Manchester United fans have been privileged to see some great players few the years, and few are as iconic as Eric Cantona.
Sir Alex Ferguson was a shrewd manager who would have found a way to win trophies even without Eric Cantona, as he proved before and after the Frenchman, but his great side of the early-to-mid-90s reached a whole new level once ‘The King’ was signed in November 1992.
Cantona had an aura about him on and off the pitch, showing incredibly technical quality and fighting spirit which occasionally went over the top.
He was the quintessential Manchester United number seven, and is revered to this day as one of the great club legends, an ultimate fan favourite for those lucky enough to see him play, in person or from afar.
‘New Eric Cantona’
How do you possibly replace Eric Cantona, was the dilemma Sir Alex Ferguson was left with back in 1997, with the striker’s abrupt retirement.
Well, you can’t replace a player like that, and never will. And while a few players have popped their collars up, Cantona is truly one of a kind.
30 years on, Manchester United are back at square one, with the magic dust of the Fergie era drying up a long time ago, and current manager Erik ten Hag trying to somehow get this titanic club back on track.
The 2023/24 squad is a mixed bag, blessed with some wondrous young talent like the squad of the 1990s, and after the Boxing Day win over Aston Villa, one player has earned comparisons to Eric Cantona himself.
This player is wonderkid Alejandro Garnacho who struck a brace in the win over Villa, saying after the game he ‘wanted to take control‘.
In an editorial for Spanish newspaper Marca, writer Alberto Rubio compares Garnacho’s emergence as a leader to Cantona’s rise in 1992.
It is claimed United ‘may have their own Eric Cantona at home’, commenting: “The Spanish-Argentine does not have the [artistic] talent of ‘The King’… but he has inherited that indomitable character that allows him to rebel against any adversity. Pure gold for a faint-hearted team that goes to the canvas at the slightest blow.
“Garnacho wears the ’17’, but he also has the charisma and that air of a ‘rock and roll’ star that, for some time now, has characterized United’s number ‘7’: Cantona, Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo.
“His unstable character, his irreverent style of play, his slightly cocky attitude, his defiant gaze… make the former Atlético player the legitimate heir of the ‘enfant terrible’. He lacks a goal [he must learn to be more altruistic and decide better], but he has plenty of overflow and ability to unbalance.”
Alejandro Garnacho has a bit of everything
This comparison between some of Garnacho’s traits and Eric Cantona’s is incredibly high praise. Whether it is a likeness which you feel is accurate or not, there are some elements of truth to it, with Garnacho displaying a real maverick personality on the pitch.
If you are talking about a player with energy and ability to lift the crowd and his teammates, Garnacho is exactly that.
Garnacho though, is his own man. His idol is a former Manchester United number seven who he played alongside, Cristiano Ronaldo, who even supplied his first ever assist.
He is also playing alongside Lionel Messi for Argentina, where he could have more great shoes to fill.
Garnacho has proven this season he is capable of magic, scoring one of the greatest overhead kick goals you will ever see, a strike that will still be talked about in 20 years time.
Winning four of the next five league titles like Cantona did in his years at United probably looks beyond Garnacho right away, but he is at a very different stage of his career. The King was in his late-20s when he signed for United.
Garnacho is learning his trade on the job at United, a daunting task, like his idol Ronaldo. But the early signs are very encouraging.
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