Eric Cantona

Senior career

1983–1988 Auxerre

1985–1986 → Martigues (loan)

1988–1991 Marseille

1989 → Bordeaux (loan)

1989–1990 → Montpellier (loan)

1991 Nîmes

1992 → Leeds United (loan)

1992 Leeds United

1992–1997 Manchester United

National team

1987–1995 France

Teams managed

1997–2011 France (beach)

2011–2012 New York Cosmos (director of soccer)

Overview

Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona was born on 24th may 1966 and is a retired French footballer of the late 1980s and 1990s. He played for Manchester United, and whilst with them he won four Premier League titles in five years, including two League and FA Cup " Doubles". Cantona is often refered to as having played a major talismanic role in the revival of Manchester United as a major footballing side and he enjoyed and still enjoys iconic status at the club. In 2001, he was voted the Manchester United player of the century, and is nicknamed "King Eric" by the fans

Since retiring from Manchester United, he has divided his time between acting (mostly in French movies) and beach soccer. He is the current manager of the French beach soccer team. He also began a campaign called 'Joga Bonito' (Play Beautiful). This consisted of a series of advertisements and merchandise. The aim of this campaign is to stamp out the diving and cheating which has found a home in soccer.

Kung-Fu Kick

In January of 1995, Cantona was given a red card in a match against Crystal Palace. While he was being escorted off of the field, he broke away from the person that was escorting him and launched a flying kick, followed by several punches, at a Crystal Palace fan who had been taunting him. He was given a short jail sentence, of which he served only 24 hours. He was also fined and given community service and banned from playing for the rest of the season, later extended to equal a 9 month ban. He also lost the captaincy of the French national team. In a press conference after the event, he delivered his most famous line. Referring to the way his actions were always under scrutiny, he said,

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

He then got up and left the conference, leaving most of the crowd stunned.