By David Lee Wheatley
Fed up of the drudgery of English football in the 80's, Chris Waddle decided to follow compatriot and friend Glenn Hoddle to France through a £4.25m switch from Tottenham Hotspur to Marseille.
Hoddle had already spent two seasons in Ligue 1 at Monaco, helping them win the title in his first campaign with the Monte Carlo club.
English sides were suffering badly following the expulsion from European club football imposed due to the Heysel disaster and many top home-based internationals wished to see what that world had to offer.
Marseille's move for England winger Waddle made him the third most-expensive footballer on record at the time of his move in 1989 and many observers wondered if the Spurs man was worth the money.
The Gateshead-born star answered his critics in emphatic fashion thanks to his highly impressive performances in the white-and-blue of l'OM. The fans at the Stade Vélodrome took the Geordie to their hearts instantly, as Waddle was christened Le Magicien following the revelation that he watched videotapes of illusionist Paul Daniels to combat homesickness, but also with several dashing displays on the left wing!
During his fruitful three-year stay on the south of France, Marseille stormed to three successive league championship retentions, having grabbed the trophy from Hoddle's Monaco the season before Waddle's arrival.
At international level, the former Newcastle United wizard appeared rejuvenated by his first campaign in France when arriving at Italia '90 for the World Cup finals. Waddle played at the pinnacle of his powers in England's run to the semi-finals, but West Germany dumped them out on penalties; Stuart Pearce and Waddle himself the culprits missing their kicks.
Back at club level, he led Marseille to the European Cup final in 1991, which took place in Bari. Unfortunately, it was more penalty heartbreak in Italy for the England man with Red Star Belgrade the victors in another shoot-out. Mercifully, Waddle didn't take a penalty on that occasion, but felt the devastation of the loss all the same.
That third Ligue 1 title of his Marseille era came in 1992, before Sheffield Wednesday offered him a route back to the English top-flight. He ended with 22 league goals from 107 appearances, plus a further 7 goals in other competitions coming out of 42 domestic and European Cup games.
He later described the differences between the English and French styles of football when explaining that in England he was expected to run 'up-and-down, up-and-down', yet across in France he was classed an all-out attacker and that was his only job. It seemed a liberating experience for Waddle allowing him to perform at his full potential, while assisting him with the avoidance of burn-out and exhaustion during and after matches.
Le Magicien left an indelible mark on the fanatical support in Marseille, too, as he got voted into second place of all-time Marseille players behind legendary former team-mate and captain Jean-Pierre Papin in celebration of the club's Centenary of 1998.
After an initially daunting journey of discovery in a foreign land, what a fantastic legacy to leave behind.
Twitter: @davewh1980
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