32 Greatest footballers in the history of the English Premier League - Part 36
5. Eric Cantona:
There has been no better French football player than Eric Cantona. Except, of course for the legendary Zinedine Zidane but Cantona is definitely one of the best French footballers in the history of the game. He was a loose cannon off the pitch but on the
pitch he used to play quality football.
Cantona was born in the glorious days of English football during the late 1960s. His parents moved to the French city Marseille where he started playing the beautiful game and became the legend that he is today. His father used to play football as well and
he was the one who became his inspiration when he was only 14 years old.
When he was only 15 years old, he was being spied by all the “scouting” squads of the great clubs. The very next year, he managed to join the youth team of Auxerre. In the same youth academy, he was spotted by the French national team as well but he had
to train with the French army so he couldn’t really join the French national side.
However, his love for football did not end there. He kept on playing football and when he returned from the army, he joined Auxerre again. When he returned to his former club, he made it to their first team. After being a great player for Auxerre, he went
out to Martigues on loan and later became a part of Marseille in 1988. He was a part of Marseille till 1991 but during his time in the French club, he was being loaned out to other clubs. However, he finally settled in Nimes in 1991.
Cantona was often criticized because of his “anger” issues. He used to bubble up while playing for his team and during his time in Nimes he was often seen as being the “trouble maker” for the club. The French legend Michel Platini suggested Cantona to make
a move to a more aggressive English side.
That very year, Cantona was signed by Sheffield United, but the deal soon came to a close as the Yorkshire Club Leeds United managed to steal the Frenchman. His stars started to shine while performing for Leeds united and became a lethal asset for the club.
He was a part of the same Leeds United that won the last 1st Division ever and then they managed to come to the Premier League in 1991-1992 sesaon. The French legend Platini was totally right, Cantona started to enjoy the English style of play and
soon started to score goals for the side that he was on. His form could not be any better than this, as he managed to bag himself a hat trick against Liverpool during the 1992 Charity Shield.
The next season, Leeds United could not really deal with the “fast flowing” English teams and the team was relegated. The French star had to find his footing elsewhere because of this and in November 1992 Cantona left the club.
However, his career was far from over; in fact his “heights” were to be reached as he joined the rival club Manchester United. The bargain was considered to be one of the biggest in the history of football as the “1.2 million pounds” striker joined the Red
Devils in 1992. Manchester United were looking for a goal scorer, and they found just the right one when they managed to bag themselves an outstanding French player.
There are still critics who believe that it was not Cantona who helped the Red Devils be dominant in the English Premier League from 1992 to 1997, but the facts speak for themselves. The French striker managed to find the net 84 times in only 143 appearances.
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