Can Vardy lead Serie B teams into Serie A?

Former England international Jamie Valdy joined Serie B team Cremonese as a free agent after leaving Leicester City. Although this transfer is a free transfer, it does have some follow-up highlights.

Cremonese is not a well-known team in the traditional Serie A sense. Compared with Sassuolo with long-term cores such as Domenico Berardi, Genoa has the warm atmosphere of Luigi Feraris Stadium. Parma was once known for cultivating new stars. Behind Udinese is the Pozzo family, and Cremonese has always lacked significant labels. The team's city, Cremona, is located in the Milan-Venice-Florence triangle and has limited popularity in the international tourism market.

Now, Cremonese is undergoing a transformation. Led by coach David Nicola, who has led the relegation team to create miracles many times, the team won all the league in the first two rounds of the new season and temporarily ranked in the top four in the standings. Vardy's joining is at a critical stage of the team's sprint.

Valdi could have chosen the English club, but his maverick character led to this unconventional transfer. Assessing Cremonese's lineup, it can be found that Nicola's leadership combines experienced players with the Middle A generation who is in his age: Franco Vazquez, who once played for many Serie A teams, Antonio Sanabria, who showed his strength during Turin, Federico Baschiroto, who helped Lecce relegation, and Giuseppe Pezera, who has a solid Serie A record. Warren Bondo and Filippo Terraciano, both played for AC Milan last season. Although they experienced relegation games, they had technical skills. Midfielder Yari Vanderput has performed outstandingly this season and is good at pushing with the ball. Goalkeepers Emil Odero and Marco Sylvesteri are both experienced goalkeepers in Serie A.

Valdi's technical characteristics are highly consistent with Nicola's tactical system. The coach is used to using a 3-5-2 formation, focusing on deep defense and direct offense, which is similar to the tactical environment when Vardy helped Leicester City win the Premier League in 2016. Although Cremonese is not a championship team, Vardy will quickly adapt to the tactical role. Last season at Leicester City, he averaged only 20 touches per game, less than 4 touches in the penalty area, but still scored 9 goals. Its ability to run without the ball, counter-offside forward and cooperate with teammates is still an important weapon.

Serie B opponents often adopt high-level oppression to leave room for Cremonese, especially against traditional strong teams (example of AC Milan in the first round). Although Federico Bonazoli's barb winning resulted in victory, the team did not need to rely entirely on unconventional goals after having Vardy. Nicola's deep defense system can effectively protect the forward from isolation, and partners such as Vasquez are good at slating offenses, which can create more opportunities for Vardy to focus on scoring. The coach is good at stimulating the potential of strikers in different styles, and the two of them have a unique personality that may also form good collaboration.

Potential risks are mainly concentrated in Vardy's physical condition and attendance rate. Although he is 39 years old, he missed only three Premier League games last season and played more than 2,000 minutes; he played in 35 games in the 2023/24 Championship season, showing his physical condition is better than players of the same age. Italy's relatively warm climate may further ensure its endurance. If the output is maintained, he will not only help the team avoid relegation, but may even impact the mid-level ranking.

Vardi was warmly welcomed by fans when she arrived in Cremona, and the northern Italian city is looking forward to the veteran restarting the green feast.