Remember Christian Fuchs from Leicester's miracle title win? Well, the Austrian left-back is now rolling up his sleeves at Newport County, literally moving cones and bibs like any other coach trying to pull off another miracle.
Fuchs took over Newport 11 weeks ago when they were bottom of League Two. Now he's fighting to keep them in the Football League in what he calls "probably the toughest" first job anyone could ask for.
The first thing he did? Text his old mate Jamie Vardy to see if he fancied a move from Italy. "I asked Jamie if he wants to pack his bags," Fuchs admits with a grin. "Of course I did, even though I knew what the answer would be!"
The situation is pretty dire. Newport have won just twice in Fuchs' first 12 league games. They're still three points from safety after losing to fellow strugglers Bristol Rovers last weekend. That was a massive missed opportunity to climb out of the bottom two.
The bookies have Newport at around 9/4 to survive. Not terrible odds, but they need results fast. It's a far cry from those 5,000/1 odds Leicester had when they won the title a decade ago.
Learning From the Best
Fuchs is leaning on his football education big time. He's picking the brains of Thomas Tuchel, Claudio Ranieri, Brendan Rodgers, and Dean Smith. He's not shy about asking for help either - he was on two phone calls asking for advice just this morning.
He's even adopted Ranieri's habit of shaking hands with everyone in the room. That Italian warmth clearly rubbed off on him during that magical 2015-16 season.
The job came about pretty randomly. Fuchs was planning a Disney World holiday with his family when his assistant Mark Smith invited him to watch Newport play at Accrington. Someone spotted him, word got around, and owner Huw Jenkins rang his agent. Just like that, the family holiday was postponed.
Leicester Still in His Heart
This Friday marks 10 years since Leicester beat Manchester City 3-1 at the Etihad. That was the moment the 5,000/1 outsiders became favorites for the title. Wild times.
But now Leicester are in crisis mode themselves. Twice relegated, facing a points deduction, and searching for their fifth permanent manager in 20 months after sacking Marti Cifuentes. It hurts Fuchs to watch.
"I'll always be a Leicester supporter," he says. "I have watched almost every single game since I left. It hurts a lot." His old teammate Andy King is now in interim charge, and Fuchs sent him a simple message: "You got this."
Would Fuchs want to manage Leicester one day? "Yes," he answers immediately. No hesitation. "I'm not making secrets." He jokes about checking his phone to see if Leicester's hierarchy has called yet.
But first things first. Fuchs has brought a magician in to entertain his Newport players. He's taken them to a spa retreat with obstacle courses in the pool. He's doing everything to build team spirit.
"We are a small team, but we are big enough," Fuchs insists. "We were always underestimated with Leicester and given the table it is happening to us right now as well."
If he pulls this off, would it compare to Leicester's miracle? "I think that would be a stretch," Fuchs admits. "But it would be very close." With 9/4 odds, it's definitely possible. But Newport need to start picking up points now.
