Leicester City was a timeless tale last season. Their title victory gave hope to every underdog in every competition across the globe. 5000-to-1 shots took on the biggest spenders in the game and came out on top. Despite many hopes and prayers, it is probably not something we are going to see again in England for quite some time. Now the Foxes find themselves in a bit of a quandary. Do they try to beat the odds again and tackle the Premier League once again? Or do they take their all so rare opportunity in the UEFA Champions League and sharpen their focus on that competition?
They lost on opening day in shocking fashion to Hull City. They welcome a humbled, yet still plenty dangerous, Arsenal to the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon. It may be early, but two early losses in the league could spell curtains for every neutral’s favorite. So why not start taking strides to making the Champions League, which starts for Leicester City in mid-September, a priority?
I get that one loss doesn’t mean the end of the season, even in the highly competitive Premier League. But Leicester City looked a much different side against Hull City than they did a year ago. N’Golo Kante’s absence was patently visible from the opening kickoff. Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, Leicester’s dynamic duo, struggled to find their feet against a beleaguered Hull back line. Their own back four looked discombobulated throughout the 90 minutes. Leicester City became the first defending Premier League champions to lose on opening day. Claudio Ranieri’s men, old and new, may need that shift in focus.
The Champions League draw takes place in Monaco on August 25th. Leicester City will be the low man on the totem pole in Pot 1. Their low UEFA Club Coefficient of 15.256 is over 30 points lower than CSKA Moscow, the second bottom team in the pot. The remaining six teams, with lengthy winning pedigrees, are all in the triple digits. So why should Leicester focus on a competition for which they will be at a distinct disadvantage from jump street? The novelty of it. That isn’t to say that they should take the “We’re just happy to be here” approach, but rather a “We may never get back here, so let’s make this count” one.
Claudio Ranieri knows first hand the rigors of balancing domestic competition with European commitments. Stints at Valencia, Chelsea, and Inter Milan were all marred by his inability to find that delicate balance. But those three jobs had much different expectations than his current one. Leicester City is essentially playing with house money at the moment. Heavy investment and heavy competition made that anything but true in his other attempts at European glory. Ranieri had massive expectations of bountiful amounts of silverware laid at his feet. Now, he is in charge of a club where the expectations are substantially lower. Sure, Leicester don’t want to go out with a whimper, but they could do so and it wouldn’t immediately mean the sack for the Italian.
With the exception of Kante, Leicester City have kept their core intact. Mahrez, Vardy, and their defense are all locked up for at least two more seasons. However, with the Premier League getting stronger and stronger, this may be their best chance at that lightning strike of luck once again. The Champions League is a daunting task. It is even more so when you haven’t spent near billions to have a glorified secondary roster to balance your league play and mid-week European games. Many teams take shortcuts in Europe to ensure domestic success. For Leicester City, I think they should be doing the exact opposite.