Known as a hard player, Vinnie Jones continued his career as a 'thug' on the big screen after deciding to retire from football.
Modern football and movie buffs may not realize it, but former 80s and 90s smash hit Vinnie Jones is a famous footballer.
Perhaps, to those who know it, Jones isn't better known as the gruff, crazy, out-of-court psychopath who runs around in his shorts, bashing and knocking opponents out with his treacherous tackles.
However, Jones was an important member of the infamous 'Crazy Gang' at Wimbledon. He played three seasons there and he dominated a number of 'Crazy Gang' headlines at that time.
In total, he played in 520 matches in his career, scored 39 goals and won one FA Cup.
Since deciding to hang up his boots in 1999, Jones has starred in a number of films. After he starred in Guy Ritchie films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998, in which he played the role of a thug. For many football fans, it may come as no surprise that the roles he has played in movies have not been much different on the pitch for nearly two decades.
However, Jones' career on the field has not been as smooth as his career on the big screen. He started everything from the bottom. In fact, he is not like today's modern players who started their career in the academy of a club.
Jones didn't even get into the academy on a third division team. He played for non-league club Wealdstone in 1984, when he was just 19 years old.
That's where his ability develops. Wealdstone signed him after watching Jones play for a local club. But, interestingly, they didn't see Jones' football ability, but his stature which was quite tall for his age at that time.
In 1986, he moved to Sweden, playing for IFK Holmsund who appeared in the third tier. Even though it seemed far from the eyes of the big teams, in fact Wimbledon sniffed out his talent and decided to bring him back to England three years later.
It was at Wimbledon that Jones' name began to soar. He appeared very solid in midfield and often won the ball. His tough personality blended in perfectly with the Wimbledon squad. He seemed to be a player who was sent to the field to intimidate and beat opponents.
And it helped Wimbledon beat Liverpool in one of the most famous FA Cup finals in 1988. Wimbledon stunned the Reds in front of nearly 100,000 fans at Old Wembley Stadium. Wimbledon narrowly won 1-0.
The formidable 'Crazy Gang' of the likes of Jones, John Fashanu, Dennis Wise and Sanchez really caught Liverpool off guard, and it saw Jones brought in by Leeds United, where he won Division Two in 1989.
He had spells at Sheffield United and Chelsea from 1990 to 1992, but he was unable to establish himself as a regular until he finally returned to Wimbledon.
His second spell at Wimbledon lasted six years, ending his career as player-coach at Queens Park Rangers in 1998/99.
Even though his career ended in an unimpressive way, but if it were not for his unfortunate experience in the world of cinema, his name might have been forgotten by now.
However, there is one other thing that football lovers cannot forget about Jones; Yes, it is a horror tackle that cannot be passed by the opponent.
Indeed, he is also known as a midfielder who has extraordinary passing accuracy and slick finishing, but his tackles and lunges at opposing players will continue to stick in the heads of many people.
February 1988 is perhaps the most famous of his violent plays. At that time he grabbed the testicles of Tottenham player Paul Gascoigne.
However, his hard tackle on Steve McMahon from Liverpool in the FA Cup final clearly cannot be forgotten. A few months later, he ended the career of Tottenham defender Gary Stevens after a horrific tackle on Stevens' leg, leaving him never to fully recover from his knee injury and retiring several years later.
Then, there was another moment of 'violence'. In his second spell at Wimbledon, in 1994 to be precise, he tackled Manchester United star Eric Cantona, and once again, he was aiming not at the ball, but only at Cantona's feet.
So 'thugs' in the film world
After deciding to hang up his boots, Jones seems to have found a new world to be able to vent his anger on. He has played in more than 70 films to date and most of the roles he has played are as a 'thug' or an antagonist.
Gone in 60 Seconds, The Midnight Man, Loaded to Rush Hour 3 are some of the films he has starred in.
Nearly 40 years since he made his debut aged 19 for Wealdstone, it's remarkable how Vinnie Jones' football career has gone. He decides not to be a football hero, but to become an anti-hero -- quite like a movie scenario that needs an antagonist to create a grand drama...
The following are films currently showing online in Cinemas
Those are recommendations for cinema films showing on New Year's Eve. Enjoy watching.
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