Jamie Vardy struggled to sum up his feelings after his brace in a 3-1 win over Everton set the scene for Leicester City’s English Premier League trophy celebrations on Saturday.
Vardy scored twice, and missed a penalty, on his return from a two-game suspension to take his tally for the campaign to 24 goals — one shy of Tottenham Hotspur marksman Harry Kane, his England colleague.
The 29-year-old striker was a non-league player as recently as 2012, having been playing in England’s seventh tier two years prior to that, and his rags-to-riches rise has come to symbolize Leicester’s 5,000-1 triumph.
Photo: Reuters
“I can’t put it into words,” Vardy told Sky Sports in an on-pitch television interview at a raucous King Power Stadium. “It’s been a long and hard process to get where I am.”
Following the game, Leicester captain Wes Morgan was presented with the trophy in front of his teammates and manager Claudio Ranieri, prompting a flurry of pyrotechnics and huge roars from the sell-out crowd.
“It is an unbelievable feeling for everyone involved. I can’t describe it,” Vardy added. “I think someone must have put a spell on me to make it happen.”
“Everyone works hard for each other. It if weren’t for the lads, then I wouldn’t be on the goals that I have scored,” he said. “You don’t get nowhere by not having foundations and players having the talent to get results. We are like brothers.”
Vardy was joined on Leicester’s lap of honor by his fiancee, Becky Nicholson, and carried his one-year-old daughter, Sofia, in his arms.
Meanwhile, Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had his picture taken by his famous father, Peter, who won five Premier League trophies while keeping goal for Manchester United.
“This is what dreams are made of,” Kasper Schmeichel said. “It is what you dream of as a kid. It is hard to put into words. You can see everywhere we go we have had a fantastic response. We have received a brilliant reception everywhere and had standing ovations at numerous Premier League grounds, which is amazing.”
Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, voted the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year, said: “It is something amazing, what we have done. We are enjoying with our families and it is fantastic.”
“The fans are unbelievable. Everything is for them and the families. It is a dream and today is very special. It is amazing,” he said.
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri said he believes the club’s “strong foundations” augur well for their future.
The Foxes title success was a personal triumph for their 64-year-old Italian boss, who was only brought in by the club’s Thai owners in pre-season after former manager Nigel Pearson was sacked.
Disparagingly nicknamed the “Tinkerman” by the British media during his first spell in the Premier League with Chelsea, Ranieri arrived at Leicester after an unsuccessful spell with Greece and many pundits questioned his appointment.
“It is fantastic, the people have been unbelievable. Thank you to them, they push behind us all season,” Ranieri told Sky Sports after enjoying domestic title success as a manager for the first time in his career. “Of course, I am very, very happy. I think it was an amazing moment for me, I am not the youngest [manager]. To lift the trophy is something special, you are champion of the Premier League. I won some cups in Spain and Italy, but to be champion here is fantastic.”
“In my career I always thought sooner or later I will win a title, but at the beginning I never thought here would be the place, but why not?” he said.
Although Leicester had exceeded his expectations, Ranieri said he had been encouraged by what he saw early on in his time with the Midlands club.
“When I first came I thought this is a very good dressing room, all friends, and I tried to build the Italian mentality, solid and strong,” he said.
“At the beginning it was very important to stay in [the] Premier League for a few seasons and then move up, but now we are champions. We know very well this is strange year, and we have to put it aside and be focused on next season, the foundations are strong,” he added.
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