Vardy, Schmeichel, Klose: 11 footballers who had to work normal jobs

In an age where the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are nursed into the professional game as teenagers, late bloomers in football are becoming a rare breed.

We’re not talking young stars who have spent years in academies and merely taken time to find their feet in the senior game. By late bloomers, we’re on about the true zero to hero stories. The ones that weren’t meant to make it, but did.

Academy football has always been a huge step up from the grassroots level, so when a player is picked out from a non-league or semi-pro level and thrust into the full-time game, they’ve got to be really, really good.

It’s a commitment, too, and far from an easy decision to make. Sure, we might all dream of being professional footballers as kids, but the reality of making it is very different.

Football is a short enough career as it is. So to leave behind a life of normality to enter the professional game late, unaware of what level you might end up playing at, is a massive risk that many cannot afford to take.

Taking that risk is no common offering, either, with clubs so reliant on signing players for fees and making use of their academies. It takes a lot to be spotted so late on when you’re not in the world of elite football, and even more to be offered the chance to make the jump.

So, in appreciation for those who truly have gone from zero to hero, ditching the difficulties of reality to try and make a dream come true, GIVEMESPORT has compiled a list of players who had ‘normal jobs’ before making it as footballers.

Now fondly remembered for his rampant goal scoring exploits throughout Europe with Club Brugge, Sevilla and AC Milan, Bacca had to balance his early football career with a job while playing for Atletico Junior