Vardy reveals how Chelsea coach helped him pick Cremonese & compares new adventure to Leicester | OneFootball

English striker Jamie Vardy has given his first press conference as a Cremonese player, after he joined the newly-promoted Serie A side the summer.

Vardy left Leicester City after his contract expired and joined Davide Nicola’s side on a free transfer, to much fanfare and celebration.

Speaking to the press, via Cremonese’s Official YouTube Channel, Vardy revealed that he “was able to get on a zoom call with” Nicola, where they spoke for “45 minutes to an hour, showing his passion for the club and how he is wanting to push on. And just looking in his eyes and what he wanted, that really resonated with myself and I think as a footballer, it is always nice to feel wanted.”

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND – APRIL 26: Jamie Vardy of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Leicester City FC at Molineux on April 26, 2025 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Vardy discusses parallels between Cremonese and Leicester City

Vardy was also asked if there were any parallels between Cremonese and his last club Leicester City, where the Foxes famously won the Premier League title as massive underdogs and Vardy playing a big part in the success.

“I think having sat down with the manager and the owner, I think the main task is making sure we stay in the league and to be honest, that is how it was when I was at Leicester. It was never any ‘we are going to go for this’,” the striker continued, “it was always ‘we need to stay in the league’, that’s the main thing.”

Vardy emphasised the importance of taking it one match at a time when you are a small club trying to stay in the league, “On a normal match day it is 11 vs 11 and anyone can beat anyone. So we will just be working as hard as we can on the training field to make sure we’re ready for every single game that comes up. We’ll take them one by one and see where that takes us.”

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 20: Enzo Maresca, Manager of Chelsea, reacts during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Chelsea FC at Craven Cottage on April 20, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Vardy: ‘Cremonese want to be the overachieving underdogs’

Vardy was later asked to expand upon what specifically led him to join Cremonese and what it was that Davide Nicola said to him to convince him to join the club. “I think the thing for me personally is throughout my career I have always been doubted,” the striker confessed, “I always have and always will still.”

“Speaking with the manager, there has been a lot of doubt in Italy about Cremonese being able to stay in the league and with how the manager is and the passion he has got and his work ethic, that’s not what he wants. And I think with how the lads have started it’s unbelievable. We know it’s a long season but that’s the role he is wanting: to be the underdogs that are overachieving.”

Vardy also revealed that Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, who worked with the Englishman at Leicester, played a huge role in his decision to move to Serie A. “I managed to have a really good chat with him once we knew it was going to be a possibility and he did nothing but sing the praises of the club itself and the surrounding areas. Cremona as a city and everything. His advice for me was to come here and that was it, once he said that and I managed to speak to my family, there was only one place I was going to go.”

Read the full press conference here.