5000 to No. 1, Leicester’s dirty dozen: Cast of rejects and unknowns plotted an unthinkable heist

Kasper Schmeichel, Great Dane II
Instead of following his father’s footsteps to Manchester United, he took to the blue half of Manchester at 16. But City loaned him out to second division sides before he moved to Notts County in 2009. Leicester, then in Championship, roped him aboard in 2011, and ever since has been instrumental in helping them win the Championship, stave off relegation and then help them to the title.

Robert Huth, second wind
At 20, he had established himself as the first-choice defender in Ranieri’s Chelsea side. At 22, the German made his international debut. But when the club grew more ambitious, he was ditched. The burly defender’s career slipped away. He found himself in Stoke City, where he was loaned to struggling Leicester. But rejoining his mentor rejuvenated him so much so that he is back in Germany’s Euro 16 plan.

Leonardo Ulloa, super sub
Like many young Argentine strikers, Ulloa wanted to be like Crespo and Batistuta. Instead he found himself in second divison Spanish side Almeria before switching to Championship side Brighton A haul of 23 goals in 50 matches was enough for Leicester to shell out a club-record eight million pounds. Vardy’s presence meant his opportunities came few and far between this season, but he netted crucial goals.

N’Golo Kante, Bargain buy
The rise of French midfielder of Malian descent owed to smart scouting by Steve Walsh, the Leicester scout, who unearthed the stat that no one in France had made as many tackles or interceptions per game—the respective numbers read 4.8 and 2.9 last year. As a youngster, many managers, including Arsene Wenger, thought he was not strong enough for the physical EPL.

Riyad Mahrez, Ligue 1 reject
The day after his father died, when he was 15, he promised his mother that they wouldn’t live a life of poverty, like most in the crammed immigrant town of Sarcellas in France. The Algerian-origin teen promised to fulfill his father’s dream of playing for a big club. With optimism he attended trials of French clubs, but the scouts deemed he was too skinny and “pencil-legged”.

Danny Drinkwater, United Discard
As a kid growing up in Manchester, he wanted to be like Paul Scholes. At 19, he was on the aisle to emulate him. The year his room-mate Danny Welbeck made his senior debut, he was shunted out to a loan spell before United dispelled him to Leicester. Even there, he was on the fringe as Estaban Cambiasso was in his pomp. But the latter’s retirement changed it all.

Wes Morgan, championship pick
The scouts made fun of his girth and the teenager almost thought of quitting. before a Notthingham Forest coach took him to the junior side. He made slow progress, but eventually, he became a permanent fixture at the heart of the Forest’s defence. Impressed, Pearson ferried him to Leicester and made him the captain. He won over Ranieri’s trust too.

Srivaddhanaprabha, Thai owner
Worth two billion according Forbes list, he made most of the money through duty free shops in various parts of the world. He bought the club from Milan Mandaric for £39m in 2010. Ever since, he has been actively involved with the club’s day-t-o-day affairs and is widely known as a benevolent owner, giving the coaching staff a free run in the transfer market.

Claudio Ranieri, Thinkerman
Over his three-decade-long managerial career, the Italian had acquired several nicknames, most of them with an mocking hue, like “deadman walking”, “tinkerman” and “TV destroyer”. He has managed the elites of world football, but ironically, it was with Leicester that the 64-year-old will achieve footballing immortality.
Now they call him the thinkerman.

Jamie Vardy, non-league footballer
Rejected by Sheffield FC, he began working in a carbon-fibre splint factory. He squeezed in time to represent Stocksbridge in the neighbourhood league, for 30 pounds a match. But impressive performances saw him move up. This was where Leicester, then plying at Championship, spotted and bought him for a record of 1 millions pounds in 2012. Rest is history.

Shinji Okazaki, Japanese outlier
The Japanese was another player perceived ill-suited to the English game—short in stature and relatively less pacy. For a striker, his tally of 79 goals from 249 games in various clubs in Germany was little less prolific too. But in Okazaki, Ranieri found a perfect foil to Vardy. His tactical awareness and intelligent off-the-ball work were exceptional this season.