Leicester City fans will never forget the season that Esteban Cambiasso joined the Foxes and Kasper Schmeichel once revealed what it was like to be a teammate.
Cambiasso signed for Leicester in 2014 in what was considered to be one of the biggest coups for the club.
He scored on his debut against Manchester United in the 5-3 victory and although he only stayed for one season, he played a huge role in helping Leicester to secure Premier League survival.
His impact at the King Power Stadium means he is always remembered as a fan favourite and one of his former teammates revealed what he was like behind the scenes.
Esteban Cambiasso ‘was a manager already’
The Argentine arrived in the East Midlands with a fierce reputation for winning trophies during his time with Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
His expertise on the pitch meant that he was also influential off it and reportedly had a regular say in how the team should set up under then-manager, Nigel Pearson.
During an episode of the Peter Crouch podcast in 2020, Schmeichel revealed how the Champions League winner left his mark on the squad.
“He was amazing,” Schmeichel said about Cambiasso. “Honestly, I loved him, he was brilliant. What a player, and what a guy.
“He was basically a manager already. Even on the pitch, he was changing tactics and things like that, he was class.
“The way he was, the way he behaved, the way he looked after himself, you could tell there was a reason he’d been 10 years at such a big club [Inter Milan].
“Like I say, I really enjoyed playing with him.”
Jamie Vardy didn’t enjoy playing with Esteban Cambiasso
There’s not many players who can honestly say they didn’t enjoy playing with someone as decorated as Cambiasso, but Jamie Vardy was one of them.
Schmeichel was a fan of his influence in the dressing room but Vardy felt he was undermining captain Wes Morgan and that the Argentine was the only player he didn’t see eye-to-eye with.
In his autobiography, From Nowhere, he said: “Esteban was clearly a great player, and I don’t think any of us had a problem with a big name coming in, but we didn’t appreciate someone trying to take over and that’s how it felt at times with him.
“Wes was the skipper and bloody brilliant at the job, but suddenly he was being undermined by someone who hadn’t been at the club long.”