A Genius
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There may be people reading this
who don't know who Eric Cantona is. For these
readers (who probably live outside Europe, or
have just returned from a very long trip around
the Solar System), this page offers an
introduction to the phenomenon that is Cantona.
If you know and admire Eric Cantona, I hope this
brief appreciation strikes a chord. Eric Cantona is a soccer player. A French player of immense talent, but one whose temperament was unable to find its true home as he played for numerous teams in France during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Despite his difficulties, and his frequent brushes with the French football authorities, Cantona was acknowledged to be a truly brilliant player. He became established in the French national team, and won the French Championship with Olympique Marseille and the French Cup with Montpellier before his deciding that he could not pursue his art - for he is a true artist - in his homeland. He came to England (where as a French international he was initially offended at Sheffield Wednesday's offer of a trial), and in a brief stay at Leeds made a big impression as he helped them snatch the 1992 Championship. For Manchester United supporters this was a blow - the Championship had looked secure after a wait of 25 barren years. We knew Cantona had been the crucial factor - signed by Leeds as the season reached its deciding stage - and we knew he was a great player; but he was their player, he had destroyed our dreams, and we wished he had remained in France. |
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| I saw him play for his country
around this time, against England at Wembley. It
was before the 1992 title was decided, but as I
watched him I wished he played for us. At the start of the following season, Cantona was again in brilliant form, while Manchester United were performing erratically. But behind the scenes things were not well at Leeds, and one morning in November 1992, we opened our newspapers to read that Eric Cantona had, sensationally, been transferred to Manchester United for the relatively modest fee of 1.2 million pounds. The over-riding emotion was of shock and confusion, but this was quickly replaced by anticipation and a willingness for him to succeed. We needed to win the Championship, and we needed a hero to deliver it to us. From his first minutes in a United shirt, it was clear that Cantona had brought a unique talent to Old Trafford. It was not simply the quality, and sheer art, witnessed in his own performances, but the evidence that he had infected the rest of the team to play in his image. He tried to please them, to coax them; they responded, wanting to show him that Manchester United played football the Cantona way, with art and skill and passion. Cantona turned a struggling team into Champions within a few short months. We had waited 26 years, but in 1993 the title was ours, and Cantona was the reason. He had turned a collection of very good players into a great team. |
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We would have been grateful enough for that. If he had walked away at that moment - as the media predicted, perhaps hoped, that he would - we would have remained forever grateful. But undreamt of joys were to follow. Briefly, United retained the Championship in 1994, and also won the FA Cup, as Eric scored two penalties in the final. Those penalties, taken so calmly, so skilfully, and so decisively, sum up the talent and temperament of the man. He knows he is a great player. As he prepared to take the first penalty kick, a supporter next to me in the crowd refused to look, lest the chance should be missed. I urged her to have faith, not to lose the opportunity to entrust the moment to memory: 'It's Eric, he can't miss,' I promised. She watched. Eric did not let me down.
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It is likely that United would
have won another Championship and Cup double in
1995 but for the fact that the team was deprived
of the services of its greatest player for the
last four months of the season. As the whole
world knows, Eric was banned for several months
after he attacked an abusive spectator in a
match against Crystal Palace. Millions of words
- including a couple of books - have been
devoted to that episode, and little more remains
to be said. Eric probably regrets his action,
and most United supporters wish he hadn't done
it. At the end of the day, it was United, and
Eric, who suffered the consequences. The team
finished second in the league (by just one
point), and lost the Cup final 0-1. Surely Eric
would have made all the difference.
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| But ultimately it
all served to add to the legend. His return from
suspension in October 1995 saw him clinch a
vital draw against Liverpool. After that his
form was the best witnessed at Old Trafford for
25 years. He was outstanding as his goals won
yet another League and Cup double for United in
1996. By the end of the season he had assumed
the team captaincy, and scored the only goal of
the Cup final before leading the team to receive
the old trophy. Inevitably he was named
Footballer of the Year by the sports writers,
many of whom had argued for his exile only
months before. More importantly, it was the
final proof that in Manchester United Eric
Cantona had found the home that had seemed so
elusive in the troubled first half of his
career. Remarkably, 1997 saw Eric Cantona achieve his fifth Championship in six English seasons, four with United in the last five years. The campaign was lit by examples of the genius of the Manchester United captain, who took pride in the growing up of his young team. They no longer had to rely so heavily on him, but he remained their idol, and the hero of the fans. Then Eric dropped the bombshell. There had been some speculation about his future, and it seemed that a number of European clubs were keen to sign him, but on the morning of Sunday 18th May 1997 when United announced there would be a press conference later that day, no one suspected the outcome. I happened to be passing Old Trafford when the announcement was made; a crowd of several hundred had gathered, but there was silence as people tried to take in the news. Eric Cantona had announced his complete retirement from football, one week short of his thirty-first birthday. It would be foolish to overdramatise the retirement of a footballer, even one as great as Cantona, and after a few days United supporters had taken stock of events, whilst trying to understand the reasons for Eric's decision. Although even the greatest Cantona fans were disappointed at the lack of a substantial explanation from the player (who had disappeared to France), it was generally agreed that Eric Cantona had left with our thanks, and would be welcome upon his return. Perhaps it was inevitable that his departure would be as dramatic as his presence. In the end, Cantona had delivered glory beyond expectation to Manchester United, and he had been rewarded with immense loyalty and support throughout his stay. Cantona had been great for United; United had been great for Cantona. Farewell Eric, and fare thee well. Two days before his retirement I had seen Eric Cantona's last match for United - a benefit game in Coventry for the injured Coventry City defender David Busst. Cantona had been the best player on the pitch, and scored United's two goals: the quintessential Cantona penalty (deliberate and calmly placed), and a neat downward header (see pictures below). I'm glad I was there. It was not until 18 August 1998, over a year after his retirement, that United supporters were able to bid Eric Cantona a fitting farewell. He returned to Old Trafford to appear in a benefit match for the survivors and dependants of victims of the 1958 Munich air disaster. Old Trafford was packed to the rafters as 56,000 people remembered Munich, and paid tribute to Cantona's contibution to the United story. After the game Eric addressed the crowd, and was given a hero's reception. See below for more details on the occasion.
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| Eric's stay in Boothstown
coincided with the 1994/95 season and the
Crystal Palace incident, when he was captain of
the French national team and one of the most
recognisable sports stars in Europe. The whole
village was buzzing with the news that he had
come to live among 'ordinary' people, rather
than hiding away in the exclusivity of the
stockbroker belt. But it was not such a shock
since he had lived modestly in Leeds, and had
stayed in a Worsley motel before bringing his
family across the Pennines. In the end we became
accustomed to seeing him driving down the
street. I had the opportunity to speak to Eric
Cantona outside my house during his most
traumatic period, but on learning that I
supported United he showed his usual
friendliness. He was known among the supporters
for understanding the importance of spending a
few moments with them and, despite his superstar
status, being the most approachable of all the
players in the team. During his troubles,
journalists (who became an unwelcome intrusion)
camped outside his house seeking uncomplimentary
stories, though I never heard a bad word spoken
about him. Eric eventually left his rented
house, and left us with some good memories. It
isn't often that Boothstown becomes home to one
so famous, but Eric Cantona was more than a
celebrity, he was a genuine folk-hero.
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The Last Two GoalsAs mentioned above, the benefit match for David Busst, the Coventry City defender whose career was ended by a serious leg injury sustained against United, proved to be Eric Cantona's final appearance for Manchester United. None of us knew this at the time, though Cantona had already made the decision. It was a very gentle friendly encounter in an atmosphere of goodwill. The game ended 2-2 after Coventry were awarded (to the approval of all) a contrived penalty which David Busst came on to score. Though the occasion was not competitive, Cantona's performance was effortlessly perfect, and he scored the two United goals. The pictures below were taken by Mark Whitehead. The first goal typifies the Cantona penalty style: precise, calm and inevitable in outcome; the second, a firm downward header, was not a beautiful goal, but a striker's goal of the sort that Eric often produced when it mattered.
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Here are three more pictures from that final appearance: |
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Right, the referee stands in admiration as Eric plans a precision pass. |
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Left, Eric prepares to open the Coventry defence with a crafty chipped pass. | |
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Right, Brian McClair moves to receive Eric's through-pass. |
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A Fitting FarewellOn 18 August 1998 Eric Cantona returned to Old Trafford to pay tribute to the United supporters, and to receive a hero's welcome. A crowd of 56,000 was present for a benefit match for the survivors and dependants of the 1958 Munich air crash. Manchester United played against an invitation team assembled by Eric Cantona, which included former United legends Robson and Hughes, and French stars including Papin and Blanc. Eric Cantona played the first half for the Invitation XI, then reappeared after half time in the red of United. Wearing his accustomed number 7, it was as though he had never been away. For the record, United won 8-4, and the highlight was United's seventh goal, scored by the Magnificent Seven himself. (An over-keen linesman, failing to enter into the spirit of the occasion, had earlier taken it upon himself to disallow a Cantona header for offside, choking the cheers of 56,000 voices; as if the vast crowd had come to watch a linesman!) Here are a few photographs from that final game:
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Eric, in stripes for the first half, alongside Nicky Butt. |
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Eric, wearing the colours of his European XI, crosses from the right. |
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Second half, and Eric is playing for United. Here he chips the ball forward. |
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Eric takes a corner from the right. |
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Momentarily out of the action, Eric strolls back to half way. |
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The final farewell? Eric Cantona says goodbye on a lap of honour. |
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Eric Cantona - Career DetailsEric Cantona born: 24th May 1966, in
Paris. International Debut: versus West
Germany, 12th August 1987. Honours:
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| Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | European Cup | TOTAL | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Goals | Games | Goals | Games | Goals | Games | Goals | Games | Goals | |
| 1992/93 | 21(1) | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22(1) | 9 |
| 1993/94 | 34 | 18 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 48 | 25 |
| 1994/95 | 21 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 13 |
| 1995/96 | 30 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 19 |
| 1996/97 | 36 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 49 | 14 |
| Total | 142(1) | 64 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 5 | 181(1) | 80 |
