When Claudio Ranieri first arrived in the Premier League, he caused a minor stir because of his inability to speak to the media in English. “Ranieri finds trouble in translation” was the headline in the Guardian after Chelsea lost to Everton in November 2000, which goes to show how tough it was for the affable Italian during his early days as an outsider in a strange and suspicious country.
The man who would eventually lead Leicester City to the title was the Manuel to English football’s Basil Fawlty, raising the hackles with his inability to communicate with players and supporters. Yet at least Ranieri’s insistence on speaking to the media in Italian gave rise to one of the great comedy episodes. The story goes that when Ranieri had finished giving a detailed three-minute answer, his interpreter would nod and say “It’s a game of two halves” in English.
Written by Jacob Steinberg
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/jul/20/maurizio-sarri-fun-times-chelsea under the title “Maurizio Sarri aims to lighten the mood at Chelsea after Conte era | Jacob Steinberg”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
