Jamie Vardy's underdog story may never be matched.
The Leicester City striker climbed the football ladder playing for Non-League sides Stocksbridge Park Steels, Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town, who he would later help steer into the Football League.
The Sheffield-born striker signed for Leicester City, then in the Championship in 2012 and when the club arrived back in the big time in the Premier League, Vardy produced a Man of the Match display against Manchester United in a thrilling 5-3 win over Manchester United at King Power Stadium - the sort of performance that made everyone sit up and take notice of the scrappy forward, who had defied all of the odds to become a Premier League footballer.
Image: PA
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His meteoric rise continued though as Vardy established himself as a regular in the England set-up, broke Ruud van Nistelrooy's Premier League goalscoring record when he scored in 11 games on the trot, and scored 24 times as Leicester City won an unprecedented Premier League title.
Image: PA
The 30-year old has played in the European Championships and Champions League, and is an example that hard work pays off.
But it could have all turned out differently had Vardy followed through with a decision.
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In 2013, having scored just five goals in his first season in the Championship, Vardy was struggling so much at Leicester City that he was considering packing football in together and becoming a party rep in Ibiza. I don't know about you but I can definitely picture Vardy on the strip informing you about the great drinks deals in Space and Mambo's and he'd probably spend his time away from shifts banging in the goals for Ibiza Town FC.
Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare has revealed that he, Nigel Pearson and head of recruitment Steve Walsh had to talk Vardy out of calling it a day and moving into a different type of venture.
Talking about Vardy contemplating hanging up his boots prematurely by the Daily Mail, he said:
"Our job is to support players."
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"Sometimes they do have self-doubt and Jamie would be the first to admit he was going through a rough patch.
"Myself, Nigel [Pearson] and Steve [Walsh] were here to support him. All we did was told him about his attributes and that we thought he could go on.
"We even mentioned then about not only playing in the Premier League but also he had the attributes to play for the national team. We told him we wanted him and believed in him.
"Thankfully he didn't go to Ibiza. I think he has made the right decision!"
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Image: PA
He certainly did and instead of tearing it up on the dancefloor in Ibiza, he's been tearing it up and staging his own party on the football pitch.
Vardy did have a dry patch in front of goal earlier this season under Claudio Ranieri but his form has picked up under Craig Shakespeare and he has now scored six goals in his last eight appearances.
Hindsight is a great thing...
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: jamie vardy, Leicester City
