Ltragedy after the match. What was supposed to be a normal Saturday in the Premier League in England suddenly turned into a catastrophe for Leicester, the English city and its fans. Shortly after the final whistle of the 1-1 home draw against West Ham, the helicopter carrying Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, owner of the English club that has rightfully entered the history of football for having won the Premier League against all odds in 2016 with the Italian coach Claudio Ranieri, crashed outside the King Power Stadium. In addition to the 60-year-old Thai owner and the pilots, his daughter was also on board. According to initial reconstructions, the helicopter was engulfed in flames after falling immediately after take-off in the stadium car park. Srivaddhanaprabha, who usually left the stadium by helicopter, had attended tonight's match, valid for the tenth day of the Premier League. The area was immediately closed and the stadium was evacuated while the violent fire in the parking lot caused by the explosion of the helicopter was underway and later extinguished. Immediately after the accident, the first reactions of the Leicester players: the Foxes goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was seen in tears, while Jamie Vardy instead tweeted a series of hands clasped in prayer. On Twitter also the embrace of Milan: "After the tragedy that has struck Leicester Football Club, our deepest thoughts go to the city, the team and the fans!" The Thai president Srivaddhanaprabha had entered the history of football with his Leicester for having won the Premier League in 2016. On the bench of that team that as a rookie managed to beat the big English teams, from Chelsea to Manchester United passing through Arsenal, Liverpool and City, there was an old acquaintance of Italian football like Ranieri. The Roman coach, manager of Juventus and Roma among others, has never managed to win the title in the Bel Paese, but he was capable of an exploit that will go down in the history of football. A legendary tale written by Leicester that also bears the name of the top scorer of that championship, Jamie Vardy. The striker who would later conquer the English national team scored in eleven consecutive league games (13 goals), surpassing the record of goals scored in consecutive Premier League games belonging to Ruud van Nistelrooy and concluded the season with 24 goals in 35 league appearances.
Article published on 28 October 2018 - 07:08