ECSTATIC FANS RUSHED into the streets of Leicester as the Foxes won the Premier League in a victory heralded as the most astonishing in the history of English football.
Dancing crowds dressed in the team’s blue jerseys hugged each other and chanted songs honouring heroes like boss Claudio Ranieri and striker Jamie Vardy, linchpins of the club’s first league title in its 132 year history.
“There is only one Ranieri,” chanted the crowds in celebration of the Italian manager. “Ranieri, oooh, ooh.”
“This year I got married and had a baby, but this tops it all,” said Steve Robinson, 26.
In the area around the cathedral where the skeleton of Richard III was buried after it was discovered under a carpark in 2012 — a fact seen by some to have brought the city luck — the streets were filled with waving blue and white flags.
“It’s going to be a big and long party, because we have waited a long time for this,” said tourist guide Steve Bruce.
At Hogarths pub nearby, fans urged on Chelsea to beat Tottenham Hotspur into second place in the deciding match, chanting “Come on Chelsea, come on Chelsea” and copying the cheers of fans from the television.
As the 2-2 draw confirmed Leicester had made history, the fans jumped and danced in elation and disbelief.
“I’m going to party! I’ve been supporting Leicester since I was 14 years old, can you imagine what this means for me?” said Caroline Wilkins, 60, who said she watched the match with a friend because her husband hates football.
“I feel on top of the world, I feel I’m in heaven!”
Chris Whiting, 20, said he had started to fear the victory might slip through Leicester’s fingers when Tottenham were two goals up in the first half of the game.
“I still can’t believe it… I started worrying about the next game,” Whiting said. “This is a real relief.”
Christine Norton, aged in her 60s, left the pub when Spurs scored the second goal but returned when Chelsea managed to equalise.
“I told them: if I leave, they’ll draw,” Norton said. “And here I am, I am really happy, this is a dream.”
The city had been dyed blue in the build up to the final matches, with one bar selling cappuccinos decorated with Vardy’s face, a restaurant selling fried blue fish, and a supermarket even dying their sausages blue.
Marc Wilks, who was selling t-shirts reading “Champions 2015-2016. Leicester Kings of England” said the party would continue for some time to come.
“It’s been a fantastic day, very good for the business,” Wilks said.
At the start of the season, few believed it was possible for the city of 330,000 people to beat London’s five teams and Manchester’s two to the title.
Bookmakers offered to pay out £5,000 for every pound bet if Leicester won the championship.
But fans got their payback for a lifetime of scorn and taunts by the city’s great rival, neighbouring Nottingham Forest, which won the English league once and the European Cup twice in the 1970s but now languishes in the second division.
Student Karishma Kapoor, 20, was laughing all the way to the bank after betting £2 on Leicester winning at the start of the season — giving her a payout of £10,000.
“We are a lot into football at home. So this summer we were discussing the season ahead in my grandma’s house and we decided to bet one pound each with my auntie,” Kapoor said.
“I would like to save some of it, and go on holidays, hopefully and pay my brother a trip to a Champions League game.”
Leicester will be presented with the Premier League trophy after their game against Everton on Saturday.
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2 La Ligas in a decade that sound like the best team of the decade?
To be fair 4 champions leagues in the last 5 years. As horrible a club like Real Madrid are in how their fans repeatedly boo their own players, treat their managers and truly believe they are above normal footballing rules as is standard across the board just because they are Real Madrid they are the best team of the last decade but Pepe is entitled to his opinion…maybe his view is biased with his Barca links as Mick McCarthy maybe be biased in how he views Gary Breen as one of the best Irish players that has ever walked the planet :-)
@Patrick McHugh: we all dream of a team of Gary breens a team of Gary Breens a team of Gary Breens
@Patrick McHugh: Guardiola is trolling of course. Barca have a superior league record recently but Real is also the first team to reach 4500 points in La Liga … the fans do boo players and it’s a shock for some to witness it but it only happens when they reckon the player isn’t giving a 100% effort , or is putting himself above the club . There are no sacred cows . And the results speak for themselves as does the fact that most players dream of playing for them … don’t write them off just yet in CL either . Ajax is the next rival up , a lot of injuries are clearing up and the fitness levels are back to where they should be after Lopeteguis departure .. it’s unlikely they’ll do a comeback in La Liga but the CL is still a strong option and let’s see what happens in Copa del Rey tonight
@Limón Madrugada: Visca Girona!!
@Karlos McGrath: let’s see what happens , won’t be an easy game but Real seem to have found their scoring boots at last . Hala Madrid !
@Limón Madrugada: To be fair to pep, he clearly thinks that winning the league consistently over the last ten years is a bigger feat than the CL.
And in that regard, Barca have dominated.
@Margarita Huanca: he clearly doesn’t because he signed for Bayern to win the CL for them , ultimately they didn’t need him to win their domestic league … similarly he signed for Man City who won leagues without him but are still way off a CL ..
@Limón Madrugada: True lad, but he did specify the domestic league when making this statement.
And to be honest, I think he has a point.
@Limón Madrugada: found this, didn’t think the all time record was that even https://www.goal.com/en/news/real-madrid-barcelona-clasico-record-head-to-head/hxdm74dgfby81w9bsiejduy05
@Dave O Keeffe: who did you expect to be further ahead ??
@Margarita Huanca: no he did not , he said ‘every year they win , the leagues , the cups’ so why do 4 of the last 5 CL not count ?
It’s a league ( of sorts) and a CUP … not to mention Real did the treble two years ago … and have been World club champions meanwhile too .. Guardiola is deliberately omitting Real Madrid , which in the end is a backhanded compliment … he’s a bitter and resentful man sometimes beneath his superficial saintly image
@Limón Madrugada: thought Real would be ahead by a good bit