Ex-Leicester pair Lineker & Vardy share more in common than expected
At first glance, two of Leicester City's greatest strikers, Gary Lineker and Jamie Vardy, appear to be separated by a chasm of personality. One is refined, reserved and widely respected; the other raw, unfiltered and famously combustible.
Yet the duo share one striking footballing trait that defies convention. It is not a similarity in character, but rather a notably relaxed, almost indifferent attitude toward training and pre-match preparation that few would associate with such elite goalscorers.
Their respective journeys to the top could scarcely have been more different, with Lineker emerging through LCFC's youth ranks to become an England regular in his early twenties. While Vardy worked in a factory and spent years in non-league football before finally reaching the Premier League at 27.
Both would go on to enjoy stellar careers after leaving the Foxes: Lineker winning the World Cup Golden Boot and starring for Everton, Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur. Vardy claimed an EPL title, FA Cup and Golden Boot, whilst representing the Three Lions at major tournaments.
Gary Lineker and Jamie Vardy: Different personalities, same unorthodox Leicester City approach
What truly binds Lineker and Vardy, despite their contrasting demeanours, is a shared reluctance to embrace the daily grind of preparing. Former team-mate Alan Smith revealed Lineker would skip warm-ups entirely, preferring a hot bath and a few stretches before kick-off.
Gary Lineker never used to go out for the warm-ups. He’d stand in a hot bath and do a few stretches, then he was ready.
Vardy, meanwhile, was famously described by Kasper Schmeichel as ruthless in matches but far less so in practice, the goalkeeper adding he would not want to be on his team in training. Stories circulated of "JV9" regularly drinking alcohol in hotel bars with hours left until kick-off and famously quipping about Peter Schmeichel's presence at the training ground.
Jamie Vardy jokes ‘is it bring your father to work day?’ after spotting Peter Schmeichel at club’s training ground
It remains one of the sport's most fascinating paradoxes: two men with wildly different personalities, but both blessed with the ability to deliver when it mattered most, even if they seemed to view the applied daily routine as something to be endured rather than embraced. Whether natural talent negates the need for repetition or they simply saved their sharpness for the whistle, their careers prove that greatness does not always arrive in the same package, nor follow the expected path; both certainly worked on the field of play.
