Jumat, 26 Desember 2008

Manchester United

Cantona eventually signed for United on 26 November 1992, and made his first appearance against Benfica in Lisbon, in a friendly match to mark the 50th birthday of Eusébio. He made his competitive debut as a second half substitute against Manchester City at Old Trafford, on 6 December 1992. United won 2-1, though Cantona made little impact that day.

United's season had been disappointing up to Cantona's signing. They had had problems scoring goals: Brian McClair and Mark Hughes were off form, and summer signing Dion Dublin had broken his leg early in the season. However, Cantona quickly settled into the team, not only scoring many 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. It was against Tottenham Hotspur on 9 January 1993, that Cantona really showed his class, scoring one and having a hand in the other goals in a 4-1 victory. However, controversy was never far away and on his return to Elland Road to play Leeds he spat at a fan and was fined £1,000 by the FA [3].

For the next two years, United went on an amazing run, winning the inaugural Premiership in 1993. By winning that title, Cantona became the only player ever to win back-to-back titles with different clubs. They retained the Premiership and with Cantona's two penalties helping them to a 4-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final. Cantona was voted PFA Player Of The Year in 1994. However, his serious disciplinary problem had not dissipated, being sent off a record 4 times in the Premier league season.[6]

Éric Cantona kicks Crystal Palace fan Simmons.

In the following season, Cantona became infamous for an incident that occurred on 25 January 1995. In an away match against Crystal Palace, Cantona was sent off by the referee for a vengeful kick on Palace defender Richard Shaw after Shaw had pulled his shirt. As he was being escorted from the pitch by United kit man Norman Davies, Cantona broke away and launched a 'kung-fu' style kick into the crowd, directed at Crystal Palace fan Matthew Simmons, followed by a series of punches.[7]

Simmons was later tried for threatening language and behaviour, and attacked the prosecution counsel after being found guilty, leaping over a bench and executing a flying kick of his own. He was sentenced to seven days in jail, but only served 24 hours of his sentence.[8] At a press conference called later, Cantona gave what is perhaps his most famous quotation. Referring to how journalists would constantly monitor his behaviour, Cantona said, in a slow and deliberate manner:

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

He then got up from his seat and left, leaving many of the assembled crowd bemused. He was sentenced to 120 hours of community service after an appeal court overturned a two-week prison sentence for assault. In accordance with the Football Association's wishes, Manchester United suspended Cantona for the remaining three months of the 1994–95 season, but the suspension was later increased by the FA to a nine-month ban from world football, in conjunction with a fine of £10,000. The FA Chief Executive Graham Kelly described his attack as "a stain on our game" that brought shame on football [9]. Manchester United also fined Cantona two weeks wages [10] and he was stripped of the French captaincy; his club eventually lost the Premiership title to Blackburn.

There had been much speculation that Cantona would leave English football when his ban finished, but Alex Ferguson persuaded him to stay in Manchester and Cantona was once again inspirational. United had sold several key players at the start of the season and replaced them with players from the club's youth team and their prospects of winning the league were not looking good. Much hype surrounded Cantona's return game, against Liverpool on 1 October 1995. In the match, Cantona set up a goal for Nicky Butt inside 2 minutes, and then scored a penalty after Ryan Giggs had been upended. Eight months without competitive football had inevitably taken its toll and Cantona struggled for form prior to Christmas. Things then changed, however, with his goals helping United to recapture the league having been twelve points behind Newcastle United in January 1996. There was a spate of important 1-0 wins for United, with Cantona the goal scorer, but a 0-3 victory against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium decided the title. Fittingly, it was the same 1-0 scoreline, and the same scorer, in that year's FA Cup Final against Liverpool, with Cantona becoming the first foreign player to lift the FA Cup as captain. The strike of that match happened with 5 minutes remaining and was perhaps Eric Cantona's most famous goal of his career. A corner from the left side troubled Liverpool keeper David James who attempted to fist the ball out of the box. Instead, the ball was deflected down the middle to the top of the box. Cantona, who had backed away when the corner was sent, lined up and took an extremely athletic twisting volley with his right foot firing the ball through a sea of defenders into the net. The game was won. His redemption was complete after the scandals and lows of a year earlier. Cantona gave a post-match interview saying: "You know that's life. Up and down." Manchester United became the first team to win "the double" twice.

Cantona galvanised the United team to greater success with the likes of Ryan Giggs and youngsters David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville emerging under his influence. As 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 1995 season which he had largely missed through suspension. At the end of an admittedly lacklustre season by his standards, which was fuelled by United's elimination at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, he announced that he was retiring from football at the age of 30 which came as a surprise, and was met with great dismay by United fans. His final competitive game came against West Ham on 11 May 1997, and his final appearance before retiring was five days later on Friday 16 May in a testimonial for David Busst against Coventry City at Highfield Road, in which Eric scored twice in a 2-2 draw. Cantona scored a total of 64 league goals for Manchester United, 11 in domestic cup competitions, and 5 in The Champions League.

In 2004 Cantona was quoted as saying, "I'm so proud the fans still sing my name, but I fear tomorrow they will stop. I fear it because I love it. And everything you love, you fear you will lose."

In 2006 The Sun newspaper reported Cantona as saying that Manchester United had lost their soul and that the current players were a bunch of sheep. The Old Trafford idol reckoned the days of maverick entertainers like himself and George Best were gone and feared the Red Devils were betraying their past by putting out boring, functional teams. However on the Contrary he was interviewed in the Number 7's issue of 'United Magazine' in August 2006 stating he will only come back to Manchester United as 'Number 1' (meaning not return as assistant manager or coach) and would create a team like no other and play the way he thinks football should be played.

Cantona opposed the Malcolm Glazer takeover of Manchester United, and has stated that he will not return to the club, even as a manager, while the Glazer family is in charge. This came as a disappointment to the many United fans who voted him as their choice for United's next manager in survey over the summer of 2000.[11]

However, in July 2008 it was reported in the Sunday Express that Eric has been having second thoughts, with a close friend of Cantona revealing: “Eric does fancy the idea of helping out with the coaching at a club like Manchester United. “He has been enjoying himself appearing in and directing films and being involved in beach soccer but has always wanted to help produce a team in his style and knows that Sir Alex Ferguson would encourage him.”

Despite his vow that he would never return while the Glazers remained in control of Manchester United it appears that he has mellowed over that stance.[12]

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