[divider]Flick to the Path of Dennis Irwin[/divider]
https://youtu.be/33XIxwZ5sqQ
This is the best assist of King Eric, in my opinion. Manchester United’s Dennis Irwin positioned himself to whip the ball into the penalty area from the edge of the box but instead, he made a pass to Eric Cantona and darted into the opposition’s box. Cantona then used the outside of his right boot and flicked the ball above the defenders (so pleasing to the eyes), which fell directly onto the path of Dennis Irwin who smashed it home for Manchester United.
In Ken Loach’s film, ‘Looking for Eric’, Cantona was asked if his sweetest moment in Football was all the goals he scored and the glory he got from them. He replied that his sweetest moment, ‘was a pass’ and he referred to this particular masterpiece afterward.
[divider]Kung-Fu Kick on Crystal Palace Fan (1995)[/divider]
https://youtu.be/JFsW6vvBwHk
Any football fan in this era would never forget this controversial moment. Even to younger fans like me, this is an iconic moment.
Cantona got sent-off for the 5th time in a Manchester United shirt after lashing out at Crystal Palace defender, Richard Shaw. As Cantona walked towards the tunnel for an early bath, a Palace fan named Matthew Simmons apparently yelled a racist remark to Cantona. Eric then reacted by launching a Kung-Fu kick at Simmons to the chest. Cantona was banned from playing professional football for 8 months.
When interviewed with BBC Football Focus many years later, Cantona jokingly regarded his Kung-Fu kick as ‘the best moment of his career’.
[divider]A Showcase of Individual Brilliance in the Munich Air Disaster Memorial 1998[/divider]
Following his retirement from professional football in 1997, Eric Cantona still proved that his class is still very much intact after arguably scoring his best goal ever in a memorial match.
In this scenario, Cantona beat the right back and dribbled the ball past the 2 centre backs (that got shamelessly faked by the way). As if making the outfielders look like clowns wasn’t already enough, Cantona also dummied the goalkeeper who tried to pounce on him. At this point of time, 2 players were on the floor helpless, and our mighty Cantona (being the King he is), waited for the ‘outfielder’ to guard the goalpost (who also fell down) and calmly chipped the ball into the goal.
[divider]And, Of Course… the Commissioner of Football[/divider]
The legitimacy behind his declaration of his candidacy may seem a bit doubtful. Nevertheless, the brilliance behind the production of this series is not! Not only does he declare his candidacy for the English National Football Team, but Cantona also summarizes and points out certain stereotypes within the Footballing community itself in a humorous fashion.
King Eric might have been portrayed in a different light in this series but hey, he’s still in the spotlight!