It will seem an idle boast to say you don’t know the following about Claudio Ranieri - but as all were personal moments with the genial ex- Chelsea boss - we can justify the claim with confidence.

Ranieri was Blues boss from 2000 to 2004 and in 20 years of covering west London football - only Ian Holloway and Neal Warnock come close in terms of geniality.

One autobiography? Make that two

Ranieri published Proud Man Walking in 2009, and I was given a review copy at the London launch that I wanted signed for someone else.

I asked him to inscribe and he wrote my name, which was impressive, seeing as he left Stamford Bridge five years earlier.

I explained it was for someone else. He simply called a helper for a second copy and signed that to the friend.

‘My two favourite journalists’

Maybe he says that to all those he knows in the media world. But that’s what Ranieri said to Ken Dyer from the Evening Standard and yours truly at the above book launch.

The point is, he didn’t have to say anything: most managers don’t. If it was sheer flattery, then it’s a measure of the man that he cares that much.

First reaction to the arrival of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea

The Blues were bailed out of financial concerns by the Russian billionaire on July 3, 2003. The day before the club was forced to let go Gianfranco Zola to balance the books.

The first thing on the Blues boss’s mind about a club now rolling in more money than it could have ever have dreamed, was the loss of his trusted lieutenant.

He could have offered Zola a pot of money to stay, but the club legend had pledged himself to Cagliari, and Ranieri didn’t want Zola to go back on his word.

Smile: Ranieri arrives for Leicester versus Chelsea at the King Power in December

Tax help? Ask Claudio

Actually, he said he had enough on his plate when he did an incredibly quick sum and yours truly asked if he would sort my accounts.

He insisted the weak joke got translated back, and said should his career as a manager falter, he would give me a call.

The famous press conferences

Not many managers use Mary Poppins and her umbrella as a comparison with the precarious nature of football management.

But when one journalist spoke too quickly for the man making his way with the English language, he joked: ‘I will have to stay here 10 years to understand you.’

In Leicester right now, a 74-year-old Ranieri still at the helm has great appeal.

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