Former Arsenal and England midfielder Graham Rix reminisces about his time playing in France.
Graham Rix was an Arsenal hero after making 464 appearances for the Gunners and was the man who provided the cross for Alan Sunderland's late winner in the 1979 FA Cup final against Manchester United. But with his time at Highbury coming to an end, Rix made a surprise move to France to play for newly-promoted Caen. He has since described his three-year stay at the club as the best time of his career. Adam Bate caught up with him to find out more...
How did the move from Arsenal to Caen come about?
I had always had a hankering for playing abroad to expand my knowledge and to experience something new. I was 30-years-old when my contract ran out at Arsenal under George Graham and it wasn't going to be renewed. There were two English clubs who were interested at the time - Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers - and I spoke to both of them.
I didn't really know what to do and I went on holiday to Portugal. About three days into my holiday an agent phoned me out of the blue telling me there was a club in France interested in signing me. Caen, he said. I'd never heard them. It was a small club, the first time in their history that they'd got into the top division. I met their people in London and really liked them so I said yes straight away.
That must have been a big decision with decent offers from English clubs on the table?
I'm a Doncaster boy originally so Sheffield Wednesday was a bit of a pull for me, the idea of going home. Rangers under Jim Smith were still in the top division and where I lived in north London I wouldn't have had to move house or anything so both the moves had plusses.
But it was just that sense of adventure. I was 30 with three kids at the time so it was a hell of a step. But I was there for three years with another year after at Le Havre and those three years at Caen were the best of my footballing life.
What were your first impressions?
I went over there with Brian Stein, who came over at the same time as me. It was a small club who had gone up through the play-offs a little unexpectedly. There was a cycling track round the pitch and all that. It was a big thing for the people of Normandy that they had Caen in the top league.
Was it a culture shock, especially not being able to speak the language?
Well, I now speak fluent French so I've got something out of my four years there. But it was a complete culture shock at first having come from Arsenal, who are still a top club in the world for me - fantastically run with great organisation and everything laid on a plate for you. To all of a sudden go to a club where they gave you a bag of kit and that was your kit that you had to go home and wash. It was just a culture shock to me.
The ground held about 15,000 and to be fair there was 15,000 in there every single week. It was a little bit like Wimbledon when they first came up - the Crazy Gang and all that. Plough Lane wasn't the greatest facility in the world and it was similar with us. Big clubs like Bordeaux, Paris St Germain, Marseille and Monaco were coming to these little cramped facilities and we made a tough place to go to.
You mention those clubs and there were some big names in France at the time. The likes of Jean-Pierre Papin, George Weah, Enzo Scifo, Marcel Desailly and Eric Cantona... How was life on the field?
And Glenn Hoddle and Mark Hateley at Monaco with
