He pushed Manchester United to the next level and helped lay the foundation for their success......he will never be forgotten there was nobody like him and probably there won't be another like him
It was Cantona's arrival which made what Manchester United is today.. Absolute legend. The guy's playing style was really different at that time (in premier league)
@@rhysarmstrong5211 Every squad has that phase where they fall for awhile, it happend to Liverpool, is happening to Barcelona and they lost a legendary coach but they will be back.
Ibra before ibra... he's so iconic, it's sad that he quit so soon but better to leave while you're at the top then the way most legends leave, downgrading to weak clubs and leagues but they do it just for a few more paychecks and switch between a lot of clubs especially back then. He played on his terms and that's how he ended it. Legend.
One of my most prized possesions is a 1994-95 black Man United kit with Cantona's name and number. The very kit he wore when he went into the stands. An absolutely mercurial legend
I have one as well I got mine in the 93/94 season back when a shirt would last 2 season unlike today. Best memory of that year is at OT v man city, 2 goals from Eric and and the oh ah cantona as we left at full time.
I remember seeing him walk out at the Old Wembley, collar up, 10 paces in front of the rest of his team, mechanical looks from side to side...... Yes we were there to watch him..... And we supported the opposing team! Immense. The best player I have ever seen.
Was that the 96 final against Liverpool? I’m a Liverpool fan (and Juventus fan, Liverpool was my first love but Juventus are my true love) and my dad is a Man Utd fan and my dad, brother and I would travel to Old Trafford from Tideford X which is 5 miles into Cornwall (I was born in Plymouth which is 5 miles away over the Tamar River) to watch Man Utd play from 94 onwards. But I remember the 96 FA Cup final when Cantona came back from his 8 month suspension for infamous “Kung Fu kick” and if you watch it back he punched the fan after the kick, but he comes back after not playing 8 months and the game was 0-0 for most of the match and Cantona scores the winning goal. I can’t remember if he played the whole game or came on as a substitute and for some reason I think he came on as a sub as the game was a stalemate (I might be wrong on that) and scores a volley or half volley from just inside the penalty box from a corner to knock it past several Liverpool players to score the only game of the match. Liverpool had their green and white away kit on which looks very similar to their current (23/24 season) away kit and Man Utd were in their red home kit. Funny how football can leave us with such great or not so great memories since we lost and my dad teased me about it as he hates Liverpool, but that game was 28yrs ago and I still remember it. At least 2 weeks later Juventus beat Ajax in the Champions League final so one of my teams was doing well
Sam him play wimbledon in 94ish. Had his collar up, emotionless, mechanical looks from side to side like you say, as 10s of thousands of united fans sang "oohh ahh, eric cantona" Get goosebumps just thinking about it now. He was an absolute legend. I even named my cat after him lol
@@jalejandromartin7642 man utd have always had massive ups and downs. Theyre not a team that wins for decades on end, they never have been. Good thing about the down periods is that all the glory supporters and super league f0rei.gners go away. Which is a very good thing lol
I remember when he was on that long ban seeing him interviewed and him saying when he heard the fans still singing his song every game that he knew he was in the right place and loved the club as much as we loved him. Legend. The King
@Gee B prat? Er thanks, Dennis Law was class without doubt but a player who scored the goal that got United relegated & for City no less could never be my King.
Just wanna leave a comment to say I've been watching for several months now and I'm astonished by how good each and every video you put out is. Easily the most enjoyable football channel on RU-vid and you deserve every bit of success you get and more
The most influential footballer that the premier League has seen.He had filmstar looks and football intelligence that was elite.I was born in Manchester and my mum stood on the Stretford end and watched the Busby babes and all the greats but always said that he was the most entertaining of them all,she said the fact he couldn't care less was why everybody loved to see him.i miss those Sunday 4pm games my grandma who was 82 once said to me get out of the way I can't see cantona.lol.Entertainment personified.Thanks Eric.
I was 10 years old when EPL came to Malaysia TV back in 96. I knew nothing about football. But even as a kid, watching Cantona play, you knew you were watching someone special. A year he was gone. And 25 years later, I'm still a Man Utd fan. Thank you Eric !!
1966 was a great year for English football. Eric was born! Savage man, says it how it is, doesn't take fools gladly. ALWAYS will be a Legend to everyone who had the opportunity to see him play. Selhurst park, FA cup. Smashed it on the volly, green and yellow Newton heath kit. Fucking brilliant
When I was a kid, playing football, I would put my collars upwards in his imitation. This guys collars really stood him out of the rest. What an enigmatic, brilliant, and eccentric character. Not sure if there's anyone like his character these days ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽
The greatest I've ever seen. He had it all. Great imagination, great concentration and above all great ability. He was and will always be one of a kind. King Eric!
@@11hitmanDagenius Ok he isn't officially a "king" everything else is not an exaggeration. If you weren't there you wouldn't know. His legacy speaks for itself.
As a chelsea supporter I must say this Eric cantona is one of the best players I’ve ever seen player football so good His temper his attitude his aggression made him the player he was. WOW WHAT A PLAYER 👑
It was cantona's arrival at Utd, more than anything else, that instilled the winning culture that was so prized at the club. Fergie himself played a big role in it, of course, but cantona was perfectly suited to fergie's philosophy. He brought in high standards and a winning mentality. I'm a Liverpool fan, but I'm an unashamed fan of Cantona.
I remember a poster which came out when he just finished his punishment following the kungfu kick, it showed the picture of Cantona from behind holding his jersey collar, and the caption was, “Eric has been punished enough, now the others must suffer.” It’s just awesome…
He was a mad Frenchman. Our mad Frenchman, a beautiful, fantastic mad Frenchman. All he needed was a manager that understood that he wasn't like everyone else, he was a genius who just happened to choose football to express his genius. Maybe only another genius could see it and manage him.
Nice recap of a true legend. Also worth remembering, he learned to play the trumpet during his 8 month ban, and generally projected the air of a man having a nice time.
even as a long time city fan, i always liked cantona. the closest player to him that we had was balloteli. Actally id love it if you did a video on 'the downfall' of baloteli. that would be intresting
Aguero was much much more like Cantona. Cantona was a second striker that would play off of other people and create a huge amount, which is a role Aguero has actually played before to great success at City. Balotelli didn't have the technical ability or the creation of Cantona, very very different players.
@@MrAnyalewechi Only thing they share in personality is their arrogance, but at least Cantona could cover for it... Cantona is sophisticated and intelectual and on the field he was setting up his teammates as well. Probably the worse comparison ever.
My wife were watching Netflix some days ago and saw series / movie where Cantona plays in it, and she was amazed by his acting. After I realized who he is and told my wife that he is Eric Cantona the football player and considered legend in MU, she was getting more impressed hy him He is definitelly one of a kind talent
i remember when he first came to leeds nobody had ever heard of him , he made sporadic appearances in the last five ten minutes of a game as substitute , but you could instantly tell he had an aura about him, and would be unpredictable in how he played , he became a cult hero very quickly and had immense confidence and ability . leeds stupidly sold him for a million pounds which was a pittance at that time after his first season . the rest is history and man utd benefitted for the next five years . he was the missing link in their search for a title after 26 years .
Him for ManU and Batistuta for Fiorentina, just gives me the feels. Figures from my childhood. Today you won’t find a player like them, and Totti from Roma. When Messi was told to prove himself outside Barca, it occurred to me that the sport has the fidelity charm. People nowadays are very different. Eric was different, he would rather change his wife, his politics, his religion, but never, never can he change his favourite football team. And when there was nothing in a relationship he just walked away.
Eric Cantona - Enigmatic Genius. His thought process towards life is out of this world. Little unknown fact - at the begining of his career, young Cantona (in Auxerre) was taken under the wing by Andrzej Szarmach, who was first 11 starter of Poland's bronze medal winning team at WC1982, and was Poland's great strikers in history with great international career in France and Belgium. When Zlatan joined Manchester United, Eric came to a conclusion that Zlatan will be "somebody's Szarmach", that great mentor.
A very underated international footballer.. He never gets mentioned along the great french legend.. But then it's his choice, but he will forever be a Manchester legend..
Overrated in the UK and underrated in France. At that time the english football league wasn't rated at all in France and since in Ligue 1 he was good ( not great ) but problematic player, even after all the great things he did in England, people here don't think he's a top 15 french player of all time.
I'm a mancunian Man City fan of the same age as Cantona, and IMO his arrival and his talent and personality was definitely the most important part of utd becoming champions and staying dominant.
The day he retired a press conference was called and I was convinced we were signing Salas, Batistuta, Juninho from Boro or even Alan Shearer. Instead heartbroken 14 year old me cried for the rest of the day. Savagely attacked my brother for mocking me too.
Absolute genius what he did in football especially at United was stunning and I still can't believe Leeds sold him biggest mistake in the history of the Premier League 😳
Oooh Aaaah Eric Cantona! The King, the myth, the legend, the poet, the philospher and the GOAT player Manchester United ever had. What a man! Takes no shit from anyone! Oh ah Cantona!
I cannot say enough about this guy, for me he had everything, a brilliant footballer, a charismatic artist and an amazing human being .......viva cantona, where are the young Eric's of today ?
They don’t exist mate. They barely existed in Eric’s day. He was an beautiful bohemian in a sea of uniformity. Both in football and in life. The type of character the world tries to tame, and then crush.
Legend, the king, greatest character to play the game, and football needs characters. Also one of the greatest players ever, respect to the king for never giving in his desire to win. There will never be another Cantona.....
So, Eric Cantona's 1st English club, was in fact Sheffield Wednesday, who had him on trial (at 1:30 in this video, he's in Sheffield Wednesday colours). Cantona never followed through on signing for the Owls - they trained on a shale pitch at the time and Cantona hated them, from getting badly hurt on one as youngster.
I saw him play for the Owls in a contrived 7/side at the Sheffield Arena against a US side 'Baltimore Blast.' It was good fun to watch actually. But no indication of the brilliance to come from Eric.
Being French myself i can say that moving to England was the best thing ever for him in terms of football! He just blossomed in what he was passionnate about and even tho this happened over 20 years ago Éric finaly retired with a sense of understanding and achievement! 🇬🇧👍🏻
Watched him at OT. You were convinced any thing could happen when he played even the impossible.he was more than a footballer he was an entertainer. A true legend of the game.
Aguero ? Who cares! - cantona is a legend who’s name is sung still, 25 years since he retired . Who will care about Aguero in 25 years ?! Go watch man city videos in the 1990s when they were in the championship 🤣
Sad day when he left The Mighty Leeds United. But always enjoyed watching the great man. Never to be eaquled. One of the few Hardman players with great talent.
My favourite ever player. Loved his persona and as someone has already said here, he made United who they are today …….. well up until 2013. Favourite goal was that lob against Sheffield United on a windy night. Pass from Giggs I think. Goalie was barely off his line and his celebration was typically nonchalant. Better than the goal against Sunderland for me personally.
The story of how Manchester United actually signed Eric Cantona is really quite something - the then Leeds United manager, Howard Wilkinson, called Sir Alex Ferguson to try and sign Denis Irwin. Ferguson refused him but made an offer to sign Eric Cantona, who exasperated Wilkinson. He agreed, the terms signed on a £1.1m transfer. Had he not gone there, I doubt Manchester United and the famed "Class of '92", culminating in the 1999 treble-winning season, would have been as special as they were.
lol, he was decent, but this stupid romanticizing non sense about how he made history is overdone..it was a team effort and his contributions should not be overstated
United need players like cantona and vidic especially the mentality. They don't play football but go to war others may be better but because how they put their heart and soul out there it inspires teammates and make the team better as a whole. When you go into a fight it's always good to have people like cantona with you rather than against you
Another brilliant video about a unique charter which made me laugh during the video before impressing me, your videos is something else man, love to watch it
I'm glad I lived during the reign of King Eric. In 1997, after helping United win the league, King Eric abdicated the throne, at the ripe old age of 30.
'To wanton boys, we are but the Gods' That actually makes complete sense. He's basically saying 'to young kids hoping to play football, we are their heroes'
I'm a Liverpool fan but was always amazed by the quality of Cantona on the pitch. 20years later i found out Souness turned down the chance of taking Cantona from Leeds to Liverpool.....
You're a great creator. I had to watch all your videos available. The storytelling and humor make it outstanding. I have to thank you for your accent. Most of the creators for English football contents are British.
This guy is not like all the others .He is simply one thing .... Himself......What more can a man be in this life .....Stay true to yourself always ....I started watching Manchester united because of this man ......He is just different even in life .....He knows when to walk away from things that is not meant for him ......Most people are not like that this guy is .....Out of the ordinary...............
King Eric's importance goes beyond the pitch. Does anybody remember anything from Nike's iconic first major football ad in 1996 besides collar flip and "Au Revoir"? Thirteen years later the then, by far, two biggest clubs in the world wore their kits in the UCL final.
Love your work... I played pretty good as a teenager in the 80s and am not a big guy, but fit. And not afraid of anyone. Find the best defender early in game and break his foot if you had to. Won Golden boot a few times in the leagues, outscoring some players who went on to pro careers for Bayen and international honors at world cup level. Once scored six goals in a game. We won 6 to 2 at home to win the league. Anyway. Miss those days of real footy. And love your commentary. "clearly he got the ball, this guy is rolling around for nothing, the game has gone to shit" Absolutely stunning brilliant and insightful analysis from you sir. ❤️