English soccer player and manager, born on 14th December 1960 in Hepworth,
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. 63 caps and 6 goals for
England.
Chris Waddle was one of the greatest players of his generation, the star player in every team he played for from his early years with
Newcastle United through to the end of his career.
A nimble, tricky
winger, Waddle came to prominence in the
Newcastle side of the mid-
Eighties. His transfer to
Spurs in 1987 made him the most costly plyer in British transfer history, and after a couple of successful seasons at
White Hart Lane, he moved for another record fee to
French giants
Olympique Marseille.
In his four seasons at
OM, Chris was THE star of the French league. His partnership with
Jean-Pierre Papin reaped goals and plaudits from the sports media, and culminated in his dazzling performance for
England in the
1990 World Cup Finals.
In the summer of 1992,
Sheffield Wednesday boss
Trevor Francis pulled off a major coup by signing Waddle for less than a million pounds, and Waddle repaid him many times over, his first season back in English football seeing him win the
Footballer Of The Year award, en route to conjuring up four
Wembley appearances for
the Owls.
Injuries ravaged his later years at
Wednesday, and although the flashes of brilliance were still there, he was no longer the player of his golden years, and
David Pleat gave him a free transfer from
Wednesday in 1996.
After spells with
St.Mirren,
Bradford City and as player/manager of
Burnley, Chris returned as a coach at
Hillsborough and plays for
Worksop Town in the
Unibond Premier League.