Jamie Richard Vardy (born 11 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Leicester City and the England national team. He plays as a striker, but can also play as a winger.
After being released by Sheffield Wednesday at the age of sixteen, Vardy began his senior career with Stocksbridge Park Steels, breaking into the first team in 2007 and spending three seasons before joining Northern Premier League side F.C. Halifax Town in 2010. Scoring 26 goals in his debut season, he won the club's "Player's Player of the Year" award, then moved to Conference Premier side Fleetwood Town in August 2011 for an undisclosed fee. He scored 31 league goals in his first season at his new team, winning the team's "Player of the Year" award as they won the division.
In May 2012, Vardy signed for Leicester City in the Football League Championship for a non-League record transfer fee of £1 million, and represented the club in the Premier League after winning the Championship in 2014. He scored in a record eleven consecutive Premier League matches in 2015, breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy's record, and made his international debut earlier in the same year.
Club career
Stocksbridge Park Steels
Born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Vardy started his career with the Stocksbridge Park Steelsyouth system at 16 years old after being released by Sheffield Wednesday. He made his way through the reserve team and into the first team making his debut under manager Gary Marrow in 2007, earning £30 a week at the club.
After impressive displays, a number of Football League teams became interested and in 2009 he spent a week on trial with Crewe Alexandra. A move did not materialise and he later turned down a short-term contract with Rotherham United.
FC Halifax Town
In June 2010, manager Neil Aspin, a long time admirer of Vardy's talents, had signed him for FC Halifax Town for a fee of £15,000. He made his debut on 21 August 2010 in the home game against Buxton, scoring the winning goal in a game that ended 2–1 to his new club. Vardy had a successful first season with "the Shaymen" finishing as the club's top goal scorer with 26 goals and being voted the Player's Player of the Season.
Towards the end of the season he came close to scoring a hat-trick of hat-tricks but failed to find a third goal in Halifax's 3–1 win over Nantwich Town. His goals helped secure the Northern Premier League Premier Division title for the 2010–11 season. Vardy started the 2011–12 season with Halifax and scored 3 goals in the opening 4 games of the season.
Fleetwood Town
After just over a year with Halifax, and having scored 3 goals in the first 4 games of the 2011–12 season, Vardy signed for Conference Premier side Fleetwood Town for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut the same day in a 0–0 draw with York City. He scored his first goals for the club in his third game, scoring twice in a 3–2 win away to Kettering Town on 3 September.
The following week he scored another two goals against Gateshead at Highbury Stadium, including one in added time. He scored twice for a third consecutive match when on in the 3–1 away win against Ebbsfleet United, but did not score again for just over a month until he scored a hat-trick in the away match against Alfreton Town on 18 October.
On 20 September, he was given a straight red card in a 5–2 home win over Kidderminster Harriers, a match in which both teams played over an hour with ten men each. Four days after his hat-trick, Vardy scored two more goals in a 4–1 win over Bath City, a result which left Fleetwood two points behind leaders Wrexham.
In the first round of the FA Cup on 12 November, Vardy scored the second goal in a 2–0 win over League One club Wycombe Wanderers. Fifteen days later, his goal in a 1–1 draw at Gateshead meant that he had recorded a goal in each of his last six games, totaling ten goals in that period, he won the Conference Premier player of the month award for November. On 13 December, Vardy confirmed a 2–0 win in added time as Fleetwood triumphed 2–0 away to Yeovil Town in the Cup second round replay.
On 1 January 2012, Vardy scored twice in a 6–0 win over Southport, and six days later the team lost 5–1 at home to local rivals Blackpool in the third round of the Cup. After the game, Blackpool manager Ian Holloway made a £750,000 offer for him, which Fleetwood rejected, holding on for £1 million and a loan back to the club.
He totaled six goals in his first four matches of the calendar year. On 21 February, he recorded a second hat-trick of the campaign, in a 6–2 win over Ebbsfleet United which left Fleetwood two points ahead of Wrexham at the top of the table.
Vardy scored both Fleetwood goals in a 2–2 draw against Lincoln City on 13 April, Wrexham's draw against Grimsby Town the next day gave Fleetwood the Conference title and a first-ever promotion to The Football League. Vardy's 31 league goals saw him finish the season as the top scorer in the Conference Premier.
Leicester City
2012–13 season
On 17 May 2012, it was announced that Vardy would be signing for Leicester City ahead of the 2012–13 season, for a reported fee of £1 million, a non-League record, which could potentially be worth up to £1.7 million with add-ons. The next day, he signed on a three-year contract until June 2015.
On 14 August, Vardy made his debut for Leicester against Torquay United in the first round of the League Cup, playing the entirety of the game at Plainmoor and heading the final goal in a 4–0 win. Four days later he made his Football League debut at the King Power Stadium, a 2–0 win over Peterborough United in which he set up a goal for Andy King.
He scored his first league goal in a 2–1 away defeat to Blackburn Rovers on 25 August. In September, he scored the winner in two 2–1 comeback victories, against Burnley and Middlesbrough. Vardy's first season at the club was marred by his own loss of form, prompting criticism from some City supporters on social media, and he even considered leaving football until manager Nigel Pearson and assistant manager Craig Shakespeare convinced him to continue with the club.
2013–14 season
The following season brought a turnaround in Vardy's fortunes as he established himself as a prolific scorer in the Leicester attack as the club took a commanding lead at the top of the table.
Vardy scored and won a penalty as Leicester beat high flying local rivals Derby County 4–1 on 10 January 2014 and reaffirmed their position at the top of the Championship. Vardy finished the season with 16 league goals as Leicester were promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season as champions, and was named Leicester's Players' Player of the season at the club's awards.
2014–15 season
On 19 August 2014, Vardy extended his contract until the summer of 2018. After missing the first two games of the season through injury, he made his Premier League debut on 31 August 2014, as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw at home to Arsenal.
On 21 September, Vardy delivered a man of the match performance by scoring his first Premier League goal and setting up the other four as Leicester made a surprise comeback from 3–1 down to a 5–3 victory against Manchester United.
On 11 April 2015, Vardy scored a 90th-minute winning goal in the Foxes' 3–2 victory at West Bromwich Albion. Impressive form throughout the rest of April, including another winning goal, against Burnley on 25 April, saw Vardy nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award.
Vardy and Leicester ended the 2014–15 season in a safe 14th position having picked up 22 points since 4 April, capping things off by opening the scoring in a 5–1 victory against Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the Premier League season on 24 May.
2015–16 season
Vardy started the 2015–16 season by scoring the opening goal as Leicester picked up a 4–2 victory at home against Sunderland on 8 August 2015. He scored the equalizer in Leicester's 3–2 comeback victory against Aston Villa on 13 September. With a brace in Leicester's 2–5 defeat to Arsenal on 26 September, Vardy reached seven league goals for the season, eclipsing his goal tally of the previous year.
On 24 October, he scored the only goal of a home win over Crystal Palace, the seventh consecutive Premier League match in which he scored, and his tenth goal of the league season. Vardy scored in his eighth league game in a row on 31 October, and became only the third player ever to do so in the Premier League after Ruud van Nistelrooy (twice) and Daniel Sturridge, in a 3–2 win over West Bromwich Albion. A week later, he won and scored a penalty to secure a 2–1 win over Watford, putting him on nine consecutive games with a goal, behind Van Nistelrooy's Premier League record of ten.
Vardy also became the first player in the Premiership to score in nine consecutive games in a single season, as Van Nistelrooy's 10 games were at the end of the 2002–2003 season and the beginning of the 2003–2004 season. For his run of good form, Vardy was the Premier League Player of the Month for October 2015, the first Leicester player to be given the accolade since goalkeeper Tim Flowers in September 2000.
On 21 November, Vardy matched Van Nistelrooy's record of consecutive Premier League games with a goal, opening a 3–0 win over Newcastle United. A week later, against Manchester United, he scored again to claim the record for himself. His run ended on 5 December when he did not score in a 3–0 win at Swansea City, having done so he would have equaled the English top-flight record of 12 consecutive scoring games set by Jimmy Dunne for Sheffield United in 1931–32; the result nonetheless put Leicester on top of the table.
Following his goal scoring exploits, Vardy was again named as the Premier League Player of the Month for November, becoming only the fifth ever player to win the award in consecutive months.
By January 2016, Vardy's transfer value had risen from £2.1 million to £18.8 million,[55] with manager Claudio Ranieri describing him as "priceless".On 2 February, he scored both goals in a 2–0 win against Liverpool, the first being a long-distance volley described as "world class" by opposing manager Jürgen Klopp. Four days later, he signed a new contract to keep himself at Leicester until 2019, increasing his weekly salary to £80,000.
International career
On 21 May 2015, Vardy was called up to the England national football team for the first time ahead of a friendly against the Republic of Ireland and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against Slovenia.
He made his debut on 7 June in the goalless draw against the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, replacing captain Wayne Rooney for the final 15 minutes. On 30 August, Vardy was again called up to the England squad for the games against San Marino and Switzerland in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying, being selected in the starting line-up as England ran out 6–0 winners against San Marino in Serravalle six days later. Vardy scored his first international goal on 26 March 2016, equalizing with a back heel from Nathaniel Clyne's cross, as a substitute in a 3–2 away win against Germany. He scored again, three days later, the opening goal in a 2–1 defeat to the Netherlands at Wembley.
Playing style
He has great intensity, great concentration. He's got a strong mentality and never gives up. He's an inspiration with the way he is because then others believe.
Ian Wright, who also rose from non-League football to the Premier League and English national team, wrote in October 2015 that Vardy could be England's equivalent to Salvatore Schillaci at UEFA Euro 2016: Schillaci, another late bloomer, began the 1990 FIFA World Cup as a substitute behind more established players, and ended it as the top scorer.
Wright, who first learnt of Vardy when his former Burnley teammate Micky Mellon signed him for Fleetwood, rates Vardy as a hard-working player with a good first touch, who creates constant work for defenders, and plays by instinct instead of being moulded by his managers.
In addition to his goal scoring, Vardy is known for his high work-rate, relentless running, and direct approach, he is also an extremely fast and dynamic striker, who is good in the air, and capable of striking the ball with both feet. England coach and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville commented on how Vardy's approach influences teammates: "he sets the tempo and the tone for the rest of the team and gives no other player behind him any excuse for not working hard."
Personal life
Before turning professional, Vardy combined playing non-League football with a job as technician making medical splints. In 2007, he received a conviction for assault following an incident outside a pub, and had to play with an electronic tag fitted for six months, while his curfew also limited his playing time at Stocksbridge Park Steels.
In August 2015, The Sun on Sunday published a video of Vardy at a casino the previous month, calling a man of East Asian origin a "Jap". He apologized for a "regrettable error of judgment" and was fined by Leicester, who put him on an educational course.
In November 2015, Vardy launched V9 Academy, an annual week-long camp designed to offer coaching and guidance to 60 non-League players and offer them the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of scouts from league clubs. The same month, Stocksbridge Park Steels named their main stand after him. In December 2015 the Leicester-based food manufacturer Walkers brought out a limited edition 'Vardy Salted' crisp flavour, in recognition of Vardy's goal scoring run.
Vardy is engaged to Rebekah Nicholson, with whom he has a daughter. In April 2016, Leicestershire Police investigated a sexual threat against Vardy and Nicholson's then one-year-old daughter over Twitter. Adrian Butchart, British writer of the Goal! series of football-related fiction films, met Vardy in February 2016 to document him for a biopic film on his career.
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