Never anything less than a hero and leader on the football pitch, the mercurial French midfielder Eric Cantona has ensured that his profile has remained as fresh as his memory.
Eric Cantona was a menace on the football field, known as much for his flying kicks as for his great runs. But now that he has hung up his boots, the Frenchman is doing quite well as an actor
Never anything less than a hero and leader on the football pitch, the mercurial French midfielder Eric Cantona has ensured that his profile has remained as fresh as his memory on the Old Trafford terraces.
He was as famous for his eccentric characteristics as his merciless tackling and sublime goal scoring during his playing days.
Few fans of the English game will forget the most famous press conferences in Premier League history, as Cantona stared down the assembled journalists, and before leaving left them with a single, mystifying statement: “when the seagulls follow the trawler, it’s because they think sardines will be thrown in to the sea.”
The most telling indication of his love of the spotlight may have come in 2004, seven years after his 1997 retirement, when he spoke to reporters about his legacy, 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.”
The combination of this love and this fear have led Cantona to fashion a successful career on the big screen, in his native France and abroad, as well as continuing his habit of featuring in some of Nike’s greatest ad campaigns.
Alongside this, his connection with France’s beach football team has kept him close to the sport.
The first view that the public had of the retired Cantona came in Shekhar Kapur’s 1998 film Elizabeth, where he starred, fittingly enough, as the French ambassador to Britain.
He has since become a mainstay of French. More importantly for his career, he completed his first film as director in 2002.
Apporte-moi ton amour (Bring Me Your Love) may be just eleven minutes long, but it was a significant move for Cantona.
Cantona’s love of a relaxed life may have taken him on a direct path towards beach football. He had captained the French team during his playing days, and took over the management of the same in 2002.
His side won the 2005 edition of the Beach Soccer World Cup, and came third in the next tournament in 2006, and a ignifican feather was added to Cantona’s cap.
Whether his future lies more in the sporting or the cinematic field remains as much a mystery as the man himself. The only thing that is certain is that he will never remain quiet for long.
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