500 games, 200 goals – how Vardy said goodbye to ‘the club I love’

It was unavoidable.

He ended his Foxes career with a goal, his 200th for the club, thirteen years after Leicester City paid £1 million to Fleetwood Town for Jamie Vardy.

People inside King Power Stadium drew breath in anticipation as the ball flew past Alex Palmer before exploding in celebration for a Vardy goal one last time.

No one could have questioned whether this was his day as he raced toward the Ipswich fans, placing a finger over his lips before raising the corner flag.

Vardy said, “I missed a few things before, but once JJ [James Justin] put me through there, I was never going to miss it.”

There was only one place I was going, despite the fact that I was obviously getting the dogs’ abuse from the away fans.

Leicester’s relegation, which occurred during a disappointing season, was briefly forgotten as Vardy dominated the narrative as he so frequently has, and a 500th and final appearance couldn’t have gone much better.

A Champions League quarter-final, a Europa Conference League semi-final, and two Championship titles are all represented by the Premier League. Nobody could have anticipated that he had incorporated himself into Leicester folklore.

After Leicester won 2-0 at home, he said, “It’s been amazing, it’s been a rollercoaster, it really has.”

“But the good news is that there have been way, way, way more highs than lows,” I thank everyone. Never did I believe that we would compete for the title, that we would win it, and that we had a purpose.

There are splits at Leicester and fans unhappy with how the club is run after a second relegation in three seasons, but Vardy has been a lightning rod to unite and propel the club forward in his 13 years of service.

The Foxes need to find a replacement for the 38-year-old former England striker, but it will be difficult to move on from Vardy.

When asked how Leicester would proceed without him, Vardy replied, “They’ll be fine, they’ll be fine.”

“We have a strong squad, and all of the young people are also coming through.” Football is a mental killer, and I couldn’t possibly do it all again, if I’m honest.

Both teams will meet in the Championship next year after being previously relegated, so the game itself was a sideshow.

The tributes to the performer on the left were included in the finale.

Vardy’s name was displayed on the stadium’s roof at either end, and flags on the pitch displayed highlights from his Leicester career, including victories in the Premier League and the FA Cup, as well as celebrations of some of his goals.

The big screens sang “Goodbye to the Goat,” and thousands of supporters waved their own flags with the words “Thank you Vards” emblazoned on them.

Vardy chose to end his Foxes career at 500 games in front of Leicester’s own supporters rather than spending the week playing south of Bournemouth at Bournemouth.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, the manager of Leicester, said, “If you score your 200th goal on your 500th appearance, then you’re a great one.”

He has played for this football team in a special way. We’ll soon realize how important this moment was to us. He also has a story and an edge, and he is a character. He also excels as a captain.

“We were inspired by the win over Southampton and the point against Nottingham Forest to do well for Jamie,” he added. There are some positive things to come at the end of the season.

Wes Morgan, Marc Albrighton, Jeff Schlupp, Danny Drinkwater, and Danny Simpson, the team’s titleholder, sat down to pay their respects after the game, while manager Nigel Pearson, who brought Vardy to the club, also watched.

Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the chairman, embraced him, and the audience montaged Vardy’s accomplishments and memorable moments from his time as he watched on with his family in the center circle.

Before speaking to the audience for the last time, he received a golden fox memento and was also named the club’s player of the year.

When he joined the Foxes in 2012, he was the most expensive non-league player in history.

After scoring five goals in his first season in the Championship, few could have imagined how he would have had an impact on King Power Stadium.

Former teammate Mark Schwarzer remarked, “He was always joking and always working full throttle in everything he did.”

Nobody understood Leicester’s plans to win the 2016 League. He was terrible at training when he first signed up, it seems, when he showed up.

His touch was “horrific,” it was everywhere, and they all wondered, “What have we just signed?” ‘.

Vardy attributed that improvement to minor adjustments. He began drinking three cans of Red Bull, a double espresso, and a cheese and ham omelette with baked beans throughout the day before the game.

Prior to games in the 2015-16 season, he stopped drinking Skittles vodka, which had previously been his favorite tipple, and instead drank port from a Lucozade bottle.

He was the oldest player to ever win the trophy and went on to earn the Premier League’s Golden Boot in 2019-20.

As Leicester’s title-winning coach Claudio Ranieri sailed Vardy as “a fantastic horse” back in 2016 as the Foxes sailed into the Premier League.

The veteran, who was Leicester’s last title winner to leave the King Power Stadium, may not be a thoroughbred any more, but he has been a part of their rise and fall.