Eric Cantona

I think this is a very well written book about an extraordinary character. I did not grow up a Man U fan, actually Spurs.But Eric Cantona was one of most controversial characters to play in Premier League and at his hey day fantastic to watch when not embroiledin off field antics.I wanted to get to know more about him and his pysche.What is revealing is how he was (mis)treated by French and Marseilles fans so you can see how he had the proverbial chip on his shouldereven before joining Leeds/Man U.A gifted but slightly flawed individual, this is a highly interesting read on his upbringing in France and how his career blossomed and falteredand that is before even getting into his Premier League exploits.The book does get into maybe too many details about his career in Francebut it also gives good insight into how his mind works so will set you up for how he came about entering the Premier League and his thought process and infamously violent side. Overall a fascinating read.

Okay, I'm a big Cantona fan - there I said it. Genius, yes. Flawed, yes.To the book.... I own quite a few autobiographies. Most are truly atrocious, offering very little insight to the person themselves. This book is difference in many ways.It's not written with the involvement or authorization of Cantona at all. That I think helps more than hinders as it means we spend a lot of time exploring the life story of Eric - it certainly doesn't focus on the "glory years" of Eric's football in England, which we don't get to until 2/3rd of the way into the book.And that's perhaps the downside for some (but not me). I was interested to learn about his early life, his family, his time in French football - all things I knew nothing about. Others looking for 400 pages of Eric's career at Manchester United will feel short changed.The one thing against a 5 star is the author's tendency to dwell just too much on the psuedo-intellectual side of things.....but then he too is French!

CANTONA,When you read this book you will discover what makes ERIC the star that he was, and the man that he was. Once you treated him with respect and showed that he was wanted Cantona would do anything for you.In Cantona world every thing was black or white, if you kicked him,he would kick you back.When ERIC got suspended by they French football authority he got 2 matches,he though this was on fair just because of who he was, as every one else who done the same thing had got only one match,so he went up to the 3 officals and shouted into their faces one by one, IDIOT,he then got 4 matches that was ERIC, Strange Man, Fantastic footballer.

Enjoyable read with some interesting character analysis, although there isn't really an explanation of why he's like that. Gives some good inside information on some of the key episodes in his career with a rich analysis afterwards. Really needs to have links to his goals on youtube embedded in the text, because descriptions are great and afterwards you want to see the goals or moves!

good book and well written. author talks up football as an art, which in my opinion, is always an interesting concept.keep the internet close by while reading to google the goals described.

Great read

Love Eric and his story but not by this author. Football is a simple game, so are autobiographies, however the author ruins this book by trying to be too clever in his writing style. This is the first book where I was getting lost in the authors attempt to describe something that should have been straightforward. I read a lot of biographies but this is the first I did not finish.

Fantastic

When I first started to read this book, I found the English quirky and unusual and wodnered whether i would get into it. I persevered. I am pleased I did. It is well worth the effort. The author has a clear passion for his subject who is a Footballing legend. His research is detailed. he does not gloss over his subject's flaws. His analysis is objective and well argued. It is a real page turner. This is one of the best football biographies I have read and I have read a lot. Superb. .

Phillipe Auclair is a widely respected French football writer and author, and long term resident of London. In combining an outsider's perspective of the Premier League with an insider's view of its French stars he is one of the most interesting voices on contemporary football. In many ways he is the natural person to write a biography of Eric Cantona.By and large he does a good job in this lengthy and exhaustive work, but "Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King" - like its subject - is far from perfect.For a start its tone is rather uneven, and while parts are elegantly written other sections can be plodding and prone to Auclair's digressions. He is also fixated with the factual errors in Cantona's English autobiography, but really he should look closer to home before criticising other authors.For example Cantona was not the first foreign player to win the English league and FA Cup double, that was Jan Molby - and for Manchester United Cantona shared the feat with Andrei Kanchelskis, which merits no mention. Mickael Madar's stay in England was not as inauspicious as Auclair makes out: indeed he practically saved Everton from relegation in 1997/98. He also seems to get the year of the Hillsborough disaster wrong.He uses the example of record numbers of Daily Telegraph readers removing Cantona from their fantasy football teams after the kung fu kick on Matthew Simmons as an example of fans adopting "the moral high ground" ("a comfortable place to be," he sneers), but weren't they just protecting themselves from his inevitable ban?Although the author is a long-time resident in England, his contacts seem to be mostly French. This is fine up to a point, but the blow-by-blow account of Cantona's career in Ligue 1 becomes boring very quickly. The reliance on French sources also limits the insights from Cantona's British colleagues, which are mostly recycled from old interviews. To a Premier League fan this would be fascinating, but the views of his Elland Road and Old Trafford team mates are frequently overshadowed by French voices.Around half of this lengthy book is devoted to Cantona's time at Manchester United, which is by far the most interesting period of his career and when Auclair clicks into gear. There is plenty of new information about Cantona's curious life in Manchester - how he lived at a motel, while his family remained 25 minutes down the M62 in Leeds; or his habit of drinking in down-at-heel pubs with Basile Boli's brother. Some of the insights garnered from Ken Loach's film "Looking for Eric" - such as his habit of referring to himself in the third person ("I am Cantona") - are confirmed.Some of Cantona's less obvious contradictions are also exposed. He apparently cares nothing for materialism, but jealously guards his image rights and is fixated by his sponsors Nike.This is a long book but it ends very abruptly - at the end of the 1996/97 season when Cantona retires - his "death" - as Auclair dramatically puts it. His reasons for ending the book here are rather tenuous - it is meant to be a footballing life. But surely one of the most interesting things is how Cantona reinvented himself as an artist and actor afterwards?Yet for all its flaws, this a cut above the bog-standard football biography. Few have been crafted so meticulously in my memory - Leo McKinstry's books on Alf Ramsey and the Charlton brothers spring to mind - and Auclair should be applauded for his diligence. There are plenty of new insights and the French perspective is interesting having been used to the bog-standard Mancunian hagiography over the past 18 years. A good read, if not quite a tour de force.

Ultimately one of the best sports books I've read. Auclair gives us an unbiased viewpoint on cantona's life, and is never afraid to criticise and openly discuss the various events that dogged him in controversy. As someone who was not alive to see Cantona, Auclair vividly describes moments and games and I would recommend this to all sports fans.

This is a great football biography of a player who is an all time legend at OT. The book gives an honest account of Eric's football career both in praise of his genius as a footballer but also his character flaws (the tendency to self destruct) and the regrets that he never quite performed at his best in Europe or for France at a World Cup. I had not realised that Eric had played for so many clubs in France (indiscipline in the main getting him the boot from a few clubs) before moving to England and getting his chance of redemption both at Leeds and Manchester United. A great book for a great player. Long live the King!

This is the best sporting biography I’ve ever read. Fascinating subject matter which is thoroughly researched and perfectly described. If you have any interest in football and King Eric, this is a must read. Highly recommended!