Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has become a celebrity in Portugal, as he’s been living in Lisbon for a few months while he works on new projects.
The 50-year-old gave a big interview to A Bola over the weekend, where besides talking about his recent work, he was also asked to comment on the sport that made him famous.
Questioned if modern football lacks a bit of art, the Frenchman said: “I think football is always an art, an art which lives from artists, from passionate people. Football is a mirror of society, cinema is a mirror of society. Politics are also a mirror of society.”
After saying perhaps the most Cantona thing ever, the Frenchman continued with the same line of thought: “Politics aren’t done today as they were done fifty years ago. Clubs aren’t managed today as they were managed fifty years ago. Cinema also isn’t done today as it was done fifty years ago. I don’t know if the evolution was positive or not, but speaking of the game itself, I think football is always better and more beautiful when played by great players.”
But is there something still lacking? He answered: “Many times what’s more heartbreaking is for the spectators, because nowadays those who go to the stadiums are only those who have the resources to go. Football is a sport of the people, a popular sport, and nowadays people don’t have the money to go to stadiums.
“This football, yes, ends up being sad. Something that needs to be changed for the future is to allow that the youngster go to the stadiums to watch the games he likes, watch the team he likes best. You shouldn’t only watch games on TV, you have to go to the stadium to see what you want to see. TV shows us what they want to show, at the stadium we see what we like to see.”
When asked what he meant by that, the Manchester United great was of course happy to elaborate: “I remember a game I watched in Barcelona when the manager was Rijkaard and there was a corner against Barcelona. Rijkaard left three attackers on the halfway line, one of them was Ronaldinho and the others I can’t remember.
“Naturally, the camera showed what was happening in the corner, but at the stadium we saw there were three players on the halfway line and that if the goalkeeper caught the ball he could pass it directly to one of these players. That is, Barcelona showed the best defence in this case was attack, because they obliged the opponent not to put so many players in their box, but this we could realise being at the stadium, as on the television we would hardly realise that.”
“But then there’s also the feeling. In the youth clubs there is the necessity to see youngsters debuting in big games, in European competitions. We see players preparing themselves, and going to the stadium is part of learning. They’re youngsters from popular neighbourhoods who became great players. And if young people can’t go to the stadiums it will always lack something. To make people go back to football, football deserves it.”
Questioned about why people don’t go to football matches anymore, he said: “These days, going to a football match costs 100 or 200 euros, it’s too much money. If a father goes with a son or two, it’s too much money.
“On the other hand, football these days keeps being played by great players such as Ronaldo or Messi, who make everyone dream, and who are passionate, who earn a lot of money and could pay to play. Even if they didn’t receive money, they’d pay to play or to be in big matches. It’s this passion as well, to pay to be in the big matches. All people dream of watching games like these, of watching them play and of being like them.”
The former player was also asked if he plans to be a manager someday. Several times in the past, Cantona has publicly flirted with the idea of managing Manchester United, but surely that ship has sailed given that he’s involved in coaching.
Despite that, Cantona is keeping his options open and won’t rule out the possibility of one day giving it a go: “I’m not sure of what I’m going to do, I don’t know what I do well. What I know is that I want to live and have the means to express myself… Above all I want to have the means to express myself.”
