Jamie Vardy's farewell night and the end of an extraordinary fairy tale

TPO - Today at King Power, the disappointment of a poor season that led to a return to the Championship will be temporarily put aside. All attention will be on Leicester's hero and living legend: Jamie Vardy. The match against Ipswich Town will be the last time the 38-year-old striker, who will leave the club at the end of the season, plays at The Foxes' home ground.

In 2012, when Leicester announced the successful signing of Jamie Vardy, a 25-year-old striker from Fleetwood Town, one fan commented on Twitter, "spending £1 million on a nobody from a fifth-tier team, my God, I wonder where football is going".

After 13 years, everyone admits this is definitely the best deal in the history of English football. Spending 1 million pounds, Leicester got the greatest legend of all time, the man who made the most glorious chapter of the club and created an era named after himself at King Power.

Who would have thought that a former Sheffield factory worker who only made his Premier League debut at the age of 27 would go on to score 143 goals and provide 47 assists in 338 appearances in the English top flight? In a crazy 2015/16 season by all accounts, Vardy was central to Leicester's incredible title triumph, scoring 24 goals and breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy's record by scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games.

Jamie Vardy won the English title at the age of 26, after making his Premier League debut at the age of 25.

When the 2015/16 class left King Power, Vardy remained and became a new symbol of loyalty. He once went to Emirates only to say no to Arsenal and return to Leicester. Then, at the age of 33, Vardy made history as the oldest player to win the Premier League Golden Boot, and also created another brilliant chapter with The Foxes when they won the 2020/21 FA Cup and the 2021 Community Shield.

Even when Leicester were relegated, Vardy was there, scoring 18 goals to help the club return to the Premier League. And his unfinished story with the league continues, with 8 goals this season. Phil Foden, Son Heung-min, Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Darwin Nunez have scored fewer than him.

Vardy is the type of striker that English football does not always produce. In addition to possessing a sharp scoring instinct and a deadly shot, the South Yorkshire striker also turns his goals into works of art. No one can forget the beautiful volley that burned the Liverpool net in the 2015/16 season or the superb left-footed finish in the match against West Brom in 2018.

With 182 goals, Vardy ranks 15th in the Premier League's top scorers list.

Vardy is best known for his off-the-ball movement, running tirelessly to harass defenders and create space for his teammates. Even Erling Haaland has hailed the Leicester striker as "the best player in the world ", and revealed that he has studied Vardy's movement.

Sports scientists must also have a headache studying Vardy to answer the question of how he still maintains his speed and endurance at the age of over 30, despite drinking beer in the evening, a few cans of Red Bull before each match and celebrating by downing a 3-liter bottle of vodka and... fruit candy.

But for a player who claims to be good at math but dislikes statistics, not everything is illogical. To slow down the aging process and increase his recovery after matches, he installed a cryotherapy chamber in his home. He also does not throw himself into exhausting late-night games, but spends time at home growing vegetables and thinking about how to beat defenders.

Vardy left Leicester after the pain of relegation for the second time in three seasons.

To be honest, at 38, as Vardy has proven with 34 Premier League appearances and eight goals this season, he is well capable of continuing to play at the top level. So there is no retirement in sight. He left Leicester because he had to, after the pain of relegation for the second time in three seasons.

In his announcement of leaving the club, he apologised to fans for a "disgraceful season", adding that it was a "really difficult decision to make" as "Leicester City has been my second home, my family and my life" for the past 13 years.

Vardy’s departure brings an era of glory to an end and puts Leicester in urgent need of a complete overhaul, from the way the club operates to its culture. As Vardy says, he and the Foxes made the impossible possible. And now it is time for the Board and the players to do it again.

After 499 games and 199 goals in all competitions, it would be great if Vardy said goodbye with 500 games and 200 goals. But if that doesn’t happen, that’s okay. Vardy has said he doesn’t care about the numbers. He leaves with a huge legacy and memories, and that’s what matters most.

Qinghai

Source: https://tienphong.vn/the-farewell-of-jamie-vardy-and-the-unusual-story-post1743221.tpo