At 37, Jamie Vardy is still giving Premier League defenders nightmares.
The Leicester City talisman has made a trademark return on English football’s big stage, scoring four goals in 10 games this season, all whilst continuing to be the ultimate wind-up merchant.
From taunting Tottenham for their lack of success on the opening day, to laughing in the face of Southampton’s fans after a late winner, there has been no shortage of Vardy antics so far.
His devious behaviour is nothing new of course, with the former England international having carved out a reputation as one of football’s greatest pantomime villains over the years.
In fact, his love of unleashing chaos on the pitch was even on show as a child, according to former England rugby star Danny Care.
Despite forging different careers in elite sport, the pair were once teammates in Sheffield Wednesday‘s youth teams, where Vardy was famously released as a 16-year-old.
Care appeared on talkSPORT Breakfast to discuss his new autobiography ‘Everything Happens for a Reason’, which has made headlines for his revelations about ex-England boss Eddie Jones’ tough management style.
When asked about Vardy, Care said: “Jamie was the exact same as you see now – this aggressive, confrontational, gobby player. He was the same at 11, 12 years old.
“I knew back then he had something about him. And it’s unbelievable to see that he’s still banging goals in the Premier League at 37.
“It’s an incredible story.”
And while Care may have believed Vardy’s personality would take him far, not everyone at Wednesday felt the same.
The rapid striker was let go by his boyhood club at the age of 16, which led him to then drop into non-league, first with Stocksbridge Park Steels, and later Halifax Town and Fleetwood.
Care and Vardy have made a combined 127 appearances for England across rugby union and football[/caption]
Vardy’s prolific goalscoring with the latter eventually caught Leicester’s eye, who signed him for just £1million in 2012.
He has since earned legend status at the club, having spearheaded the Foxes’ Premier League title triumph in 2016, as well as scoring 140 top-flight goals on top of becoming a full England international.
Likewise, Care’s sporting career has enjoyed an equally incredible trajectory since his days alongside Vardy in Wednesday’s academy.
Having found himself a regular fixture on the bench with the Leicester star, the Harlequins scrum-half took the brave decision of asking to be released by the Yorkshire club at 15.
Speaking to Sky Sports in 2018, he recalled this period: “Myself and Jamie Vardy were in the same situation. We were both sat on the bench and hardly playing.
“We’d come on for 15 or 20 minutes and I just thought: ‘sod this, I want to play football. I want to get out of here’. “
Care went on to join local side Otley, and was quickly snapped up by Leeds Tykes, spending three years with the Premiership side before being signed by giants Harlequins in 2006.
Over 18 years and 375 appearances later, the Leeds native has now carved out a similar legacy at Quins to Vardy’s at Leicester, having lifted the Premiership title in 2012 and 2021.
He has also enjoyed an incredibly successful career with England, winning the Six Nations three times, before announcing his retirement from international rugby in March.
