Eric Cantona changes face of English soccer
By Vic Mills
LONDON (JP): The soccer world was rocked over the weekend by news that Eric Cantona had decided to retire. As Chelsea, 2-0 winner over Middlesbrough, was parading the FA Cup around the streets of south London, Manchester United revealed that its French star had decided to quit.
During a tempestuous five-year love affair, Cantona changed the face of English soccer.
He was responsible for transforming Manchester United from a team of underachievers, laboring under the weight of not having won the championship since 1967, to the dominant force in the Premiership.
He denied it the old first division title one last time when he helped Leeds United win it in 1992. But, after Alex Ferguson had signed him for a bargain US$1.5 million in November of that year, United became unstoppable.
For four of the next five years, it was champion, with him as the fulcrum of the team. The only time it faltered - in 1995, when it lost the title to Blackburn Rovers - was when he was in the midst of serving an eight-month ban after the kung-fu style assault on a Crystal Palace fan.
At the end of that season, United parted company with Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis and put its faith in youth with the likes of Gary and Phil Neville, Nicky Butt and David Beckam. Cantona, after his return from suspension, was the bridge between the past and the future, and he duly helped them to a league and cup double that year.
This season, he led United to yet another championship as captain, but, despite some superb moments, his performances dipped below the level expected, most notably in crucial Champions Cup games.
News of his departure wiped $15 million off Manchester United's market capitalization when the London stock market opened Monday morning. Speculation is now rife over his likely replacement.
Yet the hunt for a successor will be just one deal in a summer where transfer activity is set to break all records. Aston Villa have already paid Liverpool $11 million for Stan Collymore, while Everton splashed out $7 million for West Ham's Croatian defender Slaven Bilic.
Liverpool, Newcastle United, Arsenal, Everton, Leeds and Tottenham Hotspur are all expected to spend heavily in the coming months. But Middlesbrough stands as a warning to the fact that talent can be imported, but harmony must be created from within.
A situation highlighted at Wembley where the decisive factor, in a disappointing game that oozed foreign stars, was not the goals of Roberto Di Matteo or Eddie Newton, but the contribution of the respective managers.
A player of the modern world, Ruud Gullit knew the backgrounds, the temperaments and the cultures of all the players he bought on Chelsea's behalf. Bryan Robson, the archetypal English warrior, chose talents from another world and struggled all season to integrate their skills into the demands of the English game.
Struggle was the central theme at the Stadium Della Alpi on Sunday where Juventus and Parma played a mind-numbing 1-1 draw that left the Turin giants needing just a point against Atalanta on Friday to take its 24th Serie A championship.
Parma took a surprise lead in the 29th minute when a corner by Enrico Chiesa was sliced into his own net by Zinedine Zidane. Nicola Amoruso leveled with a penalty in the 40th minute after Fabio Cannavaro was controversially adjudged to have obstructed Christian Vieri.
Parma stands two points clear of third-place Internazionale which drew 1-1 in a hard fought game against Roma. With Lazio drawing 2-2 at the San Siro against AC Milan, the prime mover in Italy was Sampdoria which stands fifth after its 4-0 thrashing of Udinese.
A disputed penalty by Croatian striker Davor Suker in the 55th minute gave Real Madrid a 1-0 home win against Valladolid on Sunday to keep it on course for the Spanish championship. Having survive a disallowed goal and heavy pressure from the visitors, Real was awarded a penalty when Predrag Mijatovic collided with Juan Pena.
Barcelona had its chances of taking the runners-up spot boosted when rivals Deportivo de La Coruna and Real Betis each dropped points at home. Third place Deportivo missed chance after chance, including a late penalty, in a goalless draw with struggling Sporting Gijon, while Real Betis conceded two goals in the last five minutes as near neighbors Sevilla came back to draw 3-3.
In the Bundesliga, Ulf Kristen, Germany's leading scorer, notched his 100th league goal in his 200th match as Bayer Leverkusen beat St Pauli 3-0, Erik Meijer and Hans-Peter Lehnhoff completed the scoring. Bayern Munich, 3-0 winner over Hansa Rostock, stands a point clear with two games left.
PSV Eindhoven moved closer to its 14th Dutch title after trashing Utrecht 6-1. Ajax made certain of a place in next season's UEFA Cup with a 3-2 home win over third-place Twente Enschede.
With AC Monaco already crowned champions in France, the race is on for the coveted runners-up spot and with it a place in next season's European Cup. With one game remaining, Nantes has snatched the initiative from Paris St Germain.
Extending its unbeaten run to 30 games, Nantes won 3-0 at home to Montpellier with goals from Adel Sellimi, Japhet N'Doram and Bruno Carotti, while PSG crashed 1-0 at arch-rivals Marseille.