When Leicester City were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 season, many thought Jamie Vardy's career at the top level of English football was over. Vardy, who had once been a dominant force in the league, was 36 when the Foxes were relegated. His performances, with only three goals in 37 league games, were a far cry from his past glory.
As the Foxes began preparations for their return to the Championship, it looked likely that they would do so without the former England international.
But when Enzo Maresca, a disciple of Pep Guardiola, arrived at the King Power Stadium, he did not just offer Vardy a lifeline; he brought a new tactical approach that breathed new life into his career.
Maresca relieved the pressure on Vardy's shoulder by allowing him to play deeper and take advantage of the youthful, exhilarating wingers in front of him.
Despite missing chunks of the season through injury, Vardy still finished as Leicester's top goal scorer, looking like a man reborn.
After a successful solitary season in England's second division, the Foxes are back in the Premier League but without Maresca, who has ventured to pastures new in West London with Chelsea.
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New season, same Vardy
Steve Cooper came to replace the Italian in the dugout, and his first task came in the form of Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur. To add to his already immense undertaking, the Welshman had no fit strikers heading into the contest.
Patson Daka was (and still is) suffering from an ankle injury, and Vardy had missed the majority of pre-season with a knock he picked up in one of the first friendlies of the summer.
Cooper was struggling and down the bare bones before a ball had been kicked.
That was until Jamie Vardy walked into Cooper's office days before the game against Spurs. He told his new boss that he would not see his club enter the opening game of the season without a recognised striker and declared himself available.
Vardy had not played a minute of football since July and was nowhere near match-fit, but this is what sets him apart from others.
Jamie Vardy gains nothing from risking himself for Leicester at this stage of his career; he already has the trophies, the individual accolades and the fame, but the reason why he remains Leicester City's most important player - and will be until the day he decides to hang up his boots- is his love for the football club.
You can coach movement, finishing, and shape, but you cannot teach passion. Either you have it, or you do not, and Vardy has it in abundance.
The first half of the game against Tottenham saw Leicester well and truly under the cosh. Cooper's team went into the half-time interval 1-0 down, but Spurs' lead should have been far more substantial than that.
They needed something to change the game; was that a shift in formation? Was it a change in personal? No, all the Foxes needed was to give Jamie Vardy a can of Red Bull and let him rule the roost.
In the second half, Vardy played all the hits; he wound up the opposition, played on the shoulder of Tottenham's defence, and scored the goal that brought Leicester level.
He did all this in around 25 second-half minutes before Cooper brought his venerable leader off to preserve him for future fixtures.
In the blink of an eye, Leicester's opening game became the Jamie Vardy show.
While coming off, Vardy pointed towards the Premier League patch on his shirt and held up a singular finger, indicating he had won one Premier League title; he then pointed to it again and then toward the Spurs fans before telling them, in no uncertain terms that they zero Premier League titles.
Antics like this are another reason Vardy's position at Leicester is unfaltering. Not many players bring this level of character to the game's highest level, but it is very much part of Vardy's repertoire.
Leicester City have the looming threat of two separate points deductions hanging over them, and having a personality like Vardy's in your squad is hugely important to maintaining belief and morale.
It may be simplistic to say that character and passion are why Vardy remains vital to Leicester, but it is the truth.
While still perfectly adequate, his footballing ability is not what it once was.
Yet Cooper will continue to pick him because he will run that little bit more than others, try to wind up that defender where others will not bother, and attempt to gee up the crowd when the team needs it.
Given Leicester's precarious position, this could end up being one of Vardy's biggest seasons for the club. While not the same marauding young buck he once was, he is still Jamie Vardy, and that counts for a hell of a lot.
