Pascal Vaudequin

Infobox Football biography
playername = Pascal Vaudequin


dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1966|9|22|mf=y
cityofbirth = Paris
countryofbirth = France
currentclub =
position = Full-Back(Retired)
years =
1987-1991
1991-1993
1993-1996
1997-1998
1998-1999
1999-2000
2000-2002
clubs = USL Dunkerque
Derry City
Orléans Rodez
Derry City
Shelbourne
Finn Harps F.C.
Bohemians
Shamrock Rovers
caps(goals) =
manageryears = 2005

managerclubs = Institute F.C.

Pascal Vaudequin (born 22 September 1966 in Paris) was a French footballer who spent the most part of his career playing in the League of Ireland after meeting his wife there and subsequently, he fell in love with the north-western region. He is currently working as a youth development officer with numerous associations around Northern Ireland, in particular, Trojans F.C.

Career

Early Career and Derry City

Vaudequin began playing football as a young boy after being inspired by the Dutch national football team and Johann Cruijff during the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He began his career with USL Dunkerque before moving to Ireland in the Summer of 1987 to sign for Derry City. He made his debut for the Candystripes on the 13th of September scoring in a 2-1 loss to Bray Wanderers. Vaudequin was pivotal in the hugely successful treble winning Derry City team of 1989. He later left in 1991, returning to France to play for Orléans Rodez before re-signing for Derry in 1993 where he stayed for a further three seasons. During his two spells at Derry he won 1 League title, 2 FAI Cups and 4 League Cups in what proved to be the Candystripes' most successful era.

Post-Derry City

Vaudequin left Derry City in 1997 and signed with the relatively successful Shelbourne. During his short spell with the Dublin side, he won an FAI Cup winners medal in 1997. Pascal then signed for Finn Harps F.C. getting to another FAI Cup final in 1999. He then moved to Bohemians, making his debut against Sligo Rovers in January 2000. However, this move was short-lived and Vaudequin promptly signed for Shamrock Rovers F.C. spending the 2000-01 and the 2001/02 seasons with them.

Personal life

Pascal Vaudequins dreams were not only to become a footballer and to have supportive fans but was to have a wife and to grow a family. He currently is married to the woman of his dreams which is a local Derry woman called Maria Vaudequin. At the age of 15, Maria started into hairdressing and ever since she has been doing that for over 25 years. Pascal had mate Maria in the hairdressers which she formally worked at which was called Hairite. At the age of 18 they started to go steady and ever since that has been married over 19 years. At the age of 21 Maria and Pascal had their first child Brendan Vaudequin, who entered the world on 8/12/88. At the age of 24 Maria and Pascal had their second child Ciaran Vaudequin on the 10/01/93.

Managerial and Coaching

After holding various coaching positions around Ireland, Vaudequin was determined to become an official coach and returned home to France, where he completed his UEFA Pro License. Since gaining the license, Vaudequin has been linked with a number of top-flight Irish jobs.

Return to the North-West

Upon retirement, Vaudequin returned to the North-West and assumed the role of assistant manager at Finn Harps After a period as assistant manager at Finn Harps F.C., Vaudequin began coaching at Institute. He was later offered the role of manager of Institute F.C. in January 2005 after the departure of Paul Hegarty. He accepted this offer and signed a number of promising French players, but his managerial reign lasted a mere ten months. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/irish/4436076.stm BBC SPORT | Football | Irish | Vaudequin quits as Institute boss ] ] After leaving the Riverside club, he decided to aid youth development and volunteered as a youth coach for Derry based Trojans F.C. Vaudequin had also been linked with the vacant post at Finn Harps F.C. after Anthony Gorman left the club at the end of the 2006 league campaign. However, he did not take the job and his former team-mate, Paul Hegarty, was soon appointed manager. In March 2007, Vaudequin was also strongly linked with the job of Sligo Rovers F.C. [ [http://www.eleven-a-side.com/premier/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=26801&l=1 Irish soccer | Vaudequin linked with Sligo role | eircom League Premier Division ] ] [ [http://www.elevenaside.com/eircomleague/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=26872&l=1 eircom League | Vaudequin Sligo link intensifies | eleven-a-side.com ] ]

Irish Football Association

He is currently coaching for the Irish Football Association as under 17 international assistant manager and also in charge of the youth development in the county Antrim for the elite players. . [ [http://www.irishfa.com/grassroots/centres-of-excellence/ Irish Football Association, Northern Ireland - Flybe George Best Excellence Programme ] ]

Honours

Derry City F.C.

*League Title - 1
*FAI Cup - 2
*League Cups - 4

helbourne F.C.

*FAI Cup - 1

Controversy

Vaudequin is fondly remembered for his solid performances in a Derry shirt, however, on many occasions he was subject to abuse from opposing fans. The most intolerable abuse he suffered was from the Coleraine F.C. fans, who consider Derry City a rival team. He was labelled "The Frog" in reference to his nationality. However, he maintained his nerve and played through the criticism. Vaudequin's team mates have applauded his integrity and he was quoted as being "a gentleman, both on and off the pitch" by the Derry Journal. He was also the centre of a racial abuse controversy as manager of Institute, as Ballymena United F.C. fans were believed to direct abuse toward the French man. [ [http://www.kickitout.org/index.php?id=9&StoryID=996 Tackling exclusion ] ]

Controversy

*Vaudequin was referred to as "Paddy Quinn" or "Paddy Vandequin" by Derry City F.C. supporters, who found difficulty in pronouncing his name.

External links

* [http://www.playerhistory.com/Default.aspx?page=player_details&playerID=109936 Information on playerhistory.com]

References