Eric Cantona

by Rob Wightman

Published 9 May 2002
When Eric Cantona joined Manchester United from championship rivals Leeds in November 1992 it was the beginning of a partnership made in heaven. By the end of the 1992/93 season the championship had returned to Old Trafford for the first time in 26 years. Despite his regular brushes with authority and a rash of controversial incidents, Cantona was consistently the driving force behind United's glittering success of the early to mid 1990s. The Frenchman was the inspiration for a generation of young players, including David Beckham and Paul Scholes, that recaptured the European Cup for United in 1999, two years after Cantona's retirement. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest players ever to grace the Old Trafford turf. This biography gets to grips with the ultimate football icon of the 1990s.