Jamie Vardy

At 37 years old, Jamie Vardy has this physical status:

Club career

Vardy was in the youth service at Sheffield on Wednesday but was suspended at the age of 16. He then played at Stocksbridge Park Steels, where he made his way through the reserve team and into the first team under new manager Gary Marrow's watchful eyes in 2007. He made his first appearance under manager Gary Marrow in 2007, earning £30 a week at the club. Following outstanding performances, a number of Football League teams became interested, and he spent a week in 2009 with Crewe Alexandra. A transfer did not materialize, and he later dropped out of a short-term deal with Rotherham United.

In June 2010, manager Neil Aspin, a longtime fan of Vardy's talents, signed him for FC Halifax Town for £15,000. In the home match against Buxton on August 21, he made his debut on August 21, scoring the winning goal in a match that ended 2–1 to his new club. Vardy had a fruitful first season, with "the Shaymen" finishing as the club's top goalscorer with 25 goals from 37 appearances and being named Player of the Season. In Halifax's 3–1 victory over Nantwich Town, he came close to scoring a hat-trick of hat-tricks but failed to win his third goal. His goals helped win the Northern Premier League Premier Division for the 2010-11 season. Vardy played for Halifax in the 2011–12 season and scored three goals in the first four games of the season.

Vardy, a former Halifax player, has joined Fleetwood Town for an undisclosed fee. In a 0–0 home draw with York City on the same day, he made his debut the same day. In a 3–2 victory over Kettering Town on September 3rd, he scored twice for the club in his third appearance, scoring twice. He scored two more goals against Gateshead at Highbury Stadium this week, one in added time. When he was on in the 3–1 away victory over Ebbsfleet United, he scored twice but didn't score again for another month before scoring a hat-trick in the away match against Alfreton Town on October 18th. In a 5–2 home victory over Kidderminster Harriers on September 20, the man was issued a straight red card. Vardy scored two more goals in a 4–1 victory over Bath City, leaving Fleetwood two points behind leaders Wrexham four days after his hat-trick.

Vardy scored his second goal in a 2–0 victory over League One side Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday in the first round of the FA Cup. He had scored in each of his last six appearances, totaling ten goals in that period; he received the Conference Premier Player of the Month award for November. Fleetwood beat Yeovil Town 2–0 in the Cup second round replay on Sunday, with Vardy winning in an added time.

Vardy scored twice in a 6–0 win over Southport on January 1, 2012, and six days later, the team lost 5–1 at home to local rivals Blackpool in the third round of the Cup. Ian Holloway, the club's manager, made a £750,000 bid for the team, but Fleetwood turned down £1 million and a loan back to the club. In his first four matches of the calendar year, he scored six goals. In a 6–2 victory over Ebbsfleet United, which put Fleetwood two points ahead of Wrexham in the top of the table, he earned his second hat-trick of the season. Vardy scored both Fleetwood goals in a 2–2 draw against Lincoln City on April 13th; Wrexham's draw against Grimsby Town the next day gave Fleetwood the Conference championship and the first-ever promotion to the Football League; and more. Vardy's 31 league appearances saw him finish the season as the top scorer in the Conference Premiership.

Vardy will be signed for Leicester City, a non-League record, and could potentially be worth up to £1.7 million with add-ons, as it was revealed on May 17th. He started working on a three-year contract in June 2015. Vardy made his Leicester debut against Torquay United in the first round of the League Cup on August 14th, winning the entire game at Plainmoor and then heading the final goal in a 4–0 victory. He made his Football League debut at the King Power Stadium, defeating Peterborough United 2-0 in which he set up a goal for Andy King. In a 2–1 home loss to Blackburn Rovers on August 25, he scored his first league goal. He was the champion in two 2–1 comeback victories against Burnley and Middlesbrough in September. Vardy's first season with the club was marred by his own form, sparking retaliation from some City fans on social media, and he even considered leaving football before boss Nigel Pearson and assistant manager Craig Shakespeare persisted with him.

Vardy's fortunes turned around 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 in the following season. Leicester defeated high flying Derby County 4–1 on Monday, reaffirmed their position at the top of the Championship table, with Vardy scoring and winning a penalty kick in the local derby. Vardy retired from Leicester after being promoted to the Premier League at the end of the season, and the club was named Player of the Season at the club's awards.

Vardy's contract was extended until the summer of 2018. He made his Premier League debut on August 31th, 2014, after missing the first two games of the season due to injury. Vardy produced a man of the match by scoring his first Premier League goal and setting up the other four as Leicester bounced back from 3–1 down to a 5-3 win over Manchester United on September 21.

Vardy scored a 90th-minute winning goal in the Foxes' 3–2 victory over West Bromwich Albion on April 11, 2015. Vardy was nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award after an impressive run in April, which included another winning goal against Burnley on April 25. Vardy and Leicester finished their 2014-2015 season in a safe 14th position after picking up 22 points since 4 April in a 5–1 victory over Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the Premier League season.

Leicester defeated Sunderland 4–2 at home on August 8, 2015, starting the 2015–16 season by scoring the first goal. In Leicester's 3–2 victory over Aston Villa on September 13, he scored the equalizer. Vardy scored seven league goals for the season in Leicester's 5–2 loss to Arsenal on September 26th, surpassing his previous record.

He scored the only goal of a home victory over Crystal Palace on October 24th, his seventh consecutive Premier League match in which he scored and his tenth goal of the season. Vardy scored in his eighth league match in a row on October 31th, becoming the third player to do so in the Premier League after Ruud van Nistelrooy (twice) and Daniel Sturridge defeated West Bromwich Albion in a 3–2 win. He won and scored a penalty to win by 21-0 over Watford, putting him on nine consecutive matches with a goal, behind Van Nistelrooy's Premier League record of ten. Vardy became the first player in the Premier League to score in nine straight matches in a single season in a single season, while Van Nistelrooy's ten matches were played from 2002 to 2003. Vardy was named Premier League Player of the Month for October 2015, the first Leicester player to be honoured since goalkeeper Tim Flowers in 2000.

Vardy scored a goal on Sunday, extending Van Nistelrooy's streak of Premier League matches by a goal, leading to a 3–0 victory over Newcastle United. He scored again against Manchester United a week later, establishing the record for himself. In a 3–0 win at Swansea City on December 5, his streak came to an end. He did not score in a 3–0 victory. Had he done so, he would have equalled Jimmy Dunne's record of 12 consecutive scoring matches set for Sheffield United in 1931-32; Leicester's record stands at number 11 in the English top-flight standings; the result has also remained at number one in the table. Vardy was named the Premier League Player of the Month for November, the fifth straight month winner of the award in consecutive months following his goalscoring exploits. He was given a certificate from Guinness World Records for his success.

Vardy and Riyad Mahrez will be sold to no one by Claudio Ranieri in January 2016, describing them as "priceless" in their description. He scored both goals in a 2–0 victory over Liverpool on February 2nd, with the first being a long-distance volley dubbed as "world class" by opposing manager Jürgen Klopp. He signed a new deal to remain at Leicester until 2019, bringing his weekly salary to £80,000. Vardy scored both goals in Leicester's 2–0 victory over Sunderland on April 10, the first Leicester player since Gary Lineker's 1984–85 season to score 20 goals in the top division of English football. For the first time in Leicester's history, the result earned qualification to the UEFA Champions League for the first time. Vardy scored the first goal of a 2–2 home draw against West Ham United a week earlier, but Angelo Ogbonna had to cancel for diving in the penalty area. He was charged with unlawful behaviour after his reaction to the dismissal and was fined £10,000, as well as being banned for two matches during a crucial point in Leicester's ultimately successful title run.

Vardy was the second highest scorer in the Premier League for the 2015–16 season, with just one goal behind Golden Boot winner Harry Kane. Vardy was one of four Leicester players in the PFA Team of the Year; later named FWA Footballer of the Year and the 2016 Barclays Premier League Player of the Season; he was later named FWA Footballer of the Year.

Arsenal made a bid for Vardy on June 3rdy, triggering a release clause in his deal. Leicester gave him better terms, but 20 days later, he decided to a new four-year contract, which would come after his release from UEFA Euro 2016. Vardy turned down Arsenal's bid because he had not promised that he would be playing in his new role and because of the club's tactics, with Arsène Wenger preferring possession and Leicester playing on the counter-attack.

In the 2016 FA Community Shield, he scored in a 2–1 loss to Manchester United on August 7, 2016. Vardy scored his first league point of the season in Leicester's first victory of the season on Saturday, defeating Swansea City 2–1.

Vardy ended his ten-match drought against Manchester City in the first five minutes on December 10th. Leicester beat Leicester 4–2, their first victory in five league matches since he scored two more for his first professional hat-trick. In the first half of a 2–2 draw at Stoke City for a challenge on Mame Biram Diouf; Leicester appealed unsuccessfully against his three-match suspension.

Vardy scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 2–1 loss to Sevilla in the first leg of the round of 16. He scored Leicester's equalizer in Leicester's second leg quarter-final match against Atlético Madrid on April 18, but Leicester were defeated 2–1 on aggregate, but not in the second leg quarter-final match against Atlético Madrid.

Vardy started his sixth season with two goals against Arsenal in a 4-3 away loss in the 2017-18 season's first day. Vardy made his 200th appearance for the club in the 1–1 draw against West Bromwich Albion on October 16th. In Claude Puel's debut match as Leicester manager, he scored the opener of a 2–0 home win over Everton.

Vardy scored his 50th Premier League goal in a 2–2 draw against Manchester United on December 23, 2017, scoring his 10th Premier League goal of the season on January 20th with a penalty kick against Watford in the 2–0 victory over Watford.

Vardy achieved 20-goal milestones in the Premier League for the second time in his career after netting a brace in the final day of the season, a 5–4 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. He appeared in all sports, scoring 23 times as Leicester finished in 9th place in the Premier League. Vardy was the recipient of the BBC Goal of the Season award for a goal against West Bromwich Albion, where he had his weaker foot looped over his shoulder at range by his strike partner Riyad Mahrez, who was uninhibited.

Vardy signed a new four-year contract with Leicester on August 9, 2018, extending the club until 2022, when he will be 35. Vardy started the season as a substitute, scoring a 92nd minute consolation goal in the 2–1 away loss to Manchester United in the season's first game. After a brutal tackle on Wolves defender Matt Doherty, he was suspended for the following match. Vardy scored two goals in a 3–1 home win over Fulham on March 9, 2019, marking his 100th goal for the Leicester Tigers. Vardy scored two goals in a 3–0 home win over Arsenal on April 28, raising his goal tally in league football for Leicester to 100.

Vardy scored a hat-trick in a 9–0 away victory over Southampton on October 25.

Vardy scored his 100th and 101st goals in the Premier League on July 4, 2020, defeating Crystal Palace 3–0. He became the first Leicester player to reach the 100 goal milestone and the 29th overall in league history. Ian Wright (28 years 286 days) made his debut in the Premier League at a younger age than Vardy (27 years 232 days).

He won the Premier League Golden Boot for the first time in his career, followed by Southampton forward Danny Ings and Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who scored all on 22 goals. Vardy, 33, became the oldest player to win the award, while Didier Drogba, the previous oldest player to win the honour at 32, when Chelsea defeated Chelsea with 29 goals in 2009–10.

Vardy signed a new deal with Leicester City until 2023 on August 26, 2020. In a 5–2 away victory over Etihad Stadium on Saturday, he scored his second hat-trick against Manchester City on September 27th. Leicester City's first away victory at Arsenal since September 1973 was on October 25th, he scored his only goal in a 1–0 victory against Arsenal. Vardy slid into and destroyed a corner flag carrying the pride flag colors as part of Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign on December 6th, while celebrating his last-minute victory over Leicester's 2–1 victory over Sheffield United. Vardy subsequently waved the flag and presented it to Leicester's LGBT+ advocacy group, Foxes Pride. Leicester defeated Chelsea 1–0 in the 2021 FA Cup Final on May 15, 2021, the club's first ever FA Cup victory. Vardy made history by winning the final and becoming the first player to play in every round of the tournament, including the preliminary rounds.

International career

Vardy was called up to the English national team for the first time on May 21, 2015, ahead of a friendly against the Republic of Ireland and a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia. Wayne Rooney, England's captain, made his debut on June 7th in a goalless draw against the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, replacing him for the final 15 minutes. Vardy was called up to the England squad for the matches against San Marino and Switzerland in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying, having been named in the starting lineup as England defeated San Marino 6–0 winners in Serravalle six days later. Vardy scored his first international goal on March 26, 2016, equalizing with a back heel from Nathaniel Clyne's cross as a replacement in a 3–2 victory over Germany. In a 2–1 loss to the Netherlands at Wembley, he scored again, three days later, the first goal.

Vardy played on his debut in England's second group match at UEFA Euro 2016, coming off the bench in the second half to score an equalizer against Wales, helping his team win the match 2–1. There were rumors of a feud between Vardy and fellow striker Rooney during the tournament that were denied by boss Roy Hodgson.

For the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he was selected in the 23-man England squad. He was used sparingly during the tournament, beginning only the final group stage match against Belgium when the England team advanced to the World Cup semi-finals for the third time in history. Vardy stepped down from England's national team on August 28, 2018, telling Gareth Southgate that he did not want to be considered for selection unless there was an injury crisis.

Source