Deep in the heart of Leicester City, Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha still has its place. Although the popular Thai club owner died in October 2018 with four other people in a helicopter crash, directly at their own stadium, the club continues to list him as the chairman of his hierarchy. Only after him did his two sons follow in the organizational chart: Aiyawatt, who assumed the position of father as chairman, and Apichet in the role of deputy. In addition: Managing Director Susan Whelan and soccer director Jon Rudkin. In memory of the lifetime achievement of Khun Vichai, who has turned 60 – a salutation for deserved people in the Kingdom of Thailand – Leicester has set up a memorial garden and applied for a five-meter-high bronze statue in front of the arena. For Srivaddhanaprabha, a respectful relationship with others was always the focus of his work.
In 2010, an Asian consortium led by Srivaddhanaprabha bought the then second-rate Leicester for around 50 million euros. Two years later, the club from the center of the country was fully transferred to the King Power International Group portfolio. Srivaddhanaprabha built the duty-free giant registered in Thailand himself, he kept the company family-owned.
Triumphs and tragedies
His legacy, valued at five billion euros, was granted after the accident to wife Aimon and four children, who now hold shares in Leicester City through the parent company. Son Aiyawatt is the main owner with 55 percent, 15 percent belong to the wife, the rest is divided into ten percent each by son Apichet and the daughters Voramas and Aroonroong. This clear succession plan never created a decision vacuum or even a distribution struggle in the club. The life work of Khun Vichai is to be continued successfully. It helps that the club boss Whelan, who is valued in the industry, has had a professional relationship with King Power since 1999, and in the same year football boss Rudkin also came.
Despite the triumphs and tragedies that quickly overcame Leicester City, the club was able to preserve its karma. The club’s dealings with its 2016 championship team, which as a 5000: 1 outsider with a retro game style under coach Claudio Ranieri jumped from the depths of the relegation battle to the top of the Premier League, are proof of how the past can be honored without neglect the future. Most of the then regulars Schmeichel, Simpson, Morgan, Huth, Fuchs, Drinkwater, Kanté, Mahrez, Albrighton, Okazaki and Vardy, who everyone in Leicester will remember for life, are gone – without ever saying a bad word about the club to have. On this basis, the team could be renewed with a clear conscience, which today has hardly anything in common with the former celestial striker.
As a reward for always staying true to your own path, Leicester is facing a revival of the duel between Underdog and Goliath on Sunday, the last league matchday of the season. In the million dollar game for the remaining qualification places for the Champions League, the club from the Midlands could wipe out the industry giants Manchester United and Chelsea FC. United is third in the table with Chelsea, Leicester lurks behind with just one point less. In the direct duel at home against United, a win for the premier class is enough; because of the better goal difference, even a draw would be enough if Chelsea lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are still fighting for the Europa League.
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