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With modern football becoming more and more obsessed to really catch them young, you will be more and more hard pressed to find late bloomers in the game. Who are they, actually? Late bloomers can and do inhabit all walks of human life, successfully as well.
It's just that they take time to find their feet and their field (or both). Football is also rife with such examples, even if they are becoming less and less frequent.
Legendary Real Madrid striker Alfredo Di Stefano actually began his glorious journey with the Los Blancos after turning 27. Closer to our times, Jamie Vardy was a non-league footballer before going on to become one of the best forwards in England.
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In this article, we take a look at some of the greatest late bloomers in football history.
10 greatest late bloomers in football history
#10 Antonio Di Natale
The Udinese legend did not even begin playing in Serie B till he was 23. With Empoli, Antonio Di Natale won promotion to the Serie A and seemed to age like fine wine, playing his best football as he got older.
His most prolific seasons in front of goal came after he turned 30, with only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo outscoring him during that period.
#9 Josip Ilicic
Josip Ilicic, now 32, has fully blossomed as a footballer at Atalanta whom he joined in 2017 at the age of 29.
His ascent has been consequent with the rise of his club who have turned from a group of relative unknowns into world-beaters, setting both Italy and Europe on fire.
The attacker, considered a bit of a mediocre Serie A import from Slovenia, has found his touch and confidence with Atalanta while in his 30s.
#8 Miroslav Klose
Unlike most on this list, Miroslav Klose's stage was the World Cup, not the club game, despite enjoying quite a bit of success at Bayern Munich, a club he joined at the age of 29. He even made his Germany debut at the age of 24.
However, that didn't stop Klose from becoming the highest-ever scorer in World Cup history; he scored on his way to becoming a world champion in 2014 at the age of 36.
#7 Ian Wright
It might be a bit inconceivable for many that Arsenal legend and for a time their all-time top goalscorer had given up on a professional career and was playing non-league football in his early 20s before being spotted by a scout from Crystal Palace.
The rest, as they say, is history as Ian Wright moved from Palace to Arsenal, playing for the first time in the Premier League at the age of 26. That did not stop him from being a prolific striker for the club, a streak that continued well into his 30s as Ian Wright netted 188 times for the Gunners.
#6 Ciro Immobile
Another striker who seems to be getting better with age is Ciro Immobile. The Italian international failed to fulfill his potential despite several chances in his early 20s.
All that changed when he moved to Lazio in 2016 aged 26. He is still with the club for whom he has scored more than 100 goals and is showing no signs of stopping as he enters his fourth decade.
#5 Papu Gomez
Alejandro Dario (Papu) Gomez is one of the highest-rated attackers in world football now. The versatile and creative 32-year-old Argentine can play both as a second striker as well as in midfield and has been the catalyst in the renaissance of Atalanta.
Gomez signed for Atalanta in 2014 and now captains the club, gradually helping them become a heavyweight of Italian football while also becoming a better footballer with passing time.
In 2019-20, he set a Serie A record for most assists with 16. He also played in the Champions League last season and is showing no signs of stopping any time soon.
#4 Dado Prso
Another football fairytale, Dado Prso, was a mechanic and a part-time footballer in his early 20s.
He was a third-tier player at the age of 23. Three years later, the Croatian was a French league-winner with Monaco after their coach Jean Tigana spotted him. Unbelievable, but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
It only got better for Prso as he would play and score in the Champions League at the age of 30 and also make his international debut for Croatia at 29.
#3 Didier Drogba
The Chelsea legend wanted to become an accountant at 20, with injuries having severely hampered his football aspirations. But sometimes true talent cannot be stopped.
Didier Drogba really burst on to the scene at Guingamp at the age of 24 before making a name at Marseille. But when Jose Mourinho brought him to Chelsea at 26, detractors didn't give the player much of a chance.
However, Droga proved eveyone wrong, winning four Premier League titles and playing an instrumental role in Chelsea winning the Champions League while becoming the club's fourth-highest goal-scorer.
#2 Luca Toni
Luca Toni is arguably one of the greatest-ever late bloomers in football history. The Italian was a journeyman in the lower echelons of the Italian game and played in the Serie A at the age of 23 before going down to Serie B. Toni turned things around after turning 26, finally getting into his groove as a striker with Palermo.
He continued his upward trajectory at Fiorentina where he scored 31 goals in his first season. He then joined Bayern Munich at the age of 30 and seemed to up his level. He kept on being a prolific goal-scorer well into his 30s after his return to Italy.
Toni won the FIFA World Cup with Italy in 2006.
#1 Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy's story is remarkable because of the rarity of such an occurrence in the cut-throat world of contemporary football. The striker was still a non-league player at 25 when Leicester City signed him, and an incredible ascent began.
As Leicester went from a Championship side to the most improbable champions of England ever, Vardy became one of the best strikers of England and in England. At 33, Vardy is still at Leicester and still scoring goals at will.
It's a story that may not be repeated again in football history.
