Jamie Vardy’s odd pre-match routines – alcohol and three Red Bulls

Jamie Vardy has had some rather unusual pre-match routines in his career, having developed some since the start of the 2013/14 Championship campaign which he felt were a factor in Leicester City being promoted to the English top flight. The forward scored 16 goals in that title-winning season, and the 36-year-old has not risked breaking his superstitions since.

The former England international has been one of the biggest ‘zero to hero’ players in Premier League history, though it is no secret that he is incredibly different to others. That’s because Vardy did not make his Football League debut until he was 25, having impressed consistently while working his way through the lower levels of the football pyramid.

The forward truly wrote himself into the history books when he helped Leicester win the Premier League title against all odds, and he may have his pre-match ritual to thank for that. Most top-level stars rely on a rigid, healthy diet to ensure that they are at their very best on matchdays – though that couldn’t be further from the truth when it comes to Vardy.

Writing in his autobiography, ‘From Nowhere, My Story’, he revealed: “At the start of the 2013/14 season I made some changes to my pre-match routine – and it’s remained the same to this day. Three Red Bulls, a double espresso and a cheese and ham omelette is what makes me run around like a nutjob on a match day.

“While we’re waiting and killing a bit of time, I have a double espresso. We get into the dressing room an hour and a half before kick-off, and I’ll have a third can of Red Bull. But with this one I sip it all the way until we go out for the warm-up, leaving a bit to finish off when I come back in.”

Though the superstitions don’t only apply to matchdays for Vardy, as the ex-Fleetwood Town star also began his preparation for games the night before – starting with an alcoholic beverage. He continued: “I can’t say why it started, because I genuinely don’t know, but I decided to drink a glass of port on the eve of every game in the 2015/16 season.