The English wing wizard was an integral part of Marseille’s glory days in the early 1990s, when the club’s four consecutive Ligue 1 titles (1988-1992) propelled them to two European Cup finals, the second of which they won in 1993.

'Best on the continent'

"At that time, Marseille deserved to win two or three European Cup finals," Waddle told om.net of the side that included current OM coach Didier Deschamps as well as French legends Marcel Desailly, Jean-Pierre Papin and Eric Cantona. "For three or four years, we were the best team on the continent."

Despite the years that have passed since then, Waddle remembers all too well the infamous semi-final return leg after Marseille had won the first match 2-1 in Marseille.

"A draw would have been fair, and would have seen us progress. But then there was this goal scored with a hand-ball and the only person on the pitch who didn’t see it was the referee," said Waddle of Angolan international striker Vata’s illegal goal that saw Benfica progess to a losing final against AC Milan on the away goals rule.

"If we had lost to Benfica because they were better than us, we could have accepted it, but when someone cheats with a hand-ball like that, it’s much harder to swallow. We were really angry and disappointed to go out like that."

'Niang with a hand'

Now OM have a chance for revenge when they travel to the Stadium of Light in Lisbon for the first leg of their round-of-16 tie with the Portuguese giants and Waddle believes Deschamps’ men have what it takes.

"OM has every chance. They played some great matches in the Champions League, notably in Milan. Marseille are playing well and it’s great that the return leg will be at the Vélodrome," said Waddle before adding, "And if [Mamadou] Niang scores with a hand-ball? It’d be great if Marseille qualified like that [laughing]. That would be the perfect revenge!"  

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