Former Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy said he's eager to prove his doubters wrong as he was presented at this new club, Serie A side Cremonese, on Wednesday.
Vardy grew aggressive when a reporter asked whether he might be slowing down as he approaches 40.
"You must be one of the doubters, and you're one that I'll have to prove wrong," Vardy snapped back. "Now, listen, for me, age is just a number. ... As long as my legs are still doing exactly what they used to and still feel as fresh as they do, then I will carry on.
"At the moment, there's no signs of them slowing down."
Just like was often the case at Leicester, promoted Cremonese face a challenge to stay in Italy's top flight and have been tipped to struggle in the league this season.
Vardy said that he was convinced to join the Italian club after a long Zoom call with Cremonese coach Davide Nicola, who is someone who has experience keeping teams in the top division.
"Just looking in his eyes and seeing what he wanted, that really resonated with myself and I think as a footballer it's always nice to feel wanted," Vardy said.
"Having sat down with the manager and the owner, the main task is making sure we stay in the league. And if I'm honest, that's how it was when I was at Leicester."
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Vardy of course did much more than merely help Leicester avoid relegation, leading the team to an improbable Premier League title in 2016.
He scored in a record 11 straight games in Leicester's historic campaign, which is remembered as one of the great underdog stories in football history. Their title win defied preseason odds of 5,000-1.
"There was never any, 'We're going to go for this.' It was always, 'We need to stay in the league.' That was the main thing," Vardy said. "So all you do, you go out, you take each one by one. You give your all, what will be will be. Back then we ended up winning quite a lot, and that's football."
Cremonese, too, have exceeded expectations by opening the season with two straight wins, stunning AC Milan at the San Siro and then producing a dramatic late win over Sassuolo.
"It's 11 vs. 11 and anyone can beat anyone," Vardy said. "So we'll just be working as hard as we can on the training field to make sure that we're ready for every single game that comes up. Take them one by one and we'll see where that takes us."
After 13 seasons at Leicester, 38-year-old Vardy signed a one-year contract with in Italy, with an option for a second season.
He will wear the No. 10 shirt once worn by Gianluca Vialli at Cremonese and could make his debut at Hellas Verona on Monday.
"His story is about dreams that become reality," Cremonese sporting director Simone Giacchetta said. "A dream that we share.
"We're really pleased to have with us an example of how someone normal becomes special because of their values," Giacchetta added.
Maresca and Ranieri influence Vardy said that playing under Enzo Maresca at Leicester in 2023-24 prepared him for Serie A's defensive tactics.
"People were saying that I wouldn't be able to adapt to that and I finished that season with 20 goals under him," Vardy said. "You can't never be too old to learn."
Vardy was also pleased that Claudio Ranieri, the Italian who coached Leicester to the Premier League title and is now a special adviser at Roma, put a good word in for him at Cremonese.
"As for the Ranieri bit," Vardy said. "I know that he's sung my praises to the manager. So I better not let him down."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.