LEICESTER BURNLEY
Puel: Game packed full of emotion
chairman, Khun Vichai. I know I am speaking for every Leicester City fan when I say that because of him we fulfilled our dreams.
“Of course, the team, management backroom staff won the Premier League in 2016 but we all know without him it would not have been possible. “Rest in peace, chairman – the boss.” It was that sort of occasion. One on which even Burnley’s supporters were thanked for their attendance.
Obviously, that goodwill did not survive for 90 minutes. There was a football match to play, after all. Perhaps the emotion of the past two weeks had taken it out of Leicester’s players, the majority of whom had made a round trip to Thailand to join in with the official funeral.
At the end of 90 sapping minutes, a tearful Aiyawatt led a procession around the arena with his father’s name ringing in his ears, Thai flag in hand.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha may have done Leicester City proud. Yesterday the city of Leicester did the same for their late owner. appreciation around the pitch at the King Power Stadium after their goalless draw against Burnley.
A two-minute video had been shot and was shown on two big screens before kickoff after thousands of fans marched from the city centre in a show of solidarity.
Former Leicester bosses Claudio Ranieri, Craig Shakespeare and Nigel Pearson also showed their respect.
Two weeks after Vichai and four others perished in a devastating helicopter crash at the ground, Puel said: “It was a special day – a special match – our first at home after the dreadful accident. It was important to have a communion with our fans towards our chairman.
“After the game it was pure emotion. The players and fans both made their tributes towards him. It was a fantastic connection.
“To see the former managers come back too showed the man he was. He was close to his managers and players.
“He was a nice man. He wanted to please people around him. He was generous with his feelings.”
Puel also praised his players, many of whom flew to Thailand after last weekend’s game against Cardiff City, returning in midweek following the official funeral. He added: “They learnt a lot about themselves. They found their maturity. I know their strengths and character on the pitch. But they showed a lot in this game with all of the emotion.”
Burnley boss Sean Dyche paid his own respects. He arrived at the stadium on Friday night to see the tributes left by Leicester supporters.
He said: “It’s a rare feeling as a manager. You want to win but if we had, it would have been incidental in the grand scheme of things.
“We still had a professional job to do. It was tough on us, coming here. But it’s been very, very tough on Leicester. I have complete professional respect for them.” FOR EVERY MATCH REPORT