Eric Cantona's Trials and Tribulations at Montpellier

Eric Cantona was an enigma. He was one of the few footballers who embraced the essence of being ‘crazy’ and revelled in his image of being a ‘rebel’. Because of his actions, Cantona acquired the tag of being a ‘journeyman’ who changed clubs as a result of his longing for a place which he could really find himself. He did end up becoming the ‘King of Old Trafford’ as he finally found home in Manchester, Cantona’s career has always been full of incidents that portray his curious personality and his unorthodox approach to life.

Throughout his career, Cantona’s quirky behaviour, comments and performances on the pitch became a big subject of intrigue for the media. It was something new, fresh and sometimes downright crazy and the media in England and France showed no hesitation in milking whatever the Marseillas said or did. As a result, Cantona became a source of fascination for the public and as much as it was tormenting for the Frenchman, it shrouded his character in even more mystery.

Before he found home at Manchester United though, Cantona’s career in France had witnessed a fair share of ups and downs. It was filled to the brim with the stunning anecdotes and events which pretty much defined him as an individual. From his promising breakthrough at Auxerre to a rather unfair character assassination at Marseille, Cantona’s spell at southern club Montpellier was fitting a encapsulation of his career as a whole. The fact that it was a loan spell is further proof of the same.

It, in fact, had come just after his short loan spell at Bordeaux. At Girondins, Cantona spent about five months but was constantly in the middle of a rivalry involving the infamous owner of his parent club Marseille - Bernard Tapie and Bordeaux chairman Claude Bez. Both of them, it has been described, hated each other and it was rather fitting that many years on, Tapie faced legal charges and Bordeaux’s accounts became a source of legal intrigue. Cantona wanted to stay as far away as possible from Marseille and had spoken rather openly about Tapie’s misdemeanours.