'He's not normal': Leicester's Jamie Vardy isn't done joking, taunting and scoring

Leicester City's Jamie Vardy suffered a preseason injury, forcing him to miss weeks of training, so he wasn't expected to do much in a Premier League opener Monday against Tottenham Hotspur.

But Vardy, who's noted for his controversial health and wellness routine and fueling Leicester's incredible EPL title run in 2016, has made a living doing things he isn't supposed to do.

Against Tottenham, the 37-year-old forward energized the game from the second he joined it and scored the goal that earned Leicester an unexpected 1-1 draw.

"He's not normal in terms of what he can still produce at his age," Leicester coach Steve Cooper said of Vardy after the match, per The Athletic . "He is in the top category."

Vardy's journey to that "top category" is the stuff of legend.

Most top English strikers come up through big-name academies, training with renowned coaches to prepare for their senior careers. But that wasn't Vardy's path.

After his release from local club Sheffield Wednesday as a child, Vardy plied his trade in the deepest depths of the English soccer pyramid. He didn't spend his 20s playing with the best and brightest — he spent them in the seventh tier of English soccer, earning a pittance as a reserve with the Stocksbridge Park Steels.

Then Vardy clawed his way up through the ranks of semi-professional soccer before Leicester discovered him in 2012. He didn't make his Premier League debut until age 27.

Since that debut, though, Vardy has become something of a poster child for the "old days" of English soccer. In a league haunted by the creeping influence of global capitalism, Vardy is an anachronism: a scrappy kid turned good through hard work and exceptional talent.

Through it all, Vardy hasn't lost the impish spark that fueled him. When he plays in the Premier League, as he did against Tottenham, he appears to treat it the same way he treated those non-league games of yore. It doesn't matter if Vardy is playing against his neighborhood friends or World Cup winner Cristian Romero. He's going to joke and taunt, and, most importantly, he's going to score.

"You take a bit of stick during the game," he said said of his love of post-goal taunting, per talkSport . "As long as (the opposition's fans) can take it when I give it back then it's all good."

Vardy has spent 12 years with Leicester City, leading the club through everything from a Premier League trophy to relegation and promotion. Through it all, he has been unfailingly loyal to the club that plucked him out of obscurity.

"He's great for a dressing room," Marc Albrighton, Vardy's former Leicester teammate, said, per talkSport . "He creates conversation, and that can really help take the daily pressures off sometimes... the service he's shown this club is second to none."

That service looks bound to continue. After Vardy's impressive performance against the Spurs, it's clear Vardy still has a role to play for Leicester City. His methods are a bit different these days — he uses oxygen tents to improve his cardiovascular fitness — but his mischievous attitude remains the same.

"It's a bit boring in the oxygen tent," he told The Athletic with a laugh . "Nine times out of 10 I fall asleep and the kids have to come and find me."

Vardy and Leicester City will return to Premier League action Saturday against Fulham at Craven Cottage.