The last – and only – occasion when Leicester City won the Community Shield was in 1971, 45 years ago. Double winners Arsenal were unable to attend due to a lazily planned pre-season schedule meaning FA Cup runners-up Liverpool would face Second Division champions Leicester instead.
Played at Filbert Street, the Foxes’ former home, in front of a crowd of just 25,104, Steve Witworth’s 25th minute strike for the hosts was enough to defeat Bill Shankly’s men. Having never won the FA Cup, the Shield has held pride of place in the Leicester trophy cabinet alongside their three League Cups and seven second-tier titles.
Their remarkable march to the Premier League title under Claudio Ranieri last season has since painted the East Midlands club’s entire history in a different hue. No longer nearly men, Leicester’s very appearance at Wembley this afternoon, to face Manchester United, is a reminder of their electric, unfathomable rise to the top.
That Shield victory in ’71 is one of just 12 major pieces of silverware in Leicester’s cabinet - if you generously include second and third tier triumphs in that tally. United, by contrast, have won a record 20 top flight titles, a shared record 12 FA Cups, four League Cups, 20 Community Shields and three European Cups.
The David and Goliath element to the Leicester City story remains. But instead of being offended by the occasionally patronising question here, the often stooping comment there, Ranieri wears their underdog status like winners’ rosette, his breast puffed out. “I have spoken with the players and I have told them that I know them very well and I want more from them,” Ranieri said, demanding that Leicester use their title success as a springboard.
The latest leap into the dark comes today at Wembley. Against Jose Mourinho’s lavishly assembled United crop, the odds will be stacked against them once more.
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