Archived News from July 2015
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LEICESTER PREVIEWS
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Match Preview: Mansfield Town vs. Leicester City
Posted: Fri 24 Jul 2015 Author: Leicester City lcfc.com Read a match preview on the pre-season friendly fixture between Mansfield Town and Leicester City at the One Call Stadium on Saturday 25 July, 2015 (3pm kick-off). Leicester City continue their pre-season schedule with a trip to Mansfield Town’s One Call Stadium, giving the squad the chance to get some more minutes under their belt ahead of the 2015/16 season. Read more at http://www.lcfc.com/news/article/match-preview-mansfield-town-vs.-leicester-city-2569355.aspx#3awuOLCxLo1IGvkd.99 City recovered from a goal down to beat Lincoln City last time out, with strikes from Riyad Mahrez, Andrej Kramaric and Jamie Vardy sealing a 3-1 victory on Tuesday. It gave manager Claudio Ranieri a first look at his new side, with 22 players each getting 45 minutes in preparation for the upcoming campaign. After a run-out for the majority of the first team squad earlier this week, Saturday’s fixture against Mansfield will give the Ranieri another chance to assess the current fitness of the City squad. Mansfield Town have enjoyed a busy pre-season schedule as they continue preparations for their 2015/16 campaign in League 2. The Stags managed to secure their status in England’s Football League with the help of Leicester City Development Squad defender Callum Elder, who played 21 times for them last season. Mansfield, who finished the 2014/15 campaign seven points above the drop-zone, last faced Leicester in the FA Cup in 2002 - a game that the Foxes went on to win 2-1 thanks to a double from James Scowcroft. Speaking to Foxes Player HD after the win over Lincoln City, manager Claudio Ranieri said: “The performance was good, first of all because nobody is injured and that’s important for me and secondly because we won the match. “The first 20 minutes were very, very hard because Lincoln have already played three matches in pre-season but for us it was a first 45 minutes. “But after 20 or 25 minutes I saw the players move better, play on the floor and we scored a great goal. The second half was much better, faster and the strikers moved very well. “I think we created a lot of opportunities but it’s important when you create these opportunities to stay calm in the last 20 metres because we lost the last pass sometimes when there was another team-mate in a good position to score a goal.” TICKETS Away tickets for the pre-season friendly at Mansfield Town are sold out, with no tickets available on the day. ----------------------- Shinji Okazaki Draws Media Crowds Posted: Fri 24 Jul 2015 Author: Leicester City lcfc.com Shinji Okazaki Image by: Plumb Images The international media were out in force at King Power Stadium on Friday afternoon for a press conference with Leicester City’s Japanese striker Shinji Okazaki. - Shinji Okazaki is presented Japanese media in a press conference at King Power Stadium - The striker speaks of his excitement at playing in the Barclays Premier League for Leicester City - Japanese media reflect on Shinji’s and the Premier League’s growing popularity in Japan Read more at http://www.lcfc.com/news/article/shinji-okazaki-draws-media-crowds-2569799.aspx#LYeH7Az2dfzrp1tE.99 The international media were out in force at King Power Stadium on Friday afternoon for a press conference with Leicester City’s Japanese striker Shinji Okazaki. Shinji took centre stage as media from across Japan got the chance to quiz the summer signing on a host of topics ahead of the new Barclays Premier League season. The 29-year-old has scored 43 goals in 93 appearances for his country at international level and has unsurprisingly drawn a high level of interest from Japanese media since his arrival at King Power Stadium. After a pre-season training camp in Austria earlier this month, Shinji made his first appearance in a blue shirt against Lincoln City on Tuesday night, when he set up Riyad Mahrez for City’s first goal in a 3-1 win. Among the throng of media in attendance on Friday afternoon was journalist Masatoshi Mori from Hochi Shimbun, who has previously interviewed Shinji when he was with former club FSV Mainz. Speaking after the press conference, Masatoshi gave Foxes Player HD an insight into how Shinji is thought of back in his homeland. He said: “He’s a very popular figure [in Japan], he’s a goal scorer and we love him. We really want him to succeed in the Premier League and hopefully score heavily for Leicester next season. “The Premier League’s popularity is increasing every year and Shinji is an exceptional goal scorer for the Japanese national team. We hope he can break into the Premier League for more Japanese players next season. “He was talking about how playing in the Premier League is his dream and he just gave us a really positive vibe about it. He’s really looking forward to playing in this league with Leicester. He’s 29 years old but he feels like he’s a newcomer. “I think he has a fighting spirit and that’s the quality Japanese players are criticised for not having sometimes. But he has it. He has the instinct to score goals and I hope he can show his real ability in the Premier League.” ------------------- |
Latest | July 2015