UNAMKUMBUKA ERIC CANTONA WA MAN UTD.

Eric Cantona is one of the finest and most influential players ever to pull on the famous red shirt of Manchester United. Although his time at Old trafford only spanned five years, his impact on the club's illustrious history should not be underestimated.

                                                                        Eric Cantona

Nearly every Manchester United fan and finest pundits in the land unanimously agree that the purchase of Eric Cantona from cross-pennine rivals Leeds United was the catalyst for the club's first League title in 26 years, when they pipped Midlanders Aston Villa to the crown in 1993. And if that wasn't enough it can be said that Eric Cantona is one of the reasons why the club has dominated English and European football over the last 15 years, so it's little wonder why he's held in such high esteem by Manchester United fans worldwide.

Although the enigmatic Frenchman got himself into a fair bit of trouble during his stint at the  

Theatre of Dreams it was this which made United fans sit on the edge of their seats, because they didn't know what he was going to do next, whether he was going to control the ball on his chest and volley it into the back of the net, or whether he'd forget about the ball and just volley an opposition defender into the net instead, in fact I don't even think Eric Cantona knew what he was going to next. Players like this don't come along very often and when they do you know that you've been watching a true legend.

Eric Cantona in France

Cantona's career started in 1992 in Auxerre's youth team, but his early years at the club were disrupted as when the player had to carry out his National Service duties. After this stint had ended he returned to the club and was immediately loaned out to FC Martigues - a small French club based just outside his place of birth, Marseille - where he found the 4 times in 15 league games.

In 1986 - when his loan spell had ended - Eric Cantona was rewarded when he was offered a professional contract which he duly signed. In the first season after the player had signed he weighed in with an impressive 13 goals in 36 games, helping the club reach a respectable 4th in French 1st Division.

 

However, during this season the player showed both sides to his colourful career. His excellent form at club level led to French National Team coach Henri Michel calling the young Cantona up to the first team squad, eventually making his debut on 12th August 1987 against West Germany. However this fantastic achievemnet was overshadowed when the Frenchman punched team mate Bruno Martini in the face, which he was heavily fned by the club for.So began the turbulent career of Eric Cantona.

In 1988 he was drafted into the French U-21 squad for the 1998 European Championships which they won by beating Greece 3-0 on aggregate in the final with goals by Franck Sauzee (2) and Franck Sylvestre. The victory for the French showed the burgeoning influence what was begenning to develop within the player.

After the tournament Cantona joined the French hero of the U21 of the victory, Franck Sauzee at boyhood heroes Marseille after they had agreed a French record fee of £2.3m for the player. In his first season at the French giants he only managed to net five times in twenty-two games.

 

In January 1989 he was banned by his club when the old "red mist" descended after he was substituted in a charity match against Torpedo Moscow; his response was to rip his shirt off and throw it into the face of Marseille coach Gerard Gili. Bear in mind this incident occured just a few weeks after he was banned from playing for the French national side for 12 months after calling Henry Michel "a bag of shit" on live TV.

After the Marseille incident the club loaned him out to Bordeaux for 6 months where he notched an impressive six goals in eleven games. After this succesful spell in the wine capital of the world he immediately joined Montpellier - this time on a 12 month loan deal - where his temper got the better of him once more. After a League defeat to Lille Cantona got into a dressing room disagreement with team mate Jean-Claude Lemoult, which resulted in Eric throwing a boot at the player's head. After the incident a quite a few of his team mates demanded that Cantona be sacked, but he was probably saved from this action by Colombian legend Carlos Valderama and future Manchester United defender Laurent Blanc who fought his corner, and as a result was banned for just two games.

Although his time at Montpellier was firey he did manage to score 18 times in 41 appearances and his fantastic eight goals in as many games in the French Cup helped the side win their first piece of major silverware for 61 years.

This fine form led to Marseille coach Franz Beckenbauer into giving Eric Cantona another chance. The player repayed the faith shown in him by the German coach by helping the side to win the French title, with eight goals in eighteen league games. However the good relationship he enjoyed with Beckenbauer was brought to a close when the German legend was given the sack. Needless to say Eric didn't get on with his new manager Bernard Tapie and was quickly sold to Nimes.

As you might've come to expect by now, Eric Cantona's time at the French minnows was far from trouble free. In December 1991 he threw the ball at the referee after he took exception to a decision given by "man in black" and walked off the pitch even though he had not been given a red card at that point. The trouble didn't end there, Cantona allegedly attacked one of the opposition's players in the dressing rooms after the match had ended. As a result of his actions the player was summoned to a French F.A. disciplinary hearing and was handed a one month ban, which was increased to three months after he called each member of the committee an "idiot". This sense of injustice was the last straw for Cantona who immediately retired from football.