Eric Cantona thrilled Manchester United fans like no one before

Eric Cantona

Every top professional footballer who takes on the field knows that the world is watching them. Very few possess the confidence and mental strength to stare back. Chest puffed, back straight, collar upturned, Eric Cantona would lion-strut across the football field with swagger, flaunting his poise and assuredness that was unyielding and impossible to ignore.

The fact that his arrival at Old Trafford brought the end of Manchester United‘s barren spell of 26-years without the English League title was no coincidence – Cantona proved to be the brooding catalyst and the missing piece in United’s jigsaw that kick started the Manchester United juggernaut.

Prior to his arrival, United used to be like that hard fought boxer who had almost everything to become a champion but always failed to land that telling knockout punch to take them over the tipping point. So much was already in place for success – an unerring defense, a midfield of industry and determination, an attack of precision and quality. They had all the ingredients to be finest football team in the country, yet missed that je ne sais quoi of champions.

Eric Cantona’s arrival from Leeds United in November 1992 provided the Gallic flair to tip United over the finishing line. They were a match made in heaven and destined to meet in reality.

In the summer of 1992, Alex Ferguson and United chairman, Martin Edwards, were discussing their yearly transfer targets when they received a call from Leeds United chairman, Bill Fotherby, who asked for the availability of Denis Irwin. United declined Irwin’s approach, and instead, asked for the availability of Eric Cantona. In less than an hour, a deal had been agreed to send Cantona across the Pennines for a cut-price of £1 million.

What followed in the next five seasons of at Manchester United are the stuff of legends. Sir Alex himself later admitted, “One of the most extraordinary periods in our history was about to begin.”

Within his first few outings in the famous number 7 jersey at Old Trafford, he instigated a seismic shift in the mentality of the players, who suddenly seemed to be revitalised with the influence of the mercurial Frenchman. The near misses, the anguish and frustration of losing out at the final hurdle soon became a distant memory as the Red Devils pipped Aston Villa to finally end an agonising wait for over a quarter of a century for that elusive Premier League title.

The floodgates had opened, the winning habit had started, and Cantona became the charismatic face of the new champions. The wandering ‘enfant terrible’ of French football finally found a loving home at Old Trafford.

Eric Cantona had the ability to do anything with the ball, and yet there was no over-indulgence. It was his ability to hold up the ball, let others come into play and pick up a simple, invariably right pass onto the path of his teammate, and such was his touch and technique that even the most routine change of possession was carried off with a classy panache. The bigger the occasion, the better Cantona got.

He was given a free role by the manager, letting him express himself, flaunt his skills and score goals. Such were his inspirational displays on the field that for the young players like Beckham, Scholes, the Nevilles and Butt, who were thrown in at the deep end, it was impossible not to see Cantona as an example to follow.

The players looked up to him for inspiration and motivation and wanted to emulate him in every sense. As Lee Sharpe so rightly recalls in one of his notes: “If I can be anyone, that’s who I want to be. I want to be treated like that. I want to play like that. I want to be loved like that.”

Cantona was a natural leader – he didn’t do anything special to achieve it. He just possessed an overpowering magnetism that others cannot help but follow. The Frenchman’s biggest asset was that he had no particular method or trick or speech to motivate his peers. He inspired awe in them by just being himself.

Eric Cantona’s growing influence in the team also achieved him near-divinity amongst the United fans. His stay was short, but impact was enormous. Eric Cantona still remains the most popular player ever to play for Manchester United.

Sir Bobby Charlton and Ryan Giggs played more games and scored more goals, George Best was more skillful, and Denis Law was crowned as the ‘king’ of Stretford End. Yet, none of United’s holy trinities, even in their pomp, developed a mutual love with the supporters that Cantona had.

His love affair with the fans could belittle any romantic script from a Hollywood script writer.

Besides being a firm fan favourite, a model professional, an inspirational leader, Cantona was also an ultimate entertainer and a showman. Back in the early 90s, a trip to Old Trafford was not just about football, it was a mere sub-plot in the weekly adventures of the talismanic Frenchman.

Anything that he portrayed on the football pitch, be it his exaggerated gestures, his movements, or just the way he carried himself on the pitch weren’t meant just for his immediate peers; they were a gift from a superstar to his audience, an insight into the mood of the lead character.

This was something that hasn’t been seen since the days of George Best flaunting his demeanor on the football pitch. But whereas the Irishman’s looks attracted a multitude of female admirers to the field, Cantona’s appeal was purely football.

The eternal love that he shared with the people still hasn’t diminished even though he hung up his boots 15 years ago. The famous Stretford End at Old Trafford still indulges in the melodious cacophony of “Ooh-aah Cantona” chants – a testament to his never-dying popularity amongst the fans. The mantra says, no one is bigger than the club, but Cantona came mighty close.

Nobody is bigger than the club, but Eric Cantona comes mighty close

Eric played five seasons for Manchester United, winning four Premier League titles and two FA cups. It’s not a surprise that the only season he and United failed to win the league was in the one he got banned for eight months after he kicked a fan in a game against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. He top-scored in the 1993/94 and 1995/96 Premier League campaigns, scoring a string of vital winners along the way.

The only blemish in his playing career was, perhaps, his inconsistent form in the Champions league, but the fact that United, as a team, never came to terms with the unforgiving nature of the European competition in his time at Old Trafford provides some insight. It was one such defeat, against Borussia Dortmund in 1997, that made him decide to call it a day. The departure, as was his arrival, was inevitably sudden and dramatic.

There was no fading away, no slinking away from the spotlight, just a normal step forward, one final emphatic bow and an exit. Just like any great entertainer!