Parimatch Meets Jamie Vardy – Journey to the Top, England & 5000/1 Title Win

Jamie Vardy reflects on his journey from being released at 16 to winning promotion to the Premier League with Leicester

Parimatch: It’s really well documented and one of the most amazing stories in football, starting with being released at 16. A lot of young lads have to go through that process, but what did you take from it? Did it feed your hunger to prove people wrong?

Jamie Vardy: At the time, no! I literally just thought that was it, I was done. I was training most days and playing at the weekends. But being told no by the club I support was a bit of a kick in the teeth. I just thought it’s not the route I’ll be going down.

Parimatch: And your time in non-league, did that give you a chance to just enjoy the game for what it was?

Jamie Vardy: That’s what it was, literally just all for the enjoyment of the game. Especially when I went back to play with my mates’ team on a Sunday and then signing for Stocksbridge under-18s. It was a no-brainer to go there because it was close to home, but it was still under-18s football.

When I got to around 18 years old, I was playing in Stocksbridge’s reserve team on a Saturday and then playing for the under-18s on a Sunday. So there was a lot of football involved and a lot of travelling, but it was all just about the enjoyment of it.

Parimatch: Fast forwarding a little bit, you scored 31 league goals for Fleetwood and then Leicester signed you for £1m in 2012. That made you the most expensive non-league player of all time, a record that still stands today. It was a great move for you, but did you feel the pressure of it?

Jamie Vardy: A bit, yeah. The funny thing about it was the deal had already been done and I remember sitting with a couple of my mates at the time, and all of a sudden it popped up on Sky Sports News, but it was done like three days ago!

But yeah, it did add a bit of pressure, but it was also a big jump. Big jumps in things I needed to work on and keep improving. Fitness-wise, physicality, making sure your technique and your touch is all right, they’re some things that you might be able to get away with in non-league. So there was a big learning curve I think, especially during the first year.

Parimatch: How did you make that adjustment and how long do you think it took you to do it? Was it a case of just refining a few little things rather than anything major?

Jamie Vardy: Especially at the end of the first year, I just took myself away and instead of just relaxing on holiday, I’d be doing runs and having a kick about with the ball and making sure I was constantly doing something. Even though it wasn’t specific to my position or anything like that, it was more that I was getting fitness sessions done in the heat which give you that extra benefit.

Parimatch: I guess it’s a bit of a mindset change there in terms of professionalism, isn’t it? It’s everything that goes with being a full-time professional footballer?

Jamie Vardy: Even at Fleetwood, we were in every day, even though it was part-time. We were on a full-time contract, so it was still training Monday to Friday. So that side of things wasn’t that much of a change, it was just every other aspect of wanting to be that.

Parimatch: In your first season at Leicester you’re playing alongside Harry Kane, finishing sixth in the league. Just to touch on Harry, what was he like at that stage of his career?

Jamie Vardy: I think it was just a case of him needing to get out on loan, needing to show what he was capable of. Obviously that season didn’t finish how we wanted it to, but I think especially with the way it ended, it just gave everyone within the club that extra hunger to want to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Parimatch: Things did improve in the next season. Was it that individual event that gave you and the squad the drive to kick on and secure promotion?

Jamie Vardy: I’d probably say so, yeah. I remember everyone coming back for testing days at the start of the season and everyone was fit, ready to go. Normally when you did your test, if you didn’t get a certain time, you’d have to come in a week earlier than everyone else to make sure you got your fitness up.

But literally everyone smashed it and we were getting the balls out straight away, which was something that didn’t usually happen. Normally it was work on your fitness and then we’ll start getting the balls out, but the balls were out straight away. Like I said, everyone came back fit and raring to go. It was literally as if the previous season had not finished.

Parimatch: That must have been a really special season. At the time, that would have been the biggest accolade that you could probably have been looking at in your career considering where Leicester were, then you go on to claim the title and promotion. That must’ve felt really special?

Jamie Vardy: Yeah, it was massive. Obviously getting the promotion was a big thing and where the club wanted to be. I always remember when Khun Vichai came out and said he wanted to win the Premier League within ten years, and I mean luckily, we managed to stay up that season, and then the following season the fairy tale was written.

Jamie provides insight into Leicester’s first season in the topflight, their 5000/1 Premier League title & FA Cup victories and the clubs European adventures

Parimatch: It was a pretty tough start, but you had early back-to-back wins against Stoke and Manchester United. You also scored your first Premier League goal against the latter, so big landmark things. You must have been on cloud nine?

Jamie Vardy: Yeah, it was big. It’s the biggest league in the world, what everyone wants to see, where everyone wants to play. So to be in there, competing and getting the results, there’s nothing you want more. You want to have that enjoyment side, but it all comes down to securing points.

Parimatch: Then things got a bit tricky as many promoted clubs find out in the Premier League. In around December it looked like that step up was quite noticeable at that point when things weren’t quite going as well after that initial period. Is that where the difficulty of being in the Premier League really hit home?

Jamie Vardy: Yeah, but I think if you look back at it all, we were never getting smashed in games. It was always losing by the odd goal. So we were always in the game. It was probably just the quality of the teams – they only need one chance to get a goal if you make a mistake.

But we always knew with us being in the games we could go on to win them. And then it got to the last stages of the season and everything just clicked and we went on a great run.

Parimatch: That was foundations being set potentially for what most people didn’t see coming next. But being a part of that, it must have been a great group?

Jamie Vardy: Yeah, 100%. The togetherness with the lads was unbelievable and like you said, especially those last eight results, it showed that we could do it. So it was a case of the season’s finished and once again everyone came back the following season fit and raring to go, and when you do that, you give yourself the best possible opportunity. Pre-season, that season didn’t go the best. I don’t think we picked up too many wins, and I know pre-season’s about getting fit, but you always want to win games.

Parimatch: So then Claudio comes in, obviously a different style of manager. What do you think he brought to the club that perhaps wasn’t there or just wasn’t something you’d seen before?

Jamie Vardy: I’m not quite sure. To be fair to him, he came in and said he’d been watching us and that he didn’t want to change too much because he saw, especially those last eight games, what we could do. So I think it was more just little tweaks in certain things.

Especially the year when Riyad was given free license, so you knew Danny Simpson was always going to be two-on-one defending. But Simo first and foremost does defend, so it was kind of easy for him to not have the support, and then of course we had N’Golo as well.

Parimatch: Kanté coming in and delivering the performances that he did, and let’s be fair, no one else saw him apart from the scouts. He arrived at Leicester an unknown and he left a hero. What was it like having him in the middle of the pitch?

Jamie Vardy: It was brilliant, it was like having an extra man! The good thing was you knew you could get to the top end of the pitch and try and do something because you want to create and there’s a good chance it doesn’t come off. But you knew that you could turn around and within ten seconds N’Golo has got the ball back, so it meant that you could take risks further up the pitch.

Parimatch: I’m sure there are a few games that would stand out to Leicester fans that made them start to believe the title was potentially within grasp. Chelsea and Liverpool at home, maybe Man City away. But was there a particular game or moment you can pinpoint that you thought, “we’re doing this”?

Jamie Vardy: I started thinking about it at Man City away. I think it finished 3-1 and that was the turning point for me.

Parimatch: Was it the manner of those victories that gave you confidence? You were outplaying teams that were anticipated to be above you.

Jamie Vardy: Yeah, it was just the feeling that we had in the club. We were just taking it game after game, which is always the best way to look at things. But then turning up and fully delivering each week, knowing how we were as a group and how close-knit it actually was, that everyone had put their bodies on the line for each other. So for me personally, it was the Man City away game.

Parimatch: And individually, it was a sensational season for you. That goal-scoring run where you break Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record. A lot of players play down personal achievements, but it must be so special for you to hold that record?

Jamie Vardy: I’m exactly that type of player who plays them all down to be honest! At the time, I didn’t even know it was a thing. I think the first time it got brought up was West Brom away when I got to eight, and then when we played Newcastle that I’d matched it.

Parimatch: You mentioned Riyad Mahrez, he was part of that team. Would he be up there as one of the best players you’ve played with? In that season, the connection you had with him just seemed brilliant.

Jamie Vardy: Definitely. Riyad is Riyad, he really could make something out of nothing, that’s the type of player he is. It used to get a bit annoying though, if he kept chopping in the corner when you’re wanting a cross in and you’ve made three different runs for him. But that was just him and I think that was just part of how we played. We knew that if you give it to him, he might cross it so you have to make that run, but he might also do something spectacular where he turns a few players inside out and puts it in the top bin.

Parimatch: You could argue that season could never be beaten in terms of such a sensational storyline, but what were the celebrations like for you? That must have been an absolutely insane week once you lifted the title.

Jamie Vardy: Yeah, it was great. I mean, we obviously found out that we’d done it at my house, and it was great to have all the lads there. The police shut the road off outside because fans congregated in numbers. But it was a great feeling that night. It went from everyone absolutely ecstatic to then all of a sudden my house in silence because everyone just took themselves off to a different part or out in the garden, just having a little bit of time to themselves.

And then obviously the Everton game at home, getting to lift the trophy, the open top bus, then that was it. That was literally it. You’ve got to focus straight away on the next season that’s coming up.

Parimatch: So in the following season you get Champions League football. That must have been the pinnacle, especially when you think back to the non-league days. It must have been very special for you to hear that anthem and stepping out?

Jamie Vardy: Yeah, it was great, but the only downside to it was that we obviously weren’t having the best of seasons in the league. We couldn’t work out why because we were doing great in the Champions League, and then still trying to play the same way we did in the Champions League and it just wasn’t working. But the Champions League side of it was a great experience.

Parimatch: Did the tag of defending champions make life a little bit harder?

Jamie Vardy: I don’t know if it was that or if all teams just started properly doing the homework and cutting out where our main threats were, but that’s part and parcel of football, you have to keep evolving to try and get the points.

Parimatch: We’ll turn back to more success for Leicester, this time with the FA Cup. It must’ve been a weird cup final because there were just 20,000 fans inside Wembley that day. But despite that, did you still have the nerves of a cup final?

Jamie Vardy: I think you just have to go out and treat it as any other game. I mean you speak about having the fans there, but that was massive. The 20,000 compared to playing fully behind closed doors and the noise they were making made you feel like there was a lot more, which was good. On the day, we’d all fully grafted for each other and thankfully Youri came up with an absolute worldie.

Parimatch: You have to beat some top teams to get there and you were down as the underdogs that day against Chelsea, but do you think that was just another reflection of the Leicester spirit the squad has and can call upon?

Jamie Vardy: Yeah definitely, I think every team I’ve been a part of throughout my years at Leicester has always had that close togetherness. I think it’s really important to have that to rely on.

Jamie talks of his shock and pride of being included in the England squad

Parimatch: Your success obviously led to you breaking into the England setup. It felt like there was a real groundswell of people wanting to see you in an England shirt. But when you got that call up, what did it mean? How special was it?

Jamie Vardy: I thought it was a mess-around at first! But it was really, really special.

Parimatch: Do you remember taking the call if you thought it was a mess-around?

Jamie Vardy: It’s not a call, you get a text message from one of the PAs who work there, so that’s why I thought it was a mess-around. I ended up having to ring the physio at the time and saying, “I’ve just had this text, who’s messing around?” and he said, “nah, it’s serious!”. So I was like, “alright okay, cheers for letting me know”, put the phone down and just had a few moments to myself. I remember I was out shopping and ended up in a cafe just chilling.

Parimatch: You had some great moments in an England shirt. The equaliser in Germany was pretty special. But let’s talk about the goal against Wales at Euro 2016. That was a bit of a mad game, so what did it feel like when it hit the back of the net?

Jamie Vardy: It was a great feeling. I was also quite nervous because I was standing in an offside position, but luckily it came off one of the Wales defenders. But obviously, without the technology that we’ve got nowadays, the refs did an unbelievable job to spot it, so I was over the moon with that one. But yeah, to be able to score in a European Championships was really exciting.

Parimatch: You were part of the foundations when Gareth came in for that 2018 World Cup squad that’s since gone on to achieve some really good things. Did you see those initial building blocks starting to appear when Gareth first came in?

Jamie Vardy: Yeah definitely, I thought it was great to see that he was giving youth a chance as well. I think you need that good mixture of both to make sure you can have a team that’s capable of winning things.

Jamie reveals the manager who’s made the biggest impact on his career, the top three players he’s played with and the best trainer

Parimatch: Who are the three best players you’ve played with throughout your career?

Jamie Vardy: Riyad’s definitely up there. I’d have to give it to Riyad, just because of the incredible things he could do on the pitch. Wes Morgan because he was just an absolute rock. But he was always there for everyone, he always had everyone’s back. A proper captain on and off the pitch. And David Nugent. I always say Nuge because of the togetherness we’ve had and still have. We’re still constantly in touch, but on the pitch we just bounced off each other. So if I made a run, he knew I’d made it already so he’d do something different, or I’d know exactly where he’d be when he made his runs. I think that was definitely a big help in us getting out the Championship that season as well.

Parimatch: Then behind the scenes, who’s been the best trainer you’ve worked alongside? Was there someone who would just turn up and push everyone?

Jamie Vardy: He’s not here anymore, but I’d have to say Martin Wasilewski. He’s an animal, he’d always go in the gym before training. I didn’t do the gym, I used to walk in and just clap everyone for a bit of encouragement. But he was in there doing mad weights, mad press ups and sit ups, and I’m just like, “what’s this guy doing?”. Then we’d get out on the pitch and he’d just train exactly how he played and you’d think, “am I going to end up getting injured here”?

Parimatch: Which manager would you argue has had the biggest impact on your career?

Jamie Vardy: I’d probably have to say Nigel Pearson. He brought me to the club and I really did struggle in that first season. I remember going in and telling him to loan me out and I thought he was going to kill me.

He read me his version of the riot act and just said “no, you’re going nowhere. I brought you here for a reason, we know you’ve got it and you’ll come back.” I also think that’s another reason why in the off-season I worked so hard on myself and the fitness side. I think if it wasn’t for that, I’d probably still be knocking on the door asking for a loan move somewhere.

Parimatch: You’re known for enjoying scoring goals and having some great celebrations, but is there a particular away ground you really enjoy scoring at?

Jamie Vardy: West Brom, 100%! They really don’t like me in that certain corner, it’s brilliant. But with my celebrations, they’re not planned. It’s literally just whatever comes into my head at that precise moment. I remember running past them and getting some abuse, and then I think a few drinks and cups came flying. So I just thought, you know what?

Parimatch: Growing up, and even in those early professional days, were there any players that you tried to model your game on and tried to replicate how they play and finish?

Jamie Vardy: Not really. Growing up, I used to watch David Hirst all the time at Sheffield Wednesday because I’m a Wednesday fan.

Parimatch: And finally Jamie, your journey. There’ll be a lot of non-league players that would love to replicate it, so do you have any advice for those that are trying to climb up the pyramid?

Jamie Vardy: It’s just hard work, it really is hard work. But you need to have that bit of luck where someone’s actually willing to take a punt, because it is hard. A lot of non-league players are working full-time jobs and then going and playing on a Tuesday night. It’s a real graft, but it’s just hard work and never giving up.

For the latest odds check out the Parimatch Sportsbook for a range of football betting markets including Premier League outrights & transfer specials.

 18+ | begambleaware.org | Please Gamble Responsibly