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Jamie Vardy's fairytale story set for one last party in Cremonese and why it's not to be missed
The nucleus behind any good ongoing story is to keep evolving the narrative, to make it as interesting and intriguing as possible for your audience.
A change in character arc or twist in a storyline has been the bedrock to all great TV shows and films, but the same principle could be applied to real life and the footballing journey of one Jamie Vardy.
Vardy’s football career has already been played out like a rags-to-riches tale without the need for anyone in Hollywood to get involved – although there have been rumours over the years that his story might be turned into an on-screen adaptation - and now it's set for another new chapter that few would have predicted at the start of the summer.
A footballing fairytale
His tale has been well documented. Beginning his career in non-league with Stocksbridge Park Steels, the Sheffield-born striker was plucked from the National League by Leicester and thus began a fairytale story that would see Vardy reach the pinnacle of the game.
Not only did he help the Foxes reach the Premier League once again and led their fight for survival, but he was the talisman as Leicester defied the footballing gods by winning the Premier League in 2016, with Vardy’s record-breaking goalscoring a huge part of the triumph.
Not content with making just one slice of history, the forward continued to rack up achievements with the Midlands club. Winning the Premier League’s Golden Boot in 2020, the FA Cup a year later and forging out an international career that saw him win 26 caps and play at Euro 2016.
Eventually, all good stories have to come to an end, and this summer the 38-year-old left the King Power Stadium and many suspected we’d now see Vardy’s career wind down with a final hurrah outside Europe’s elite leagues.
But Jamie Vardy’s story is different, and his latest twist in the tale came on deadline day when he made the surprise move to Serie A newcomers Cremonese.
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The Italian job
“Speaking with the manager was perfect for me,” Vardy exclusively told DAZN in his first interview since the move to Italy.
“The passion that he's got for the football club and for the football itself and how he wants to progress and wanting a team of fighters. That was me down to a tee so that really helped.”
It was certainly a sell that not many people saw coming. Vardy reportedly turned down a number of offers after his departure from Leicester, most notably Everton and Leeds, as well as links to both Old Firm clubs and moves to the USA.
However, it was the challenge under coach Davide Nicola that excited the striker and playing in a league he grew up watching in the halcyon days of Channel 4, citing Alessandro Del Piero as someone he used to watch boss Serie A.
There’s a likeness in his choice to Leicester, too. Cremonese were promoted through the play-offs last season, are back in the top flight after a two-year absence and started the season with a bang by beating AC Milan at the San Siro.
They followed that up with a win over Sassuolo, but any notion of the Italian side repeating the same kind of feats as Vardy did with Leicester has been quickly played down by the new arrival, despite some similarities in profile.
"The main target is staying in the league. That's what we've got to look at,” he says with the steely focus that we’ve come accustomed to.
“If you do that early, then you set another target, but until that's mathematically correct, then that's the only target that you set yourselves.
“After that, you just keep going into game by game, hopefully picking up the points and then you readjust depending on where you are.”
Here comes the partyCremonese
The question is, what can this former England international, in the final foray of his career, bring to Cremonese in 2025-26?
Well, for one, eyeballs. La Gazzetta dello Sport reported the club has already sold out of Vardy’s new number 10 shirt, and he’s already being talked about as the club’s biggest name since Gianluca Vialli began his career in Cremona during the mid-eighties.
For a promoted team, Vardy’s arrival will bring more exposure and coverage akin to the Milans and Napolis of the league, but the striker isn’t just there for a PR push; there’s still plenty for him to offer on the pitch, too.
Vardy will be a rare breed in Serie A. A striker who harasses defenders, a pest of a frontman, who rarely gives his opponents a rest before exploding into life as soon as there is an opening - and one the home fans will fall for in an instant.
Yes, a touch of that pace has been robbed from him by father time, but in a naturally slower league, Vardy’s impactful style could be key for Cremonese – especially on the counter.
Then there’s his goalscoring.
This is a man who hit 200 goals in 500 appearances for Leicester, and while there’s no expectation on numbers of that ilk, he does bring a natural goalscoring instinct and the capability of scoring all types of goals.
Something that could be crucial in a league where margins are tighter – even if he’s not setting any targets.
“I'm one of them. I've never, ever set a target, ever,” he finishes by admitting.
“You just go onto that pitch every single week wanting to score. It's not going to happen every week, but that is the main target.
“You want to be scoring, but, like I said earlier, the main thing is the club and the team and picking up points.”
Whatever the outcome, there’s no doubt that the Jamie Vardy story has taken another must-see twist in his football career, and as he prepares to make his debut against Verona on Monday night, the Red Bulls will be lined up for another Vardy party in Northern Italy this season.
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