Eric Cantona, one of the most gifted footballers ever, has a new movie coming out. “Looking for Eric“.
Seems shocking that anyone would turn to King Eric for advice, given his past aggressions and hot temper.
But maybe that’s how far he’s come.
He was featured in the Nike commercials that ran during the 2006 World Cup (Joga Bonita). I remember sitting in a bar a few years ago in San Francisco and one of the patrons and I struck up a conversation about soccer. He stated that Cantona was the greatest player ever – it could have been the booze, but he was pretty adamant about it.
(I chose Baggio as a favorite, followed very closely by Stoichkov – I’m a sucker for players with passion.)
Maybe some people put their past behind them without ever publicly acknowledging it. It seems to me that he’s a good example of this (at least, to date).
By the way, one of the best quotes I’ve heard came from King Eric after he went Bruce Lee on a fan:
When the seagulls follow the trawler it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea. Thank you very much.