70 June 2020 FourFourTwo
Sometimes, one accomplishment is
enough to shape a reputation. For Claudio
Ranieri, it came when he was 64, almost
30 years into an eclectic career coaching
European giants at curious points in their
various histories.
His list of clubs numbers 17, but the list of
major honours only three: a pair of domestic
cup wins at Fiorentina and Valencia... and the
most incredible underdog triumph in
modern football history.
No matter what went before or came after,
Ranieri will always have 2015-16 at Leicester
City: a nonsensical, logic-defying
achievement which may never be equalled.
Within nine and a half months of being
laughed into the Foxes’ hotseat, having
overseen Greece’s humiliating defeat at
home to the Faroe Islands, Ranieri had
turned the previous year’s escapologists into
immortals – and by a margin of 10 points.
Trophies don’t tell the full Ranieri story.
The Italian didn’t always succeed before
arriving at Leicester, but he never shirked
a challenge.
In his first major managerial job, at Napoli
in 1991, he took over the Partenopei after
the greatest period of the club’s history had
ended abruptly. Two months earlier, human
Hoover Diego Maradona was handed a
15-month ban over cocaine use, making the
4th-placed finish that followed highly
creditable. By November 1992, however,
Ranieri had been sacked – so he dragged
Fiorentina back up to the top flight and then
made them Coppa Italia champions two
years later.In his first spell at Valencia, Ranieri revived
the mid-tablers to qualify for the Champions
League and eliminate Barcelona, Real
Madrid and Atletico Madrid en route to
winning the 1999 Copa del Rey. But job-
hopping eventually caught up with him. That
same year, he took over financially-stricken
Atleti for his seventh position in just 13
years; eight months on, he was on the
lookout for No.8, having resigned from a
damaged ship that would sink into the
second tier for two seasons.
And so Ranieri headed to Chelsea, where
he remained for four seasons and set up the
Blues for the most glorious period of their
history. He survived for only one campaign of
Roman Abramovich’s riches, but by then his
work was done: bringing Champions League
football to Stamford Bridge was enough to
convince the Russian oligarch that west
London was where his dubiously-acquired
billions should reside.
For Ranieri, timing was an issue
thereafter. Back at Valencia, following
Rafael Benitez was a thankless task that
ended in tears, while his trophyless two-
year spell at Juventus – which followed a
fine stint saving Parma – came after they
had just been promoted from Serie B. He
improved Roma but committed the cardinal
sin of falling out with Francesco Totti, leading
to three dissatisfying years at Inter (in
decline), Monaco (in Ligue 2) and Greece
(in meltdown).
But every good story needs a happy
ending, however unbelievable it may be.
Leicester is all Claudio Ranieri will ever need.90 CLAUDIO RAn IERI
89
JUPP DERWALL
The 23 consecutive victories delivered
by the dashing Derwall is a German
national team record which still stands to
this day. The former forward managed a
brilliant Mannschaft to success at the 1980
European Championship, then reached the
World Cup final two years later, where they
lost to Italy after a thrilling semi-final
comeback against France in Seville. Derwall
later took charge at Galatasaray and was
credited with bringing modern coaching
methods to Turkish football.88
STAN CULLIS
As a player, Cullis was once
dropped by England after
refusing to perform a Nazi salute
before a 1938 international against
Germany. He was a deeply principled man,
and vowed never to coach again after being
sacked by his beloved Wolves in 1964
(although he did, at neighbouring
Birmingham). Cullis had proved a revelation
in the dugout, winning Wolves the FA Cup in
1949 when he was 32, followed by three
First Division titles and another FA Cup.87
MIRCEA LUCESCU
“Lucescu is a Shakhtar
legend. He was our teacher
not only in football, but in life.” So
said captain Darijo Srna of his departing
coach in 2016, and he wasn’t exaggerating –
Lucescu often encouraged his cosmopolitan
squads to study, read, learn languages and
take cooking lessons. The Romanian boss
also bagged 12 league titles around Europe,
including eight – and a UEFA Cup – in the
dozen years he spent making Shakhtar
Donetsk top dogs in Ukraine.86
VIC BUCKINGHAM
Before Total Football, the
Netherlands’ rise can be
traced to a Londoner called Vic. It
was the trilby-topped Buckingham – an
FA Cup winner with West Bromwich Albion
and future Barcelona boss – who laid the
foundations for Ajax’s identity. He handed a
17-year-old Johan Cruyff his debut and, in
Cruyff’s words, “gave us some
professionalism”, but he also gave Ajax
a possession-based approach and
ultimately teed up Rinus Michels for a new
Dutch dynasty.GREATEST
MAn AGERS100