Why we cry for fantastic Foxes: Neil Humphreys

Leicester City made me cry twice.

I wasn't alone the first time. I was one of millions watching Andrea Bocelli soundtrack the finest moment in English Premier League history.

The Foxes' title triumph in 2016 was our triumph, the followers of smaller clubs and those who had never succumbed to the alluring tractor beam of Old Trafford, Anfield and the other silverware-hoarding fortresses.

And Claudio Ranieri, Leicester's manager then, knew how to record the moment for posterity. For once, football chants were not enough. The Foxes had gone beyond capturing hearts and minds. They had reached out and grabbed the soul.

So the Italian brought in the only voice capable of reaching that higher, emotional plane. Bocelli sang Nessun Dorma. And as the spine-tingling aria reached its soaring peak, Bocelli took off his jacket to reveal a Leicester jersey.

And we all lost it.​​

The King Power Stadium erupted. Ranieri gave up trying to hold back his tears. So did I. So did the watching world.

Despite covering World Cup and Euro finals, this was the only moment when football truly broke me, when every cynical barrier came down and this seasoned writer dissolved in tears, leaving behind a giddy schoolboy.

Even at the time, I knew the game would be incapable of reaching such heights again. There was a reason the plucky Foxes were 5,000-1 rank outsiders for the title. Dreams can come true, but only once.

But I cried a second time last night. I watched the clip again on YouTube. There's Ranieri weeping and Bocelli singing and then there's a shot of one man, smiling and clapping, the man behind the miracle.

It's Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and Bocelli is now singing a second song.

Time to Say Goodbye.

It is as heart wrenching as it is unfair. The EPL's most uplifting finale does not deserve such a horrific epilogue.

In 2016, Vichai pulled off the impossible for the people of Leicester. Yesterday, the people of Leicester returned to the King Power Stadium in their thousands. It was time to pay their respects. Time To Say Goodbye.

A couple of elderly ladies summed up the mood. He wasn't a typical club owner, one of them told Sky News, he was part of our family.

Vichai's endearing acts of generosity were already the stuff of legend around Leicester.

Free beer and cakes for everyone at the stadium to celebrate his birthday, free scarves for travelling fans and free season tickets for a lucky few, the Thai billionaire's giveaways were as quirky as they were varied.

Then there was the £2 million (S$3.5m ) donation to a new children's hospital and a further £1m to the city's university medical department. For a man reportedly worth £5 billion, the gestures were never going to break the bank or do his PR any harm, but he did them nonetheless.

Plenty of other club owners don't.

More than that, Vichai saved Leicester. In 2008, the Foxes dropped into the third tier for the first time and were expected to drift towards bankruptcy. Long-serving employees were shown the door as the club struggled to stay afloat.

Two years later, Vichai's family bought the club for £39m, loaned another £100m, which was subsequently converted into shares, leaving Leicester debt-free and on the road to the greatest EPL story every told.

In pre-season, the £100m spent in the transfer market read like a mission statement. Vichai was going nowhere. He was as devoted to the club as he was to the city itself and they both loved him for it.

And now, cruelly, they mourn for the man who gave hope to sporting minnows everywhere.

One of the richest men in Asia was no minnow, obviously, and his ruthlessness in business extended to the Leicester boardroom, where he removed several managers, including Ranieri.

But his long-term commitment to an unfashionable club allowed supporters in every team, in every country, in every sport to believe it was possible to "do a Leicester".

Vichai's Foxes added that phrase to the sporting lexicon.

That will be his legacy. To "do a Leicester" is to overcome incalculable odds, defeat the incumbents and turn every underdog's dream into glorious reality.

And they did it, thanks to that unassuming man high in the stand, smiling and applauding, celebrating the unforgettable day the world wept with Ranieri and his overachieving heroes.

Vichai achieved the impossible because he did the implausible. He put his money on the little guys.

That's why he'll be remembered as a giant at Leicester.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.