Stats: Leicester City's title win is the unlikeliest championship win in the history of sports
It’s still hard to believe that Leicester City are champions of the Premier League. It truly is a remarkable story. These are the kind of things Hollywood fairytales are made of. The Foxes at this point last last year were battling for survival, and now they are the best team in England.
The only thing more incredible than their story is the numbers behind their journey. Here are some of the stats that will baffle you.
Leicester City started the season with odds of 5000/1 to win the title and beat those odds which is the best ever odds to be defied in sporting history . Elvis Presley had odds of 2000/1 of being found alive. That comparison shows just how amazing this story really is.
1 – Ranieri has managed the likes of Chelsea, Juventus, Inter and Roma but failed to win the title with any of those teams. This is his first ever title win at the age of 64, in his entire career and he has achieved it with a team which was the least likeliest to win it amongst the above mentioned
8 – Ranieri is now the 8th different manager to win the Premier League. The other seven are Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Mancini, Manuel Pellegrini and Kenny Dalglish.
3 – Ranieri is also the 3rd Italian manager to win the Premier League. Will Antonio Conte be the fourth next season?
48 – Leicester had spent 48 seasons in the top flight of English football before winning their first title. It is the longest ever wait, beating the previous record held by Derby County when they won the league in 1972 after 46 seasons in the first division.
29 – Kasper Schmeichel was just a kid when his father lifted the trophy for the first time with Manchester United. Now, at the age of 29, he has emulated him by winning his firts EPL title at 29 years of age, the same time Peter Schmeichel achieved the feat
365 – On May 3 2015, Eden Hazard scored the goal against Crystal Palace that crowned them champions of England. Exactly a year later, he scored the goal that clinched the title for Chelsea’s old boss Claudio Ranieri. Coincidence or Destiny?
1 – Leicester won the league for the very first time. Surprisingly they are the only team since Nottingham Forest in 1978 to win the league for the first time in a club’s history. Every team from then until now have won the title before.
24 - Leicester City are the 24th different team to win the English League. Manchester United are still record holders of the competition with 20 title wins
14 – Leicester City finished 14th in the league last year just about avoiding relegation. Now the team are top of the tree. The have climbed 13 places since last year which is the most by a League Champion since Nottingham Forest won the title after gaining promotion the previous season.
2 – Leicester are only the second team after Blackburn Rovers to have won the Premier league since it’s inception in 1992 and not be named Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea or Manchester City.
68– Leicetser City’s team are worth around a total of €68 million. Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne cost them €72 million alone in 2015
Stats Via:
Opta
Whoscored
Squawka