The King

(This dispatch comes to us from us our Parisian correspondent, Massaër Ndiaye, aka Madsear.)

"Collar turned up, back straight, chest stuck out, he glided into the arena as if he owned the fucking place. Any arena, but nowhere more effectively than Old Trafford. This was his stage. He loved it, the crowd loved him" - Roy Keane

It was the kick seen 'round the world.

On this day eleven years ago at Selhurst Park, a Crystal Palace hooligan got the shit kicked out of him by a player from the opposite side who had just been sent off. See, one of the beauties of the premiership is that the seats are so close it allows players to dive in the stands feet first to settle the score if they hear racial slurs shouted at them. In the most unorthodox way possible, Eric Cantona created the biggest piece of entertainment this side of the Atlantic had ever seen. His Kung-Fu kick was retransmitted more times than the JFK assassination.

Eric Le Rouge was born in Marseille and that explains a lot. Like Zinédine Zidane, he was an artist on the pitch but could show his temper if provoked. But off the pitch, Cantona was an artist as well. A painter, a poet and philosopher for some, an all-around weird dude for others. An icon for all.

Eric arrived at 26 in England after quite the eventful career in France. He threw a ball at the referee in his last game and was radiated from the French league in 1992. Two years prior to that he called the French manager Henri Michel a "bag full of shit" (not to put too fine a point on it). Just 25, he decided to retire. Michel Platini called him after 3 months and asked him to try The Big Island. It was a match made in heaven, first at Leeds United where he won a championship his first year and then at Old Trafford where he won four championships in 5 years and won the "double" twice, an unprecedented achievement.

The King was a genius, pure and simple. He transcended the sport. His whole career was about battling injustice. He always stood for his beliefs and stayed proud - some would say regal - on the pitch. After he was sentenced to 2 weeks in jail and 8 months of suspension for his ninja act, his only response was "When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea." Exactly.

Having abdicated his football throne at the relatively young age of thirty, he is now enjoying a successful acting career. And as an actor, he's as unpredictable as he was on the pitch. The footballer left the building but the artist remains.