Page 8 - The Deal Roundup November 2018

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His story is not unique to him and is not unique to Non-League football in this
country or, indeed, in other football-loving nations. But that should not diminish the
feats of his career – Clare Balding is still a great presenter after all, that’s why she
is getting all the TV gigs.
For Vardy, seeing his career ascend to the international stage was something few
footballers can dream of. But here are
a few who have trod the same path as
the former FC Halifax Town forward.
Miroslav Klose (Germany) – FC
08 Homberg
The record goalscorer in FIFA World
Cups was a bit of a late-bloomer in the
sport before becoming a force for Die
Mannschaft.
At the age of 20, Klose was splitting his
time between pulling on the colours of Miraslav Klose - came from the German lower
fifth division side FC 08 Homberg and leagues

bricklaying before a move to Kaiserslautern II in
1999 saw his career come into fruition.
125 goals for Bundesliga sides Kaiserslautern,
Werder Bremen and European giants Bayern
Munich followed, as well as a five-year stint in
Italy with Lazio where he averaged one goal
every two-and-a-half games.
For the national team, Klose became a much-
needed puzzle piece that had been missing
since Oliver Bierhoff’s retirement. In 137 caps
for Germany Klose scored 71 times, including 16
goals at World Cups to pass Ronaldo’s record.
Fernando Llorente - came from the Fernando Llorente (Spain) – CD Basconia
Spanish lower league club CD Basconia Granted, Basque country club Basconia act as a
feeder club to Athletic Bilbao but they are a club established in their own right and
with their own history.
Llorente was a teenager when he turned out for the third-tier side reaching double-
figures in the 2003-04 season.
Eight years with Bilbao followed and so did international honours as Llorente
provided the grunt to back up the skill and finesse of David Villa and Fernando Torres
in Spain’s World Cup and European Championship double of 2010 and 2012.

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