Remembering Éric Cantona's time in French football
Éric Cantona is a football legend because of his technique, charisma, and brilliance that made him one of the best players in the history of Manchester United. He is often regarded as the catalyst for Sir Alex Ferguson's early success with the Red Devils, adding a level of quality and personality that his team needed back in the early 90s, winning several Premier League titles during the Frenchman's time at Old Trafford.
Éric Cantona - © Santamaradona - Dreamstime.com
The early days
Éric Cantona was born on May 24, 1966, in Marseille, France, and his love for football began when he visited Olympique Marseille's Stade Vélodrome as a six-year-old. His father had been a goalkeeper for local teams at a semi-professional level and he taught young Éric the basics, slowly cementing his understanding of the game.Funny enough, this allowed Cantona to start as a goalkeeper for the youth team of SO Caillolais. Despite the fact that youth side was having good results, Éric wasn't having the time to perform because he wasn't challenged as a keeper, so he eventually was given the chance to play as a striker. And the rest is history.
Now playing in the position he would become known for, Cantona went on to become a natural goalscorer at youth level while showcasing some of the natural talent he had. This would prove to be quite beneficial for him as he gained the attention of a very important figure in French football: Guy Roux, the legendary Auxerre manager.
Auxerre and beyond
Guy Roux coached Auxerre for more than forty years and went on to build a very stable institution that had a strong youth system. It made sense for someone like Cantona to sign for that club and he spent most of his time in the Under-17s playing in the fourth division of French football, cutting his teeth against stronger, more physical rivals.Cantona made his professional debut in November 1983 but failed to impress, which led Roux to wait almost two years to give him another shot and Éric almost got sent off in his second chance because he had been taunted by the opposition. Those who are familiar with Cantona's legendary with Manchester United are probably aware of the Frenchman's heated temperament and this was the early days of that habit of his.
He would be loaned to Martigues in the second division of French football for the 1985-86 where he would gain much-needed experience as a professional player. The following two seasons would see him a lot more established in Auxerre's senior team, scoring a decent amount of goals, but also getting into trouble because of clashes with rivals and teammates alike, resulting in him being labeled as inconsistent.
The Frenchman was eventually given the opportunity of his dreams, which was signing for Marseille in 1988, who were, at the time, the strongest team in the country. It seemed like a match made in heaven after having grown so much but it turned out to be anything but.
Controversies and exits
Bernard Tapie, a famous French politician and businessman, had taken over Marseille in the mid-80s and was building a side that could conquer the European Cup. Adding Cantona, then a very promising French talent, made a lot of sense and Éric himself was a huge Marseille fan, so it seemed like a very good combination.It wasn't. Despite being from Marseille and professing love for the club even to this very day, Cantona never truly connected with the fans and wasn't a regular starter at what was a star-studded squad. Furthermore, that 1988-89 season was the period where he was banned from the France national team after calling the then-head coach, Henri Michel, "one of the most incompetent managers in world football".
Éric had loans at Bordeaux and Montpellier in the following two seasons, underperforming with the former and delivering with the latter, but the truth of the matter is that it seemed he was losing his path. In fact, despite performing for Montpellier, he ended up fighting with teammate Jean-Claude Lemoult and even going as far as throwing a boot to the latter, which resulted in Cantona getting sacked from the club and terminating his loan.
Marseille eventually decided that Cantona wasn't worth the effort and was sold to Nimes, another French side, in the summer of 1991, although his time there was equally disappointing. He joined English side Leeds United mid-season as Cantona wanted to play abroad in order to make a big change in his career. After half a season there, he was pivotal for that team winning the First Division and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.
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