Cantona was the Michael Jordan of the EPL in the 90s. 4 titles in 5 years. He would have won 5 in 5 if not for the kung fu kick. His game was never about goals. He has almost as many assists as goals. When he played, he made his teammates better. Whenever he played, he was the best player on the pitch and he knew it. Thats why he was so confident. He retired in 1997 yet fans still chant his name till today.
@@davidc5170 striker's don't hold up the ball... They strike it... But I agree he did a lot of holding up of the ball and played it through. Forward is the furthest positional term he should be afforded. Playmaker, guru, god, but not the man who was furthest forward looking for the goals...
@@Bugdenl "Strikers don't hold up the ball" I take it with a statement like that you've only just start watching football recently. Strikers are the furthest forward so of course they hold up the ball and bring others in to play. Mark Hughes was brilliant at it, Andy Cole learned how to do it when he came to us. Alan Shearer did it at times, cos strikers are the focal and there is no one ahead of them they need to be able to play with their backs to goal and hold up the ball.
They don’t win their first league title which means it’s doubtful whether they’d win any of the other 4 he won with them. History would have been very different. Howard Wilkinson was an idiot for selling him, typical Yorkshire stubbornness.
I remember the day he signed for Leeds as it was a big deal them getting him ahead of Wednesday, he pretty much guaranteed them the title. I'm an Ipswich fan but still loved watching this guy play
@@StoutProperAs long as Ferguson was in Man Utd, they would win everything they won anyway. Cantona was just another cog in the machine, easily replaceable. As a matter of fact, later Man Utd was way better then Cantona's Man Utd.
IM ARSENAL 4 LIFE BUT WE RESPECT ONLY 3 GOAT PLAYERS : (BESIDE OUR HENRY) GERRARD, SHEARER AND CANTONA. 3 BEST PLAYERS IN PREMIERE LEAGUE IN HISTORY EVER !!
@@PIP...33 I agree mate those 4 players are indeed respect on GOAT level. I am Leeds fan. I love Cantona forever, but Bergkamp Henry Shearer and Gerrard are simply best ever to step a foot on England pitch. We also respect Maldini tho never played here , he is GOAT best ever !!
@@perditadurango9699 NO DOUBT. MALDINI IS NUMBER 1. U START TEAM FRANCHISE WITH HIM! I ALSO RESPECT THURAM TO ME HE IS 2ND BEST IN HISTORY. AND OVERALL MOST COMPLETE PLAYERS ARE GULLIT AND BEST PLAYER EVER JOHAN.
@@PIP...33Steven Gerrard for me is something special, no player comes next to him. Eric was the best of the naughty boys we've seen in the PL & world football. I love that age of football.
Even with his shortcomings (arrogance, ego, and violence), what comes first is his passion, enthusiasm, and love for the game...he is the mindset that United needed, and that is the foundation on which United's winner mentality was put together... As Jose puts it "Nice boys only win the fair play cup"😅
I think what makes Cantona special is that he had the full package of being a legend skills and character but it had to take 1 man to make him right who was SAF, and they both benefited each other with their greatness. And the fact that he wanted to retire early because he wanted to enjoy life still young tells you he’s a sentimental man. We’ll never ever have a player and a character like him anymore in football ever. Amazing video as always, loves the ending. It was beautiful
This is the exact reason why I love Ibrahimovic so much, he is just like Cantona back then, you rarely see these types of players anymore that make it that far in their career.
Cantona was more influential than Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic is great against mid table and lower league teams making a master to win leagues. But when it came to crunch time against big teams in big matches in particular the champions league, he doesn't seem to cash in. Cantona on the other hand is a big game player with the midas touch when required to deliver at the apex of football
Zlatan was unique but he was nothing like Cantona, hadn't the range of skill Cantona had and to be entirely honest although I love and respect Zlatan Cantona was by some considerable distance a better player in almost all regards. Zlatan was a better goal scorer and scored more in one season than Cantona ever did. He is similar in attitude.
Solskjaer, Neville, Beckham, Giggs, Schmeichel, Irwin, Keane.. Cantona was the 'Mourinho' of footballers, and soaked pressure like a black hole. His team performed admirably as he absorbed everything that was thrown at his 'team' and let his feet do the talking, no pun intended. What a man manger Alex Ferguson was. Also, who still remembers his iconic advertisement "Au Revoir" then flipping up the collars.
amazing video - my fav player of all time. An absolute winner. Kids today don't understand. Won the title in every full season he played in England - No one comes close.
I was lucky enough to see Cantona twice (home debut v Man City and at White Hart Lane) and he was astoinishing to watch, a colossus on the pitch. It was impossible to take your eyes off him, he dominated the games. His presence was vast, his influence was everywhere. You can keep your Ronaldo and your Messi, neither of them has ever been called King. GOAT means nothing. King is special, unique, indomitable. Cest maginifique.
Being a young kid in England during the mid 90's nobody took your attention like Cantona. Back then unless you had money, you would only get FA Cup games to watch. He was a star in Cup Finals
Cantona embodied everything that made football the greatest thing when I was growing up -The screamers - The flicks - The aggression -The arrogance -The madness Limbs everywhere we went watching United. Grown men hugging strangers singing his songs. Everyone in the playground wearing their collars up. Being a local kid you couldn't do anything else but fall in love with it all. I'm so glad I had that as part of my childhood. The 90's were great, and The king was the superstar of them. Some players are just fantastically skilled individuals and athletes, others like Eric are talismans for something bigger. Hero
If We’re Talking about Players From The 1990’s, Cantona was One of The best Back then. His Stats are the Opidemy, of “Stats Aren’t Everything”. Truly A Ledgend of Football.
Cantona or Keane? Who transformed that team? The determination, the will to train longer and harder than the coaches asked, both those players instilled that through the class of '92, Keane the aggression and rage, Cantona the silky skills and training ground dedication. United would have won nothing without these two men, they were similar and so different, but they forged that dressing room into the weapon that Fergie's tactical and man management skills could aim at glory for decades. He was the King.
Cantona. Keane tried to emulate him only after Cantona retired to fill the void. Maintaining a course is much easier than changing it. Keane really looked up to Cantona. ou can go back and check ;)
i can't even begin to express how much i'm still on cantona's side over the kick. he's a man who needs faith and respect to thrive. they're tantamount to love, in his mind, and when they are withdrawn, he ceases to owe you anything except contempt. which is as much as you deserve.
The legend who didn't back down in taking someone out.. even in the crowd! Lol! He was incredible and an amazing soccer player to watch! Magic on the field!!⚽
Had the mentality that Dennis "The Iceman but can't fly" Bergkamp could only dream of. Also absolutely outrageous technically. I saw him do things in a warm up 1 match I have never seen any other player do, total mastery of the football.
He was so good with the ball, he was like a wizard controling it moving it around for it to come back effortlessly. Never seen anyone have such control on the ball can't believe he started out as a goalkeeper. Typical Cantona.
Oasis (Gallagher brothers, hardcore Man City fans) wanted him in one of their videos, 'Once', long after he retired. Liam tells the story on a youtube clip 'Liam Gallagher talking about Eric Cantona doing the video for Once'. One of my favourite stories ever on Cantona and sums up why he is 'The King'.
Strangely many city fans love Cantona. It's like when Ronaldinho got a standing ovation at the Bernabau playing for Barce (No player before or since, not even Messi - speaks volumes)
Who ever watched that Cantona speech in the UEFA event way back in 2019 can understand the genius of this footballer as a person... My G was on his own league. The aura he produces all over the pitch with that collar is irreplaceable. One the greatest legends of all time.
Wonderful summary of The King - yes, he was UNIQUE in so many ways living life on his terms - what a blessing that we were able to see and experience ERIC on a stage where he could get close to expressing his true greatness - his arrogance, well maybe HIS self belief is a lesson for us all - and I don't mean arrogance in a negative sense at all - and it shone brightly for a while illuminating all who came into his presence - thank you for your content - if you yourself write and put together these documentaries you are very talented and able to get the essence of whoever you are covering in a way that brings us to innerstand that person a little bit more and thereby ourselves as well...
I saw the name Cantona in the Classic XI of FIFA 09. I never heard of him, being a 14-year old Barcelona fan. He was a magician. No one can say he needed to score more. You would never say this for Ronaldinho or Baggio. Same goes for Cantona
R10 is the true GOAT of football, and Baggio my favourite player growing up. Nice picks. Both of these players played as Forwards, Cantona was a bit deeper in Midfield. Watch the footage.
@@Bugdenl Ronaldinho was not a complete forward either, he often played as a 10. The extraordinary case for example is Messi, who played as a 10, playmaker or winger, and scored as many goals.
@@francescganau7679 I think this video is even better: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pynDvIsLoU0.html Incomprehensible talent. I love Messi and Maradona, but Ronaldinho is even better.
When you're so talented... everyone simply look beyond your flaws and shortcomings... history will always remember his greatness and achievements not his moment of madness... Iconic, enigmatic King Cantona ♥️
i love u king cantona , because of u .. im a man utd fans until now . im 35 this years , and be a man utd since 1997 . love u forever .. hail king eric !
I remember watching him in the 90s Cantona's presence on the team alone was a problem for other teams to the point it became a part of tactics in bringing up the class of 96 (Beckham, Scholes, Neville etc...) he's one of those players where you and and your team mates had to keep a constant check on him otherwise some flash shit was going to happen and have you in a youtube video comp 20 years later problem is when you're trying to deal with him it freed up everyone else on that damn team remember this is the team who after Cantona lead them to 4 EPLs and retired they went on to do the treble.
Love your videos man. You should do a video on Ricardo Oliveira. He was a beast of a striker back in the day and he’s still play at 43?! Hope you see this.
Yea I know lots of City fans who say the same - True class transcends tribalism. Ronaldinho at the Bernabau. The only Barce player to get a standing ovation from the Madridstas.
When I hear Cantona, the first thing I think of is the celebration and the second thing I think of is the kick. I think that defines Cantona pretty well. The celebration shows his aura, the kind of presence he had and the kick shows his personality, the maniac he was. ICON of the game.
I was a french teenager at the time, watching him play on tv when he was at ManU, that was something, too bad that the national french team was not good enough at that time. But, almost 30 years passed now, and I still get goose bumps when I see him play on these old footages. Him, with his collar up in that red shirt, part of my best memories in football, he is on top with that head of Boli in the UCL final ( OM fan here ^^). He is ManU and will be forever.
What Eric Cantona possessed is the quintessential manifestation of je ne sais quoi. He had a special golden quality about him that could turn almost anybody into a winner by his mere presence...
@@MrKevin1144 'Je ne sais quoi' is a French phrase transplanted into English to represent a special intangible quality that people know exist but none can actually put a finger to it. It is the equivalent of an aura which is evidently possessed by some people but absent in others. Using Eric Cantona's story as an example, you have heard of his exploits of success in Nimes, Marseille and Montpellier where he took them from backwater, nondescript sides to winning unexpected trophies merely by his sublime talent & presence. In England, you know all about Leeds United that in the 1980s to 2000s was a mid-table, First Division team at best & whose addition of Eric for only half a year transformed them into an all-conquering First Division champion in 1992. The next half year was spent in typical Cantona bedlam before taking his talents to United who coincidentally were in almost similar straits for most of Sir. Alex Ferguson's early doors, sometimes rising to the top five but lacked the genuine spark to fire them into Championship contention. In the first Premier League season on 1992 - 93, United found themselves in the surreal surroundings of Norwich City who were massively imbued with confidence to be still unbeaten by December, at full-throttle & some way at the helm. Aston Villa were equally making their bid at the epoch-defining, inaugural Premier League season. The rest as they say is history after Cantona joined Sir. Alex's side in January 1993 to replace crocked forward Dion Dublin, firing them into the inaugural Premier League title which was a catalyst for improbable success in future for then beleaguered Sir. Alex Ferguson. It speaks volumes that during his abbreviated 4½ season run at United interspersed with contention against personal demons, he still garnered 3 PL titles and 4 FA Cups with that golden quality. Recall the 1 title won at Leeds United. Post-retirement in 1997, he has gone on to be a respected personality as a thespian & movie star/ producer in France even winning accolades at the Cannes Film Festivals. That is 'je ne sais quoi' for you.
@@MrKevin1144 The iconic raised collar emulated by upcoming talent is equally part of Cantona's legacy to the sport. The kung-fu kick on the Crystal Palace fan is still spoken about today not just among the prawn sandwich brigade at Old Trafford but in sporting folklore in general.
Cantona is living proof of why you should never judge a player based on stats alone anyone around in them days knows what this player meant to Manchester United and how he changed the culture of English football.
Unfortunately the content creator has misled everyone. He clearly didn't watch Cantona play for united. Cantona played in midfield. His stats are therefore insane.
his stats was as a playmaker. People praised gerrad as the goalscoring midfielders but they often discredit cantona's goalscoring ability as a midfielder.
People assume Cantona was a number 9 like RVN but he was a playmaker he would go deep to link up play. One season he got 25 goals and 15 assists. Today even our wingers don't give us that many assists.
I still remember when i was a child I saw one of cantona nike ads i believe with zlatan and ronaldo .. that was the first piece of media about football I've ever seen and I instantly fell in love .. damn football ads back in the day was simply majestic _❤_
What does that even mean? I swear, that man was an enigma, always talking in riddles. 😂 you should listen to his response ro being tipped for the United managerial position
@@saehisaya I think it means the reporters are waiting for Cantona to start talking and spilling beans, so they can have juicy news to write on their newspaper, even if it means twisting Cantona's word to sell.
@@saehisaya read what karllim1159 wrote, I agree with him, Eric was actually very polite, usually people refer to journalists as vultures looking for dead meat, he just went the fishing way.
@@Bdoc76 He will always be a legend. The sheer number of Man City fans who cite the King as their favourite player speaks volumes. I accept Attacking midfielder/forward. This is prob the most accurate description.
@@Bdoc76 the elite few... Cantona definitely sits at the table, transcending any given position. Magic players are so rare and beautiful to watch. I agree.
Great vid, thanks. Perhaps my fave player of all-time.. You've got the 95/96 league table instead of the first win in 92/93 though. And 96/97 instead of 95/96 :)
On behalf of my fellow Manchester United supporters, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Leeds United for signing Eric Cantona. Imagine if they hadn’t, he’d have left England and we may never had signed him and the success United & SAF enjoyed might never had happened either. For that, Thank You Leeds, y’all made it possible and y’all are part of our history forever and ever. Long Live The King! 🙏😂
His sheer influence on the kids coming through at United in the early nineties laid a foundation down that team after team was built on. Eric the King orchestrator !
I love players like this, that their simply presence can create such greatness. These days, Andre-Pier Gignac is 38yo, but his presence alone make all the defenders think twice every move.
My all time favourite player. He wouldn't be considered anywhere near the all time best in his spot. But if you could pick any player for a team that actually would play matches and needed to win them, he should be in that team, because like you said, he just had some weird way of making the team win with his willpower.
25th of January 1995 was the date that my fate was sealed. I was a massive Cantona fan and on a trip to Italy in 2005, found a shop that had a shirt with Eric Cantona doing his karate kick on the back and the letters B.F on the front. I thought it was hilarious, so bought it. To this day I have no idea why it had B.F on the front. Fast forward a couple of years and I posted a photo of me in that shirt on a dating website and my future wife liked what she saw, plus felt like it was a sign that it had her initials on the front. We've been married for 16 years and together 18 and it's all thanks to the man, the legend - Eric Cantona!
Some of his goals and passing where sublime but there is two moments of brilliance he did that if they went in they be some goals. The volley over the players head and then back again and I think that shot went wide, it was against Leeds, use to be on the start of Match of the day or the cross from the left hand side and he jumps up, chests it but does a 180 turn with the ball and Volleys it against the bottom of the Everton post
I cried when he quit. It coincided with one of the worst years of my life. Eric was ...... just the best player, not just for his goals,but the assists and his influence on the team. He is and always will be the King. Eric is still humble as a man. Not many ex players can match his humanity. They're all about image. Eric is a one off, there will never be another football player like him.
King Eric brought me back to football. Egowise, he's from the same stock as Zlatan, but the latter wasn't a gamemaker. Thinks for the vid, there were many things i didn't know about him.