Jamie Vardy interview: The ups and downs of a decade at Leicester | Football News
7 min read
When Leicester City signed Jamie Vardy from Fleetwood for what was, and still is, a record £1m for a non-league player, nobody would’ve predicted the following decade he and the club would endure. However, it wasn’t always goal records and trophies for the Leicester number nine.
Ten years ago, Vardy was on the wrong end of one of the most extraordinary endings to a football match, the infamous ‘Troy Deeney’ goal in the play-off semi-finals against Watford. Starting that game on the bench alongside a recognisable face.
»Wow, dodgy barnet, » he says, with an embarrassed grin on his face. « I was next to Harry (Kane) on the bench that game. We actually got him in as a left winger, every time he came on, he was out wide.
« He came to us to get an experience as a young player, and he’s obviously gone on to do some unbelievable things. »
Among the downs that have come during his Leicester career, the loss to Watford was an early one for Vardy. But for him it epitomises his time with the club, using setbacks as inspiration.
« That game gave us the motivation to want to succeed the season afterwards, » he recalls. « I remember coming back the following pre-season, you do the testing and if you’re not fit enough, you don’t see the footballs for a week. Every single one of us came back fit as they could, so we were ready to go. »
Haircuts seemed to signify key moments in Vardy’s career, with his first trophy with the club being one of those occasions.
« Another bad barnet there, » he jokes again, looking at a picture of him holding the Championship trophy.
Vardy was part of the side that took Leicester back to the Premier League after a decade outside of the top flight and will looking to help Leicester back there 10 years on from the last promotion.
« The hunger that season, it was there from day one, » he says. « We got to around Christmas and we had to play Burnley and QPR who were flying up there. We went to QPR, won, and didn’t really look back. »
His first season in the Premier League saw him score his first top-flight goal in a 5-3 comeback win over a star-studded Manchester United side. He scored five goals that season with one being a late winner at West Brom, a catalyst for Leicester’s survival.
Despite coming from non-league, he never had any doubts he could do it at the top level.
« I’ve always been confident in my ability to score goals no matter who I’m up against, » he says. « That season, I know it ended up turning into the ‘great escape’, but we were never getting battered by teams, every game was close and that just showed we could do it and we just went on to prove that in the end. »
Vardy hit the ground running the following season and put together a streak of goals that would go down in Premier League history.
With one glance at the photo, he responded with a one-word answer.
« Eleven. »
Eleven Premier League goals in a row saw him break Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of most consecutive Premier League goals, and he did it against the Dutchman’s former club Manchester United.
The Leicester strike broke the Premier League scoring record against Man Utd
« I always thought I was going to score that night, I believed in it, » he remembers. « All the lads did a special video for me before the game saying how proud they were and how special it was to be involved in the streak of goals scored. »
Despite a record-breaking moment, there was always time for a celebration in true Jamie Vardy fashion.
« I was getting a bit of stick from their fans during that game, so it hit the back of the net, and a nice little celebration had to follow. »
After surviving relegation the previous season, the most remarkable achievement in English football followed as Leicester went on to win the Premier League.
« What a day, it was brilliant, » he says, still in part disbelief over seven years later. « It was my first game back because I was suspended.
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« Coming from where I come from and getting to do that is something dreams are made of. »
The man at the helm during that historic season, Claudio Ranieri, was well renowned for his great relationship with the media during this campaign, but Vardy revealed it was quite different behind the scenes.
The Italian constantly insisted Leicester’s target for the season was 40 points, but Vardy said that swiftly changed.
« He used to say to us it was 40 points, » he says. « It got to halfway through the season and we were on 38 points, and he came in saying: ‘one more point from this last half of the season, then another 40 points from the second half of the season.’
Vardy took another giant leap into football’s elite competition, scoring his first Champions League goal away at Sevilla in the Round of 16 first leg.
Jamie Vardy scored against Sevilla in the Champions League in 2017
« We said we needed an away goal to bring back home with us and I was the one to get it and put us in a position to turn it on at home. » he says.
The importance of that goal increased with hindsight as the Foxes went on to progress to the quarter-finals after winning the second leg 2-0.
Whatever the stage of his career, one thing has remained the same in Vardy’s game. His celebrations in front of opposing supporters.
« I think personally it’s part of football, » he says with a shrug of the shoulders. « It’s enjoyable, it’s part of the game. You need to embrace it all, if fans are giving you a bit they’ve got to get some back. »
Vardy’s relationship with both sets of fans is something the Leicester talisman has treasured for years, so when he netted his 100th Premier League goal in a season with empty stadiums, it left the striker with an almost solemn look on his face.
« To put the ball in the ball in the back of the net 100 times in the Premier League is not easy at all, » he says. « Without any fans in there, it was so strange. You could hear a pin drop in the ground.
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« It’s weird hearing the coaches and players shouting so clearly but with no noise coming from the stands. »
A moment that was able to be witnessed by a select number of fans was when Leicester managed to bring in another trophy, was Leicester’s first FA Cup in the club’s history, won in front of a restricted crowd at Wembley due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
« Another trophy, thank you very much, » chuckles Vardy, which speaks volumes on the standards and expectations that Leicester City held themselves too.
Which is what made the events just two years later even more gut wrenching for Vardy.
Just two years after winning the FA Cup, Leicester were relegated to the Championship and Vardy is determined to help play a part in getting Leicester back into the Premier League.
« I was absolutely gutted, » he admits. « Gutted for the owner, the fans and everyone around the club.
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« The table doesn’t pick itself on what people say. You have to come to terms with it, it’s not about switching that round and putting us in a position to get back promoted.
« We’ve been on many ups and downs; this is one of those downs we need to turn to an up.
Despite not playing as many minutes as he once did for the Foxes, Vardy is still keen to make an impact both on and off the pitch. With a flurry of young players breaking through and joining on loan, he feels it is important to be there to influence the younger players in the side.
‘All that side is important, I’m always there to chat to the young ones’, » he says. « It’s how you act around the place, that’s what’s important. Be normal with everyone. I’m not going to be a big head round the place. I’m just me. »
Currently second in the Championship table, Vardy will be looking to do his bit to add another chapter to this extraordinary decade with the Foxes this season.
