Jamie Vardy’s Rochester New York FC’s roller coaster ride

On June 15, 2021, Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy would buy a stake in the U.S football club Rochester Rhinos. This move would make Vardy a co-owner of the club.

The former England international was the perfect co-owner for a club that had not played a game in five seasons. Vardy’s coming up from non-league football to Premier League champion is mesmerizing. It’s also one of the reasons David Dworkin, owner of the Rochester Rhinos, was interested in bringing in the Leicester striker.

"“This is a huge coup for Rochester and the Rhinos,” David Dworkin said. “Jamie Vardy is known throughout the soccer world because of his success and his inspirational story, and we are delighted that he has chosen to join us as a co-owner.”Daily Mail"

Now a little over a year later, Vardy has seen the chaos and drama of being an owner. The Rochester Rhinos have had a roller coaster of a season so far.

The season started off with them getting 23 men who have never played a game together. They quickly have to figure out how to gel and play as a team. Then their manager, Bruno Baltazar, couldn’t get his visa until a week before the season started. With only a week to prepare for St.Louis, the team was already unprepared. With already enough challenges being thrown at them, life wanted to throw one more. The Rochester Rhinos almost missed their first game.

"‘We were on two different flights to start with,’ Tucker says. ‘There were delays at Rochester airport, a three-hour delay on a 5am flight that just got longer. We were going Rochester-Chicago, Chicago-St Louis. And then we’re told we’re going to miss our connecting flight and players won’t arrive until 11pm and miss the pre-match dinner.‘So we get a bus, a five-hour bus that was expensive but at least we’d get there. And then I was in Starbucks and my phone went off – it was the bus company canceling on us. So we had to go and hire some cars – hired three cars for 13 of us, driving five hours to St Louis. Bruno was thinking ‘what have I come to here!’"

Even with all of the chaos surrounding them, the Rhinos still put in their best efforts and played a good game. They would still end up losing the game 2-0. They would lose their next game 3-1 to the New England Revolution II. It was back-to-back losses for the Rhinos and things weren’t looking good.

Then it seemed like things started to gel and click. The Rhinos would go on to win eleven of their next 13 league games. They’re currently on a two-game losing streak. But, their 30 points have them tied for second in the MLS Next Pro Eastern Conference. Rochester FC has had a lot of players play great for them this season, but Gibran Rayo has been the stand-out player. The 20-year-old forward has ten goals and three assists in his 17 appearances this season.

There’s been highs and lows for the club this season. That just seems to be how Vardy likes his journeys.