History 92-94

A surprise 1.2 million signing by UNITED in Nov 92, Eric Cantona was
not manager Alex Ferguson`s initial target when he bid to increase the
Red`s goalscoring output. Having failed in his 3.5 million attempt to land
Sheff Wed David Hirst, Ferguson was subsequently successful in his
bid for the 26 year old Parisian. In many ways it was a moment of
supreme serendipity as Ferguson could not have dreamed just how great                  
and glorious a catylyst Cantona would prove for his developing team.
At the time of his signing, an optimistic and, indeed prophetic view
came from Guy Roux, the Auxerre manager who discovered Cantona as a 14
year old and turned him into a star. "He will get goals that United
want", said the former boss, who also added that he would have him back
tomorrow, if he could afford him."Cantona`s career included a French Cup
win with Montpelier and a League Championship with Leeds United, who
pipped UNITED for the title in 91-2.

His first appearance for the Reds was against Benfica in Lisbon, in a
friendly match to mark the 5oth birthday of Eusebio. Cantona`s class
has never been in doubt, but apparently unpredictable and often
outspoken artistic Gallic temperament was, to some degree, the reason
behind no less than eight different moves in the space of 10 years which
had seen the French international adapt to many types of play, but not
always the individuals in authority, most recently at Leeds, where he
left amid recriminations om both sides.

He quickly settled on the big stage at Old Trafford, however, his subtle
skills and flair for the unexpected option blossoming within the
framework of a gifted side with many willing runners to feed from his
delightfully weighted chips and flicks into open spaces. Certainly
UNITED supporters clasped him to their hearts as a cult hero and his
contribution to successive Premier league titles has been an immensley
significant one. Not only has he created a fresh dimension in attack by
his vision and self-confidence, but he also proved an inspiration to his
talented team-mates who have responded with aplomb to his uplifting and
unique brand of unforgettable soccer sorcery. Eighteen Premiership
goals and four in the FA Cup - which included two elegantly sidefooted
pressure penalties in the final against Chelsea - was Erik`s
"magnifique" contribution to the Red`s Double winning-season.

With his trademark turned-up collar, and shirt worn outside his shorts,
the fiery Frenchman cut an impressive figure throughout 93-4 and fully
warranted his PFA Player of the Year award.                                                

Without doubt, Eric Cantona is a footballer of independent genius to be admired and enjoyed.                     

Short resume of 94-96:

Premier League Champion 96

FA Cup Winner 96 (Final 95)

Player of the Year 96

Black day of his career 1/5/95: five minutes into the second half at Crystal Palace Cantona

received a red card. On his way off the pitch the Palace fans yelled at him and Eric took

the situation into his own hands tackling Matt Simmons with a breast height

karate kick. He was rightfully banned for the rest of the season.

Eric Cantona accepted his punishment and came back a reformed character to help

UNITED win the famous Double Double in 95-6.

Here is the absolutely fantastic 13 match run in for the Double Double:
Eric scores in 9/13 games, 5 of them match winning goals!

Bobby Charlton note:

"We`re just very grateful he`s here. He`s such a great player. I`m still pinching myself. A player like that only comes along once or twice in a lifetime, and you don`t leave him out or put him in the reserves. You
respect his skill. Eric is the brainiest player I`ve ever seen, he see's such a lot when he has the ball. The big thing he has given UNITED is the ability to make attacks count, not waste good positions until the
right option appears, and we now finish almost every move with an effort on goal.
The other thing is his ability to release players, even when the pass doesn`t look on. If you make the run Eric will probably get you the ball."

Appearances:   92-97        

Eric stats:
           Games Goals        League       Cup
92/93      23        10            22/9            1/0
93/94      48        25            34/18        14/7
94/95      24        13            21/12          3/1
95/96      38        19            30/14          8/5
96/97      49        14            36/11        13/3

Total     182        80         143/64       39/16

"Thanks for everything Eric. See you around?"
A tribute from the mailing list by Tim Emanuel <temanuel@PW001.PROWEB.CO.UK>

Man United 24 Dec 1997

LONG LIVE KING CANTONA!

In a year when yet more foreigners arrived in the Premiership, Manchester United said adieu to the most successful import of them all.

Five years after he had arrived on our shores, Eric Cantona set sail for France in his trawler with his haul of five championship and two FA Cup medals.

Cantona quit at the top after his performances, by his own high standards, were beginning to slip to the levels of mere mortals.

When he arrived from Leeds in a £1.2million deal in November 1992, he proved to be the catalyst that fired United to their first championship in 26 years.

The following season he was the inspiration behind their first Double success.

But in January 1995, came his infamous Kung-Fu attack on fan Matthew Simmons at Selhurst Park and he was banned until the end of September.

United finished runners-up in the league and the FA Cup that season and many believe they would have done the Double again had Cantona not been suspended.

He scored in his comeback against Liverpool at Old Trafford and his knack of netting vital goals at crucial times steered United to their second Double success.

Last season he helped United win their fourth title in five seasons and chairman Martin Edwards has no doubts about his contribution to the club's success.

``It's no coincidence that shortly after Eric's arrival we won the league for the first time in 26 years and have subsequently completed two Doubles - it was a magical time,'' he said.

For manager Alex Ferguson, Cantona was one of the best players he had worked with.

``Eric has had a huge impact on the development of our young players,'' he said.

``He has been a model professional in the way he conducted himself and he has been a joy to manage.''

Sir Bobby Charlton, himself a legend at Old Trafford, feels he brought real class to the side.

``Eric has gone now and we are very sorry that he has,'' he said.

``We can never thank him enough for what he did when he was here. He gave Manchester United something that had been missing for a long time - star quality.

``We were delighted to have him here and we still wish him well in the future.''

Eric quotes Dec 97: from the British GQ magazine January 98 issue
featuring an interview with Eric Cantona:

Q / A
How does it feel to be the youngest retired man in France?
"I won't say that I've stopped thinking about it, but I'm up to my neck in other things at the moment."

What did you want to do when you were little?
Be a footballer. Give a performance.

How does the thought of starting a new career make you feel?
I stopped playing football because I'd done as much as I could. I needed something which was going to excite me as much as football had excited me.
After football, did you want to start making films straight away?
Actually, I wanted to act even when I was still playing football. There were moments - I would be daydreaming - I would imagine scenes, even if  there wasn't a camera around. In my head, I was acting. It stopped me getiting bored when we went away for long periods. Instead of watching TV, I was watching the images in my head.

In football, one of your trademarks was the raised shirt collar. In films, do you think you'll also have a trademark or sign?
In football, I wore my collar up like that to hide the traces of the heavy burden I was carrying! No, I'm kidding: I was never the one saying that. But it's like the idea of tattoos for this photo - I liked it because I thought it was very powerful.

Have you noticed that people have stopped using "sporting" as a term?
It's no longer used because it no longer applies to sport. I prefer to play and lose rather than win, because I know in advance I'm going to win.

Click Guide:

"When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think that
sardines will be thrown into the sea"

This Eric Cantona Ring site is owned by Barry Leeming . [ Prev | Skip It | Next 5 | Random | Next ] Wanna join this cool ring? Join it here.