Jamie Cureton surrounded by jubilant teammates // Photo: bbc.com
Cureton joined sixth division club Kings Park Rangers in early October. The veteran English footballer, who played in the Premier League for Norwich City, has scored for teams from the other top nine divisions. His first goal for the new club allowed him to become the author of a unique achievement – to conquer the top 10 tiers of the English “soccer pyramid”.
As his hero said after a memorable match in the sixth division, “this goal was the most important in his career”. “It doesn’t matter where the match would have taken place – at Wembley or anywhere else. I would have celebrated it with the same enthusiasm. I love scoring goals. I’ve always tried to celebrate any goal I’ve scored – at training, in the park, at school when I was a kid. Each of them has a special meaning for me,” – quotes Cureton BBC Sport.
During his 32-year career, the Bristol native has played for 24 clubs from the top 10 divisions of England. His first goal in his professional career Cureton scored for Norwich City in the Premier League match with Chelsea, when he was 19 years old. For his high performance with Colchester United, he was awarded the Golden Boot at the end of the Championship season – the second English division.
The experienced striker admitted that he never felt disappointed with relegation when he moved to teams from the lower divisions. Over 1,000 matches spent in the English “soccer pyramid” system, he realized that the love of the game must overcome pride.
“I think going from the bottom to the top is probably a lot easier because that’s when you’re aiming to get somewhere. Going down is much harder because there can be a stigma of a player having been to the top and leaving it. There can be a strong reluctance to join a team from a lower division. For me to start at the top and keep playing without worrying about the level of the team and just keep going down is a great personal achievement,” said Cureton.
The 50-year-old striker’s goal in Kings Park Rangers’ match against Dussindale & Hellesdon Rovers, among others, helped his side to a 4-1 rout. But Cureton has no intention of stopping. He is aiming to reach the 400 goals scored in a career. According to him, he needs to score four or five goals to accomplish that. It is difficult to compare with the record of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has more than 940 goals… However, a huge number of strikers in their careers do not manage to get close to the mark of 400 goals, even playing for clubs from the lower leagues.
Before joining Kings Park Rangers, Cureton tried his hand at managerial positions at clubs in the lower English divisions, but even there he managed to combine them with playing practice. The tireless striker is not thinking about the end of his playing career. In this he is very similar to the Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura, who continues to play at the age of 58. Logos Press previously told about his busy career.
The Englishman is adamant about continuing his career. “I’ve always said that as long as I’m fit and I’m not letting anyone down, I’ll keep playing. I just play for fun because I can, and I still enjoy it… And if I can score, that’s a great bonus,” concluded Cureton.
“Football pyramid” in England has more than 140 leagues and 480 divisions, uniting more than 5.3 thousand clubs. Theoretically, a club from the lowest division can rise to the level of the Premier League, but in fact it is unlikely. Among the most striking recent examples is Leicester City, which was relegated to the third division in 2008, returned to the Premier League in 2014, and two years later became champions of England for the first time in its history.
