From being looked up and down by Edinson Cavani, to his 33 caps for Scotland.
Steven Fletcher hopes to use all of his continental experience when Dundee United host AZ Alkmaar. The Tannadice side return to Europe for the first time in a decade when they face the Dutch side in the third round of Europa Conference League qualifying.
However, while United were longing for a return to the European stage, Fletcher was enjoying international football with Scotland and Ligue 1 action with Marseille. The 35-year-old spent the second half of the 2015/16 season on loan at the French side from Sunderland. Although the United striker still isn’t quite sure how the move came about, it is one that he looks back on fondly. He said: “I played in the Europa League with Marseille and we got quite far before losing to Athletic Bilbao, who reached the quarters that season.
“It was a great experience and I am looking forward to getting another go at it this year. Going to Marseille was really good. (Marcelo) Bielsa had been the manager at the start of the season but I didn’t go there until the January, so I missed all the Murderball stuff in pre-season.
“My first game was at the Velodrome against PSG, I signed on the Monday and then on the Friday we played them at home - it was incredible. They had David Luiz, Angel Di Maria, Thaigo Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was there and Cavani too.
“I came on as a sub with twenty minutes go to when they had a corner. Cavani was the guy I had been told to mark and I put my hand on him, so he’s given me a proper up and down look. It’s on video, my pals dig it out now and again. It shows me running on, going into the box and putting my arm over him. You just see him giving me the up and downer, clearly thinking ‘who the f*** is this’. It’s quite funny.”
Fletcher joined Marseille in January 2016. The forward, who signed a two-year deal at United earlier this summer, scored three goals in 18 appearances during a six month stint. He said: “It was a great time. The fans had a huge Scotland flag and were singing my name, so the players told me I had to wave at them or they wouldn’t be happy.
“The whole thing was quite surreal, I was just told the night before to come into training with an overnight bag the next day because I might be going for a medical.
“My agent said to be smart, don’t wear a trackie because we could be going to France.
“Sam Allardyce was the (Sunderland) manager, he told me it was Marseille and it would happen if he gets someone in to replace me.
“So I trained and then was told afterwards I was heading over there.
“The manager was Michel, I hadn’t come across him before so I suspect it was someone upstairs who wanted me in.
“The manager didn’t speak French or English, so he would speak Spanish and it would be interpreted for the French boys and then I had a guy sitting with me up the back telling me what was being said.
“To be honest, he could have been telling me anything!
“It was a great experience though, good to get experience of different culture and different football.”
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