Jose Mourinho once infamously mocked Claudio Ranieri's linguistic skills, claiming, "He had been in England for five years and still struggled to say 'good morning' and 'good afternoon'." These days, though, the Leicester City manager's press conferences and post-match interviews have become a must for all Premier League followers.
Indeed, while the Italian is rightly being lauded for transforming relegation battlers into the unlikeliest of title winners, the way in which Ranieri has charmed the English public and press is also worthy of the utmost praise.
The 64-year-old has repeatedly spoken with a sincerity and humility that have endeared him to the footballing world. However, it is his infectious enthusiasm and wonderfully weird sense of humour that have made Ranieri such a cult hero at Leicester - and beyond.
“Why can’t we continue to run, run, run? We are like Forrest Gump. Leicester is Forrest Gump.”
- Ranieri is certainly like a box of chocolates, as you never know what you're going to get when he starts speaking! In this instance, though, he was talking about the Foxes' remarkable stamina.
"Hey, man, we are in Champions League! We are in Champions League, man! Dilly-ding, dilly-dong! Come on!"
- Arguably the greatest quote of this or any other season. It may not have been flawless English but it perfectly conveyed just how excited Ranieri was about Leicester guaranteeing themselves qualification for the game's most prestigious tournament.
"Robert De Niro would be good!"
- Ranieri's response after being asked who he would like to see play him in a movie about Leicester striker Jamie Vardy.
"I said to the players, 'When we keep a clean sheet, I pay for everyone a pizza.' Maybe they wait for me to say, 'Ok, a good dinner instead.' They seem to be waiting until I improve the offer. Maybe a pizza and a hot dog!"
- Ranieri's motivational techniques didn't always go over well with his seemingly fickle and demanding players!
“Before I was 'The Tinkerman' and now it’s too much the same!”
- The former Chelsea boss reacts with incredulity to the suggestion that he is not rotating his players enough.
"It’s important not to look down or behind you. Like a climber, you need to look up. If you look down, you go, ‘Oh! My God, look where we are!'"
- Well aware that it's easy to get scared when one scales great heights, Ranieri instructed his men to keep staring at the stars.
"I am waiting for the whole stadium to sing 'Dilly-ding, Dilly-dong'."
- That wait will come to an end at the King Power Stadium on Saturday!
"I told my players, 'When you go on the pitch and you hear the song from Kasabian, that means they want warriors.' I want to see them as warriors for the fans. Kasabian are a fantastic rock band from Leicester and I think the guitar man, Serge, is Italian."
- Ranieri immediately endears himself to the Leicester faithful by attributing their opening-day win over Sunderland to his players' fighting spirit - and the Kasabian song 'Fire'.
"I scouted Cristiano Ronaldo – not a bad young player!"
- Ranieri reveals what he did during a brief break in Rome in February.
"I don't believe in the bookmakers, Ranieri said. The bookmakers at the beginning predicted that the (first manager) sacked would be Ranieri. The first!"
- Ranieri expertly shrugs off the news that Leicester are the new favourites to win the title - and buries the bookmakers in the process!
"I decided to my players: 'Take the break anyway.' I have never done that before. The maximum previously was three days… when I was crazy!"
- Ranieri claims that he's not as crazy as he used to be. But what does it matter if he is or not? Leicester are champions! Dilly-ding, dilly-dong! - Goal