Claudio Ranieri was honoured as Italian football’s coach of the season on Monday for his extraordinary achievement in guiding unsung Leicester City to the most unlikely of Premier League triumphs.
Two days after lifting the English soccer’s biggest prize, the 64-year-old was back in his home city of Rome to collect the Enzo Bearzot award, named in honour of Italy’s late 1982 World Cup-winning coach and given annually to the country’s best manager.
He also received the Palma d’Oro (Golden Palm), the top honour that the Italian Olympic Committee can bestow on any coach.
At the Committee’s headquarters in Rome, Ranieri seemed overwhelmed by his reception as he had a special message for the young sportsmen and women who had been invited to the awards ceremony.
“First, never give up; secondly, always keep going forward; thirdly, don’t think of sport as something that will earn you money but think about sport as something that will keep you united,” he told them.
Six coaches have won the Bearzot award since its introduction in 2011, but Ranieri is only the second to be recognised for an achievement outside the Italian game.
Carlo Ancelotti won in 2014 after leading Real Madrid to their 10th European Cup win.
It may not be the end of the awards that seem bound to be heaped upon the popular, modest Ranieri, with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi saying last week that he would propose awarding him a top honour from the State.
