A large, physically strong, hard-working and tenacious player, Cantona combined technical skill and creativity with power and goalscoring ability. Mostly utilised as a deep-lying forward , he was also capable of playing as a centre-forward , as an out-and-out striker , as an attacking midfielder , or as a central midfielder.
He wore the iconic number 7 shirt at Manchester United and was known for turning up his collar. He is affectionately nicknamed "King Eric" by Manchester United fans. Cantona won league championships in England and France in seven of his last eight full seasons as a professional, and at least one trophy in eight of his last nine.
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At international level, he played for the France national team and scored 20 goals in 45 matches. He was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in Cantona was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in Charismatic and outspoken, Cantona's achievements in football were set against fallings out with coaches and team-mates, and a poor disciplinary record throughout his career, including a conviction for an assault on an abusive spectator, for which he received a two-week prison sentence, reduced to community service on appeal, and an eight-month suspension from football.
In , Cantona unexpectedly announced his retirement from football at the age of He pursued a career in cinema and had roles in the film Elizabeth , starring Cate Blanchett ; the film French Film ; and the film Looking for Eric. In , he debuted as a stage actor in Face au Paradis , a play directed by his wife, Rachida Brakni. The Cantona family home was a cave in one of the hills in the Les Caillols area of Marseille, between the city's 11th and 12th arrondissements , and it was rumoured to have been used as a lookout post for the Wehrmacht towards the end of the Second World War.
The site was chosen in the mids by Cantona's paternal grandmother, whose husband was a stonemason. By the time Cantona was born in , the hillside cave had become little more than a room in the family's house, which was now up to a habitable standard.
