​Should Leicester City continue their incredible march to the Premier League title, Claudio Ranieri will have masterminded one of the most surreal and unparalleled achievements in the history of English football as we know it.





With a five point gap and 13 games to go, it seems more or less certain that the Foxes will be in the Champions League next season so the question on everyone's mind is of just one word: How?





Ranieri explained his methods and how he's tried to keep the fire lit under his players, warning them that this is their only shot in an in-depth interview with ​Corriere della Sera (h/t ​101greatgoals).





“In an era when money counts for everything, we give hope to everybody.

“I arrived in August and I started to look at the recordings of all games from the previous season. I saw that the team had produced a great ending, ran a lot, and looked confident. When I spoke with the players I realised that they were afraid of Italian tactics… I said that I trusted them, I would talk very little about tactics. For me the important thing was to continue what we had done (running hard) in the final part of last season.





“In my opinion it [training] is less important in England. Here everyone trains with great intensity, there’s competitive spirit even when doing sprinting exercises. And the games are always hard fought. My idea is that first of all the players need to recover and then to train."





Corriere della Sera could hardly believe the manager's revelations, calling it heresy to which Ranieri replied: “Maybe it is, I do not know. I believe in training, but I also believe that everything is relative. My boys are training a lot, but not too many times. In England the game is always high intensity, it exhausts them. You need to recover. We play on Saturdays, Sundays are free for everyone. We resume on Monday with light training, like in Italy. Hard training on Tuesday, Wednesday absolute rest. Thursday another hard workout, finishing on Friday, match again Saturday.

“We have at least two days of no training a week. And this is what I said when I arrived at Leicester: ‘I trust you.’ I’ll explain a little football in a while, but you must always give everything. I do not think it’s a perfect formula. Football is not chemistry, there are no universal rules. You have to take the best from the group you have. Here at Leicester everyone feels like they are participating, so playing badly means betraying the others. They are free men, aware that they have a job and responsibility. They enjoy maintaining that.





“I have a player who comes every morning from Manchester, one travels from London. It would be unthinkable in Italy, but frankly in England it’s very odd too. At Leicester it can be done because the team allows it. This is what makes me proudest. Sometimes I am at the dinner table and I am frightened by how much they eat. I’ve never seen players so starved! The first few times I was surprised, then I learned to smile. If they run so much, they can eat what they want."





The difference between English and Italian players? Ranieri responded: “To have fun. In Italian football it is a struggle to have fun, I also believe they train with less intensity, less conviction. It’s more a duty. Here there is a strong awareness of being young, healthy and doing a great job. It would be stupid to waste all that. When they train, they always put the same effort in as a match, I never had to once tell off someone for being lazy. They also need to be relaxed and not harassed. They expect calm and respect in the dressing room, so if you want to be a Prima Donna they won’t forgive you for it.

“In England they always play like it’s a derby. I saw Milan-Inter a few days ago, that was an English game. Running, hitting, teams stretched out and a lot of competitive spirit, it’s not very Italian. I always tell my players to find the fire within themselves. A chance like this will never come round again. Seek that fire, don’t be ashamed of it. And, they are not ashamed. If anything, they demand to dream.





“I know it doesn’t always work like this, but nobody knows how it really works. We found something that works by itself, so we must at least respect it all the way. Leicester City is what I’ve always sought – half style of football and half awareness of an objective. None of us really think we are working for a living, otherwise we’d get up tired every day. If we live to work, then let us give meaning to what we do. I’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced this before at the end of my playing days. It was Gianni di Marzio’s Catanarzio. That was a side like Leicester. A group of friends who lived together."





When asked if the Foxes can win the title, Ranieri replied: “I do not know, but it’s fantastic to have already earned the question. When I arrived the president asked me for 24 points by Christmas. We made 37 or 39, I do not even remember how many. And now we are still up there now. In an era when money counts for everything, we give hope to everybody.”

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