Arsène Wenger says he is looking forward to renewing acquaintances with Claudio Ranieri, the “great manager and great man” whom he credits with laying many of the foundations for the success that Chelsea have enjoyed in the last decade.
Arsenal travel to Ranieri’s high-flying Leicester City on Saturday, with the Frenchman unsurprised that his Italian counterpart has made a smooth return to the Premier League. Ranieri was manager at Stamford Bridge when Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 but was given only one season under the Russian billionaire before being replaced by José Mourinho. The Portuguese led Chelsea to the Premier League title the following season with a team that Wenger believes was built primarily by Ranieri.
“When Claudio left Chelsea he had built the team that was so successful at the start,” said Wenger. “I remember them finishing second in the league with Ranieri and the team was upcoming with young players like John Terry and Frank Lampard, who were the players that contributed to the success of Chelsea.”
In the past Mourinho has scoffed at Ranieri’s managerial record and the relationship between the pair became particularly sour when both men managed in Italy, Mourinho at Internazionale and Ranieri at Juventus and then Roma. In one memorable clash in 2008, after Ranieri had accused the Portuguese of a lack of respect for snubbing post-match television interviews, Mourinho ridiculed Ranieri’s poor command of English while at Chelsea, claiming that “Ranieri had been in England for five years and he still struggled to say ‘good morning’.”
Wenger, by contrast, admires Ranieri and has kept track of his progress since leaving Chelsea and managing six other clubs and a national team – Greece – before returning to England with Leicester last summer. “I’ve followed his career because I have big respect for Claudio Ranieri. He’s a great manager and a great man.
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