Rafa's Praise For Ranieri's Foxes

By Tom Easterby - Newcastle United Club Reporter

Rafa Benitez has congratulated Leicester City and their manager Claudio Ranieri after they clinched the Barclays Premier League title earlier this week.

The Foxes' 1-1 draw at Manchester United on Sunday preceded Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Monday, which secured the trophy for Ranieri's side.

And Benitez has heaped praise upon his Italian counterpart, who replaced him as manager of Valencia in 2004.

"I've known Ranieri since he was at Fiorentina. I went to see him training a long time ago, and after that he came to Liverpool. He replaced me at Valencia, so I've known him for a while. He's a great manager," he said.

"To come here after Chelsea and do as well as he's been doing, I think it's an amazing achievement for him, for Leicester, for all the fans and all the players there, so you have to congratulate them. It's an example for the rest of the teams and the rest of the managers."

Leicester have lost just three games all season to date on their way to sealing the most unlikely of title triumphs.

And Benitez lauded their victory against the odds, highlighting the scale of their achievement in toppling the biggest clubs in English football on their way to picking up the top domestic honour.

"Claudio Ranieri was talking about (it still being talked about) in 20 years. For me, I think it will be more than 20 - maybe 50, maybe 100," said the Magpies boss.

"It's difficult for anyone, because this team was not a favourite to be be in the top 10. To stay there at the top of the table for so long, and then to win the title, not just for him, for anyone - even the top sides have problems staying all the time there so I think it's a fantastic achievement, he did really well.

"Especially when you talk about a foreign manager - he was here before, but you have to adapt again, to know every player, to know the tactics, to know everything, so I think he did really, really well."