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Jettisoned early from Sheffield Wednesday’s youth ranks, Jamie built a dramatic goalscoring career at successively higher levels of the non-league game, despite maintaining a distinctly “laddish” off-field reputation that at one stage saw him playing for Stocksbridge with a fitted tag and “curfew” restrictions.
He became the 27-goal top scorer as Halifax took the Northern Premier League title in 2011, then notched 34 more in Fleetwood’s Conference triumph, a year later. His summer move to Nigel Pearson’s Leicester City broke the record for a fee paid for a non-league player.
Officially undisclosed but uncontested estimates but it at a minimum of £1million and rising. The step up was clearly a gamble, but one that far some time looked like paying off, as a finishers instinct, and admirable work rate.
Were early evidenced in Jamie’s play, even if his confidence seemed to dip sharply about a third of the way through his first Leicester City campaign. Jamie only won two selections post-Christmas as Nigel Pearson tried other striking permutations, on the rocky road towards the Play-Offs, and the player himself later confessed to contemplating walking away from the game that summer, but he returned utterly revivified for 2013/14, forming an occasionally telepathic partnership with David Nugent and significantly tipping his strike rate as the promotion drive came into focus, as well as winning a fiar number of penalties with his unnerving pace and persistence.
His massive contribution to the title win was recognized by his peers accolade of “Players” Player of the year, and he signed a new four-term deal in August 2014. His first Premier League start was delayed by injury until the fifth fortune, but he announced himself in style with a hand in all Leicester City’s goals in the remarkable 5-3 comeback against Manchester United, and by the end of the “Great Escape” term, his electric performances and key goals had erned him a call-up to the full England squad.
His late 19 minute cameo against Republic of Ireland then represented the 750th full cap won by a player while on City’s books. A thus substantially upping of form another notch in the magical title winning campaign that followed.
Off the mark in the season’s opener against Sunderland, he’d soon embark on the record-breaking run that saw him on target in eleven successive Premier League games, earn almost as much praise for the unselfishness of his goal assist lay-offs to the likes of Riyad Mahrez, be touted as the focus of a Hollywood biopic, silnce his England doubters with clinical strikes against Germany and The Netherlands, launch his own VS football academy, and end the team weighed down with personal honors to add to his champions’ medal.
He was the first ever Leicester player to be voted the Football Writer’s Association Football of the year. was on of the City nominees for the PFA’s Player of the Year, only pipped by teammate Riyad Mahrez, won the club’s Goal of the Season award for his spectacular, first-time, long-range strike against Liverpool, and with an eventual 24 goal hoaul, was runner-up to Harry Kane for the PL Golden Boot.
Oh, and he also hosted one of the most famous Leicestershire parties of all time, A will he wont’ saga then saw Jamie through the early months of summer, with a mooted £20million move to Arsenal in the balance while EUre 16 duties inervened, but a nwe four year contract at Leicester City thankfully put a lid on that.
The next season appeared with a successful Champions League campaign as Leicester City reached the quarter finals of the tournament, with Jamie Vardy scoring one goal in the game away to Sevilla, despite defated 2-1, it was a great step forward, but shockingly this was the last game of Claudio Ranieri in charge.
The season ended on a high anyway well steered by caretaker and manager to be, Craig Shakespeare. The season was a bit of setback with only 13 league goals scored as 24 was the tally the season before. The hat trick v. Man City must have been the highlight of the season, winning against Pep Guardiola’s men 4-2.
Jamie Vardy continued his career on the international stage and was included in the 2018 England World Cup squad, but only used sporadically by Gareth Southgate in the games over in Russia. In August 2018, Jamie signaled that his Three Lions duty had come to an end, retiring from international football.
He continued to score goals and his tally of 20 in the next season was of course a blow for Gareth Southgate who had more or less ignored Jamie’s goalscoring abilities and not played him on regular basis in his England team.
Jamie Vardy has remained the clear first choice forward at Leicester City and is still doing this job perfectly as he is going into his mid 30’s. In March 2019, Jamie reached a great milestone by netting his 100 league goal for Leicester City, it was all happening at home in a 3-1 win v. Fulham.
Jamie Vardy is likely to be one of the greatest player ever playing for Leicester City, and outruns most in his special bond with owners, fans and other players at the club. His contribution to the job done at Leicester City in later years might not be honored enough, it’s just been phenomenal.
- Full Name: Jamie Richard Vardy
- Position: Forward
- Date of Birth: 11.01.1987
- Birthplace: Sheffield
- Nation: England
- Caps / Goals: 26/7
- Major League Career:
- 2012->, Leicester City (239/100)
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