Soccer: Renzi to propose awarding honour to Ranieri

(ANSA) - Rome, May 4 - Premier Matteo Renzi said Wednesday that he will propose awarding a top State honour to Claudio Ranieri after the Italian coach led Leicester City to the English league title in one of the greatest feats of modern football. "I will propose to (President Sergio) Mattarella an honour for Claudio Ranieri because it is necessary to pay tribute to a great Italian who has shown that he always believes (in what he does)," Renzi told RTL radio. Ranieri shrugged off a reputation for finishing second with his triumph at Leicester, a 5,000-1 rank outsider after avoiding the drop last year. The much travelled 64-year-old former Juventus, Chelsea, Roma and Greece manager said Tuesday Leicester's unprecedented feat would be "unforgettable" because he was now "an old man". Italian media have hailed him as "King of England" while the Vatican daily said he had usurped Richard III as the most famous figure linked to Leicester.