Eric Cantona: Art, violence, and the remaking of English football

Eric Cantona is the epitome of Rimbaud and Rambo: an artistic poet and violent, tough man. So how did this paradoxical player transform Manchester United in the 1990s? And how did this affect English football as a whole?

In this episode, Simon and Mehreen delve deep into the life and times of French footballer Eric Cantona. They track his playing career in France, how he was the missing piece of the puzzle for 90s Manchester United, and his abrupt footballing career-end at the age of 31. 

This is the story of a man who was built like a boxer and thinks of himself as an artist. Famous for his kung-fu kicks, red card troubles, and propensity towards violence, this episode discusses how he also embodied a new type of footballer in the 1990s and a work-hard mentality of football as an art.

Put your collars up for this insane, violent, and often poetic tale of the man of one of Manchester United’s most integral figures.

Time stamps:

0:36: Introduction and stats 

03:44: Early life in Marseille

07:29: A gifted young footballer and early playing career

11:13: Controversy and trouble in French clubs

13:40: Move to England (and a love for Rimbaud or Rambo?)

17:12 Cult hero and collar up at Leeds

22:32: Ferguson chooses Cantona for Manchester United

26:32: Strong start at Manchester United

29:53: Raising the bar at Manchester United

35:27: Simon’s Financial Times front page cover on Cantona

45:51: Community service and controversies

49:16: Karate kicking journalists

52:35: French national football team

57:47: Unexpected retirement, acting career, and politics

1:03:43: What’s Cantona up to now? 

1:11:29: What if Cantona hadn’t played football?

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