Leicester unveil amazing garden for Khun Vichai on site of horror helicopter crash on anniversary of late owner’s death
LEICESTER have unveiled an amazing garden in memory of Khun Vichai on the site of his horror helicopter crash on the anniversary of the late owner’s death.
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha tragically lost his life alongside four others after his helicopter crashed outside the King Power Stadium in October last year.
Leicester had drawn 1-1 with West Ham moments before the accident – and now the club have found another way to pay their respects to a club hero.
After the tragic, fatal crash a year ago, fans flocked to the stadium to lay flowers and scarves to pay their respects.
Srivaddhanaprabha arrived at the club in 2010 and almost immediately wiped out debts thought to be around £100million.
Six years later, the “Fearless Foxes” stunned the footballing world by lifting the Premier League title.
Khun Vichai will always live on as a Leicester legend – both the city itself and the football club.
And this weekend, Leicester FC have been taking the time to remember the Thai billionaire – with stars including James Maddison and Jamie Vardy attending the garden’s opening on Sunday.
The Foxes fittingly equalled the Premier League record for biggest win as they thumped Southampton 9-0 on Friday night.
The number nine is said to be the one that brings the most good fortune in Thailand…
This morning Leicester shared a host of videos, pictures and interviews in tribute to Khun Vichai.
One six-minute video was captioned: “One year on. Always in our hearts.”
Another clip showed Kasper Schmeichel and Wes Morgan, two current Leicester players also involved in the triumphant 2015-16 campaign looking back.”
The Danish goalkeeper, son of Manchester United legend Peter, admitted it still feels like a bad dream.
Schmeichel said: “Here we are, a year later, and it still doesn’t seem real.”
The wounds are still there. It’s been a year, but The Boss is constantly on our minds. Every time we go onto field, we think about him. We want to make him proud.
Wes Morgan on Khun Vichai
Morgan added: “The wounds are still there, definitely. It’s been a year, but The Boss is constantly on our minds still.
“Every time we go onto field, we think about him. We want to make him proud with our actions.
“We know what he’s all about, we know what he wants from the club and from the players and that is success.
“We want to make him proud and every time we go out there, we’ll try and win.”
Former Leicester star Andy King, now at Rangers, also tweeted, posting a picture of Khun Vichai, captioned: “Always in our hearts.”
And he was just part of a long list of fans, pundits and players to take this weekend to remember Srivaddhanaprabha.
Leicester right-back Danny Simpson tweeted: “That was for the boss. Unbelievable performance from the lads @LCFC #vichai”.
Broadcaster Geoff Peters, following Leicester’s 9-0 win on Friday as the rain began to pour, wrote: “The rain is Vichai’s tears of pride showering down on that #lcfc team he built.”
And they joined hundreds of fans – and not just from Leicester – who shared touching messages on Twitter…