Leicester City is one of the new dark horses in the Premier League. No wonder that their appearances in Europa League are quite a few. However, it does not mean that they have a limited fans and capacity in their home base. King Power Stadium is quite suitable for European fixtures with its 32,261 people and lively atmosphere among the fans.
The Foxes have had only several players who could contribute fairly well in their campaign in Europa League. The likes of Jimmy Walsh, Ken Keyworth, Jamie Vardy, James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Kelechi Iheanacho and the Danish international goalie, Kasper Schmeichel are the important figures in the history of the club’s European campaign so far. In their managerial history, Claudio Ranieri is the most notable figure in their Champions League debut, but in Europa League, there are two names who deserve a recognition, Frank O’Farrell and the former Liverpool and Swansea boss, Brendan Rodgers.
Top Achievements
Leicester City have made five appearances so far with 1961/62 Cup Winners Cup was their first entry. Unlike in the Champions League, which they could progress as further as the quarter final, their best result in Europa League was in 2020/21 season when Jamie Vardy and Co only went through the round of 32. Unfortunately, despite their impressive domestic campaign, The Foxes did not seem to focus on their European one. They were beaten 0-2 on aggregate against Slavia Prague.
In the rest of their continental campaign in the European second tier. They mainly lost the tie at the first and second round, strangely their defeats are often related to Atletico Madrid, in 1962 Winners Cup, 1998 UEFA Cup plus UCL 2017.
Iconic Moments
There have only been a few
Iconic Moments
for The Foxes in Europa League. Perhaps their most notable one so far is their big win over Sporting Braga, the 2011 finalist at the group stage in 2020/21 season. At their home turf, Brendan Rodgers’ men hammered the Portuguese side 4-0. The former Manchester City man, Kelechi Iheanacho netted a brace followed by the Belgian international Denis Praet’s. James Maddison sealed their victory with another goal. In the reverse fixture, they could hold them in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Jamie Vardy scored their late equaliser.
Unfortunately, Leicester’s campaign in that season ended in disappointment as they were eliminated by the Czech’s Slavia Prague with a 0-2 defeat at home after mustering a goalless draw in the previous outing. In 1997/98 UEFA Cup, The Foxes did not even manage to progress as they already encountered Atletico Madrid at the first round, plus their manager Martin O’Neill who guided them to a silverware in thd League Cup had left earlier of the season. Ian Marshall and Co were hapless and lost 1-4 on aggregate.
