“Vardy on the other hand has a unique characteristic, he runs at 1000 miles an hour and always at the same speed.
“When I signed, our objective was clear – to build this team, gradually bringing it to the top spots. We know we’re having a strange year, we’re doing well because the big teams haven’t found their rhythm, but our plans won’t change next year beyond what happens at the end of this season.
“We must continue to build to target, in the next three or four years, the top spots in the Premier League and fighting for the Europa League. If we do all this in advance in one year we mustn’t applaud ourselves, next year we’ll start again from scratch.
“Are we like Foggia, Chievo and Empoli? It’s a similar story for the feelings it provokes, but there isn’t much of a comparison with the three Italian teams from a strictly football point of view. Foggia, Chievo and Empoli were built over time, while we were born immediately.”