Though many people didn't have the privilege to watch one of the greatest players to have graced the the English premier League, those who watched him will never cease to remember his charismatic and controversial character.
Whenever the name Cantona is mentioned Different thought arise in people's mind, but the one that is a sure constant to come to mind is the Wonderful stunt he performed as he kicked a Crystal Palace fan after being shown a red card.
As United mark this anniversary, soccer4life takes a look and review the Life and times of Eric Cantona in Manchester United.
Cantona left Leeds for Manchester United for £1.2 million on 26 November 1992. Leeds chairman Bill Fotherby had telephoned Manchester United chairman Martin Edwards to enquire about the availability of Denis Irwin. Edwards was in a meeting with United manager Alex Ferguson at the time, and both men agreed that Irwin was not for sale. Ferguson had identified that his team was in need of a striker, having recently made bids for David Hirst, Matt Le Tissier and Brian Deane, and instructed his chairman to ask Wilkinson whether Cantona was for sale. Fotherby had to consult with the manager Howard Wilkinson, but within a few days the deal was complete.
United's season had been disappointing up to Cantona's signing. They were falling behind the likes of big spending Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers in the race for the first Premier League title, as well as surprise challengers including Norwich City and Queen's Park Rangers. Goalscoring had been a problem since the halfway point of the previous season – when it had cost them the league title.
Brian McClair and Mark Hughes were off form, and summer signing Dion Dublin had broken his leg early in the season, ruling him out of action for six months. However, Cantona quickly settled into the team, not only scoring goals but also creating chances for the other players. His first United goal came in a 1–1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 19 December 1992, and his second came on Boxing Day in a 3–3 draw against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough where they claimed a point after being 3–0 down at half time. However, controversy was never far away, and on his return to Elland Road to play Leeds a few weeks later, he spat at a fan and was fined £1,000 by the FA.
In Cantona's first season at Old Trafford, United won the inaugural premier League by 10 points – winning the title for the first time since 1967. In doing so, he became the first player to win back-to-back English top division titles with different clubs.
United retained the Premier League in 1994, and Cantona's two penalties helped them to a 4–0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. He was also voted PFA Player of the Year for that season.
In the 1994/1995 season United looked to win a third successive league title, and for the first half of the season things went smoothly enough. The season began with a 2–0 Wembley win over Blackburn Rovers in the Charity Shield, in which Cantona scored a penalty. Cantona frequently scored for United, who put intense pressure a Blackburn Rovers side that led the table for much of the season, particularly with a 4–2 win at Ewood Park in late October, in which Cantona was on the scoresheet. He was also on the scoresheet the following month in a memorable 5–0 derby win over Manchester City, and on 22 January he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 home win over Blackburn which made the title race even tighter and brought Cantona's tally of league goals for that season to 12.
However, on 25 January 1995 he was involved in an incident which attracted headlines and controversy worldwide. In an away match against Crystal Palace, Cantona was sent off by the referee for a kick on Palace defender Richard Shaw after Shaw had pulled his shirt. As he was walking towards the tunnel, Cantona launched a 'kung-fu' style kick into the crowd, directed at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, followed by a series of punches.
At a press conference called later, Cantona gave what is perhaps his most famous quotation. Cantona said, in a slow and deliberate manner: "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it's because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much." He then got up from his seat and left, leaving many of the assembled crowd bemused.
Cantona was arrested and convicted for assault, resulting in a two week prison sentence. This was overturned in the appeal court and instead he was sentenced to 120 hours of community service.
In accordance with the Football Association's wishes, Manchester United suspended Cantona for the remaining four months of the 1994–95 season, which ruled him out of first team action as United were still in the hunt for a second double. He was also fined £20,000.
The Football Association then increased the ban to eight months(up to and including 30 September 1995) and fined him a further £10,000. The FA Chief Executive Graham Kelly described his attack as "a stain on our game" that brought shame on football. FIFA then confirmed the suspension as worldwide, meaning that Cantona couldn't escape the ban by transferring to a foreign club. Manchester United also fined Cantona two weeks' wages and he was stripped of the French captaincy;his club eventually lost the Premier League title to Blackburn Rovers.
There had been media speculation that Cantona would leave English football when his ban finished, but Alex Ferguson persuaded him to stay in Manchester, despite interest from the Italian club Internazionale (who had managed to lure his team mate Paul Ince to Italy that year).
In his comeback game against Liverpool on October 1, 1995, Cantona set up a goal for Nicky Butt two minutes into the game, and then scored a penalty after Ryan Giggs was fouled. Cantona helped United overturn a ten-point lead by Newcastle to win their third league title in four season. He also scored the winning goal, as captain, in the FA Cup Final victory over Liverpool. He became the first player from outside the British Isles to lift the FA Cup as skipper.
Cantona was confirmed as United's captain for the 1996–97 season following the departure of Steve Bruce to Birmingham City.
United retained the league in the 1996–97 season; Cantona had won four league titles in five years with United (six in seven years including those won with Marseille and Leeds United), the exception being the 1994–95 season which he had missed the second half of through suspension.
At the end of the season he announced that he was retiring from football at the age of 30.His final competitive game came against West Ham on 11 May 1997, and his final appearance before retiring was five days later on 16 May in a testimonial for David Busst (the player whose career had been ended by an injury suffered against United the previous year) against Coventry City at Old Trafford.
Cantona scored a total of 64 league goals for Manchester United, 11 in domestic cup competitions, and 5 in the Champions League, bringing his tally to 80 goals in less than five year.
Leeds United fans maybe wondering how they managed to loose such a great player, but the then Chairman has an answer to that "At the time, we didn't have any money. People thought we had won the pools but we were actually potless. Because of that when we met his advisors to put together a deal we agreed to pay Eric something like £500,000 if we kept him after an initial period of a few months.
"It was an immense amount of money for Leeds - not money we had at any rate - but we agreed to it because we had this recommendation from Platini and we judged the most important thing was to get the player and deal with the rest afterwards.
"Apart from Lee Chapman, no one in the squad spoke fluent French and for Howard it was a bit of a nightmare. Although we won the title, there was just no connection between them.
"We had a disaster against Rangers in the European Cup and were coming up to the point where this additional £500,000 had to be paid. Howard told me to find Eric another club."
And the rest is now history.
Cantona during his short spell at united was able to win over the heart of the fans who still hold him dearly in their heart, below is a poem composed by a United supporter for Eric, which goes to show How Important He is to Manchester United and its Fans.
I'm everywhere that Eric is -
His shirts, I crown -
And, like excessive volume,
Some would turn me down.
I'm white iron, defiant from my toes to tip,
Yes, I am France's most famous cliff
And Eric's two-point plan for winning a derby
Is: number one, lace boots; then, two:
Starch me.
I've seen umpteen glorious battle-scenes;
Look, I am football's Bayeux Tapestry -
And for those who say of me "whoa, he's arrogant"
I have two words:
"Trophy cabinet."
'Cantona's Collar', written and performed by Musa Okwonga (Find Musa on twitter: @okwonga),
His shirts, I crown -
And, like excessive volume,
Some would turn me down.
I'm white iron, defiant from my toes to tip,
Yes, I am France's most famous cliff
And Eric's two-point plan for winning a derby
Is: number one, lace boots; then, two:
Starch me.
I've seen umpteen glorious battle-scenes;
Look, I am football's Bayeux Tapestry -
And for those who say of me "whoa, he's arrogant"
I have two words:
"Trophy cabinet."
'Cantona's Collar', written and performed by Musa Okwonga (Find Musa on twitter: @okwonga),
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