下個賽季要8月份才開始，也許這顯得非常遙遠，但足球世界運轉得很快并且很殘酷。如果萊斯特城想要再次挑戰英國的博彩公司，他們就需要快速做出一系列重要的決定。
2015-16英超賽季開始時，博彩公司開出的美國搖滾巨星艾爾維斯·普萊斯利（貓王）依然活著的賠率是1000比1。同一時間，博彩公司對萊斯特城英超奪冠開出的賠率是5000比1。
貓王仍無處可尋，但萊斯特城已經前去度暑，為他們史上首次進軍歐冠聯賽養精蓄銳，而一名在賽季初下注萊斯特城的球迷此時已將25萬英鎊（約合237萬2700元人民幣）收入囊中。
關于某些球員將離開萊斯特城的傳言已是沸沸揚揚，有報道稱尤文圖斯和巴塞羅那已經分別出價欲將恩戈洛·坎特和里亞德·馬赫雷斯招入麾下。有些媒體評論員甚至預測萊斯特城主帥克勞迪奧·拉涅利也將棄舊圖新，博彩公司更是為萊斯特城下個賽季降級英冠開出了賭注。
與此同時，仍有很多人在繼續研究萊斯特城奪冠的秘訣。除了1995年布萊克本（當時資源配置充裕）獲得過冠軍外，英超從成立之日起就由幾大豪門主宰。但是此次萊斯特城的奪冠壯舉，給了許多欲效仿其成功經驗的俱樂部以希望。
萊斯特城的一個顯著特點是團隊的力量遠大于個體的簡單加總。這部分歸功于拉涅利，他總是能打造出以激情、個性和斗志為根基的內聚力強大的隊伍。的確，拉涅利經常在新聞發布會上強調他的隊員是多么的上進。
公開表示自己對球員的信心向來是拉涅利執教的風格。但他也很謙虛，奪冠次日被媒體問及球隊是如何獲得成功時，他回答道：“我也不清楚我們是如何做到的，但球員和球迷是至關重要的。”
也許這就是萊斯特城問鼎英超的原因之一：拉涅利讓球員、球隊和俱樂部成為關注的焦點，而非自己。這和英國足球盛行的“教練崇拜”大相徑庭。拿何塞·穆里尼奧來說，他永遠高于球隊。不過，圣誕節之前這個葡萄牙人就已經狀態失常，禍不單行，最終被掃地出門。
▲ 拉涅利把一群渴望重生的球員召集到了一起。
萊斯特城這支球隊是主教練形象的映射。丹尼爾·德林沃特和丹尼·辛普森是曼聯的棄兒；杰米·瓦爾迪一度輾轉于低級聯盟謀生；馬克·阿爾布萊頓和羅伯特·胡特曾是走下坡路俱樂部里的失敗球員；坎特和馬赫雷斯不久前還是法甲的無名小輩。
拉涅利把一群尋找希望、渴望重生的球員召集到一起，他和萊斯特城所給予的信心徹底激發了這些球員的潛能，將他們打造成了世界巨星。不同于這個賽季的切爾西，曼城和曼聯，萊斯特城向我們證明冠軍不一定是花重金買來的，也可以是打造和拼搏出來的。
杰米·瓦爾迪已經化身為萊斯特城崛起的象征，他從斯多克布里奇公園鋼鐵隊的業余球員一躍成為英格蘭隊的正式隊員。多虧了萊斯特城球探的火眼金睛，不然瓦爾迪也許永遠也不會踏上英超的賽場。
萊斯特城的球探系統不僅僅依靠其滲透的深度和廣度，它尋找目標球員的方式也是獨樹一幟。除了觀察那些技巧熟練的球員，俱樂部的球探們會特別留意那些與俱樂部勤奮和團結精神相契合的球員。也就是說萊斯特城招募球員不單單憑借數據，也參考球員的為人。這種探星方式取得了巨大的成功，目前阿森納已經挖走了萊斯特城兩名最重要的球探。
差不多一年之前，萊斯特城還是英超的墊底俱樂部，隨時有降級的危險。但在另類前主帥尼格爾·皮爾森姍姍來遲的整頓之下，萊斯特城幸運地與降級英冠擦肩而過。俱樂部老板對皮爾森的耐心和信心是萊斯特城這個賽季崛起的重要因素，也代表了他們的領導風格。
英超許多球隊對于新的主帥是欲求難滿，最著名的當屬切爾西、阿斯頓維拉以及沃特福德。相比之下，萊斯特城的泰國老板似乎更為冷靜和深思熟慮，他們在萊斯特城培養了一種團結和睦的文化氛圍，突出強調耐心以及戰略性思考。
從2010年掌權至今，皇權國際集團從來沒有亂開教練和胡亂花錢招募名實不符的球員。他們搬遷到了一座新的球場，穩步改善了球場的競技環境，這給經常將球隊拖入混亂境地的俱樂部提供了改善的標準。
萊斯特城此后何去何從是一個非常有趣的話題。有人認為他們不會從英超降級，萊斯特城的球迷更是希望球隊不要再遭受此前的窘迫與尷尬。不過，將成功延續下去是非常有挑戰性的，克勞迪奧·拉涅利和他的球探們承受的壓力很大，他們需要引進更多的有天賦的球員來融入這個已經扎根的球隊文化氛圍中。
如何將球場上的成功轉化為經濟上的成功，也是值得萊斯特城深思的。
俱樂部當下面臨的是決定球衣贊助商的問題。目前萊斯特城的球衣上印制的是球隊老板皇權集團的標志，球衣帶來的年收益只有100萬英鎊（約合952萬8100元人民幣）。球隊老板也許覺得保持這樣的安排沒什么不妥，但曼聯和切爾西的球衣贊助合同能為他們帶來超過7000萬英鎊（約合6億6690萬元人民幣）的年收益。與他們相比，萊斯特城的確需要考慮是否應該選擇一個能給他們帶來更大收益的國際贊助商。
俱樂部老板也需要對全新的經營狀況做出戰略性的反應，這取決于對萊斯特城這個賽季所取得的成功的可持續性的精確估計。下個賽季要8月份才開始，也許這顯得非常遙遠，但足球世界運轉得很快并且很殘酷。如果萊斯特城想要再次挑戰英國的博彩公司，他們就需要快速做出一系列重要的決定。
英文原文：
At the start of the 2015/16 Premier Leaguefootball season, the bookmaker’s odds of American rock star Elvis Presley beingfound alive were 1000-1. A the same time, the bookmakers odds for LeicesterCity winning the Premier League were 5000-1.
Elvis Presley has yet to be found,Leicester are heading-off for a summer break prior to playing their first evergames in the UEFA Champions League, and one Leicester-based gambler is ￡250,000wealthier.
Speculation is already rife about whichplayers will leave City, with Juventus and Barcelona reportedly having bid forN’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez respectively. While some media commentators aresuggesting that even coach Claudio Ranieri will leave the club, bookmakers arealready taking bets on Leicester City getting relegated next season.
At the same time, many people continue toask how Leicester managed to win the Premier League. Apart from BlackburnRovers in 1995 (a club which, at that time, was incredibly well resourced), theleague has been dominated by the usual suspects throughout the entirety of itshistory. Yet City have somehow given hope to other clubs that they too canemulate the champions’ success.
One feature of Leicester City has been theway in which the team has added-up to more of the sum of its parts. In partthis is due to Ranieri, who always seems to build teams that are strong andcohesive, with foundations based on passion, soul and fight. Indeed, theItalian has often emphasised in press conferences how much heart his players have.
Such public displays of belief in hisplayers have always been a characteristic of Ranieri’s management style. Yet heis a modest, self-effacing man too; when asked in interviews about the leaguetriumph the day after Leicester won the league, his response was “I don’t knowhow we did it, but the players and the fans were important.”
Perhaps this is one of the reasonsLeicester succeeded: Ranieri made the players, team and club the focus ofattention, not himself. This stands in stark contract to the ‘cult of manager’which often characterises English football. Contrast the Italian with JoseMourinho; always bigger than his teams, the Portuguese was out of form, out ofluck and out of a job before Christmas.
The team that Ranieri built was importanttoo, as it was a team arguably cast in the same image as the coach. DannyDrinkwater and Danny Simpson were Manchester United cast-offs; Jamie Vardy wasa journeyman professional turning-out for lower league teams; Marc Albrightonand Robert Huth were failing players in failing teams; Kante and Mahrez wereunknowns from the French league.
By bringing together a group of playersseeking a second chance, a new beginning, Leicester’s and Ranieri’s faith inthem brought out the best in men who are now world famous. Unlike Chelsea,Manchester City and Manchester United this season, one lesson of City’s victoryis that success is not necessarily bought, it is built and engendered.
Jamie Vardy has become emblematic ofLeicester’s rise, having gone from being an amateur, non-league footballer withStocksbridge Park Steels to becoming an England national team regular. But if it wasn’t for the skill of LeicesterCity’s scouts, Vardy may never have been spotted and may never have played inthe Premier League.
City’s scouting network is not only basedon the breadth and depth of its reach, it is also renowned for the way in whichits targets players. The club’s scouts don’t just look for the most skilfulplayers, rather they seek to identify talent that fits with the club’s ethos ofhard work and togetherness. Hence, players are not just recruited because oftheir performance statistics but also for how they are as people. This approachhas been so successful that Arsenal have already poached two of LeicesterCity’s most important scouts.
Little more than a year ago, the club wasbottom of the Premier League and about to be relegated. Yet a late rally underthe club’s somewhat unorthodox former manager (Nigel Pearson) resulted in theclub escaping a drop in to the Championship. The patience and faith shown inPearson by the club’s owners was an important part of this season’s resurgenceand an indication of their leadership style.
Many teams in the Premier League have avoracious appetite for new managers, most notably the likes of Chelsea, AstonVilla and Watford. However, Leicester’s Thai owners seem to have gone abouttheir business in a much calmer, more considered way. They appear to havefostered a culture of togetherness which at the same time seems to emphasisepatience and strategic thinking.
Although they have been in charge since2010, the King Power International Group have not been prone to sack theirmanagers nor to engage in wasteful expenditure on highly paid, under-performingtalent. Equally, there move to a new stadium and gradual playing improvement onthe field have set a benchmark for clubs that are often lead more turbulentexistences.
Where Leicester City go from here will beinteresting – one assumes that they won’t be relegated from the Premier League;many people from the city are hoping that the team won’t be repeatedlyembarrassed in the Champions League. Building sustainable success will be adifficult task, which means the pressure is on Claudio Ranieri and his scoutsacquire talent that bring more playing success but by fitting into anestablished team culture.
How City convert playing success intofinancial success will also be an issue. There are clear opportunities aheadfor Leicester, ranging from the commercial opportunities the Champions League willbring through to the potential overseas fan engagement the club’s fairy talesuccess seems to be bringing.
One decision the club does face is what todo with its shirt sponsorship deal. Valued at only ￡1 million per year, thefirst-team’s shirts carry the King Power of the club’s owners. The owners maysee some value in continuing with such an arrangement. However, when clubs likeManchester United and Chelsea have shirt sponsorship deals worth ￡70 million ormore, Leicester need to consider whether they would be better off finding aglobal sponsor who will pay them more money.
How the club’s owners respondedstrategically to the new operating conditions the club now faces could welldetermine whether or not relegation odds are an accurate measure of howsustainable Leicester’s success this season actually is. It may seem like thestart of next season, in August, is a long way away. But football moves fastand is an unforgiving business; as such, Leicester City rapidly need to makesome important decisions. Especially if they are to continue defying Britain’sbookmakers.
作者簡介：西蒙·查德威克，任教于英國索爾福德大學，被聘為“92班“教授，教授“體育企業”，“體育戰略”等課程。同時他還擔任2022卡塔爾世界杯研究項目主任。與西蒙·查德威克教授合作過的世界頂級體育組織包括巴塞羅那足球俱樂部、歐足聯、德國足球甲級聯賽、阿迪達斯、米其林、國際網球聯合會、德勤和Repucom。
Simon Chadwick is 'Class of 92' Professor of Sports Enterprise at Salford University Manchester and Director of Research for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. He has worked with many of the world's leading sports organisations including FC Barcelona, UEFA, the Bundesliga, Adidas, Michelin Motorsport, the International Tennis Federation, Deloitte and Repucom.
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