Tardif began his career in
Guernsey with
Vale Recreation F.C. before joining
Portsmouth, turning professional in the 1998 close season. He joined
Havant & Waterlooville on loan in August 1999, playing in the first eight league games of Havants' first season in the
Southern League Premier Division. He also had a spell on loan with
Newport (Isle of Wight) from March to May 2000 and finally made his Portsmouth debut in their 2–1 defeat at home to Tranmere in the
FA Cup on 6 January 2001. He made four further appearances for Portsmouth that season, all in the Championship as Portsmouth successfully avoided relegation. His only other appearance for Portsmouth came on 27 August 2001 when Tardif played in their 4–2 win at home to
Grimsby Town. He spent the 2002–03 season on loan with
AFC Bournemouth, playing 14 games in all competitions and, after a spell on loan with
Newport (Isle of Wight), in October 2003 joined
Havant & Waterlooville on a month's loan, and joined
Basingstoke Town in December 2007, moving to
Maidenhead United in March 2008. He was an integral part of the Maidenhead side that narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the season, Tardif keeping four sheets in the final five games. He returned to
Maidenhead United in the summer of 2009. On 2 June 2010, Tardif rejoined
Basingstoke Town. On 26 August 2010, Tardif had his Basingstoke Town contract terminated by mutual consent and returned to his home island, signing with
St. Martins A.C. Joining
Guernsey F.C. when it was formed in 2011, Chris became Captain in 2016 following the resignation of Sam Cochrane, however in October 2016 Tardif suffered a double leg break at the home match against
Godalming Town F.C. which would see him out of the team. On February 28, 2022, Tardif was announced as the new First Team Coach for Guernsey Rangers for the next Priaulx League Season, starting August 2022. After two seasons in charge, having finished 7th and 6th in the league table, respectively, Chris left this position in June 2024.
International career A loophole in the
FIFA statutes, which has now been closed, allowed footballers who were British citizens, but born outside the UK, to play for any home nation, regardless of whether or not they have any previous connection to it. As none of the
Channel Islands are affiliated to
FIFA — although have
county football association status within
England's
Football Association — and Tardif was born in
Guernsey, he was therefore eligible to play for any home nation, and represented
Northern Ireland at U19 level. He was called into the U21 squad in September 2001, for a European Championship qualifier against Malta, but did not play. Since returning to Guernsey, Tardif has represented
Guernsey, in the 2011
Muratti Vase Final, losing on penalties to
Jersey, at the
2011 Island Games and then won the 2012 Muratti Vase Final after
Guernsey beat
Jersey by two goals to nil Also, in 2011 Tardiff joined the newly formed
Guernsey F.C. as their goalkeeper. In 2012, he played one match as a forward for Media United in the Guernsey FA Cup to ensure his eligibility for the Muratti. ==References==