[12] While fighting the armies of General Franco in the Spanish Civil War in 1938, Cantona's maternal grandfather, Pere Raurich, suffered a serious injury to his liver and had to retreat to France for medical treatment with his wife.

[13] 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.

[citation needed] Cantona began his football career with SO Caillolais, his local team and one that had produced such talent as Roger Jouve and had players such as Jean Tigana and Christophe Galtier within its ranks.

The incident led to six players demanding that Cantona be sacked, but with the support of team-mates such as Laurent Blanc and Carlos Valderrama, the club retained his services, although they banned him from the ground for ten days.

[28] Having played little football in the six weeks before signing for Leeds, Cantona struggled to find a place in an established line-up, with manager Howard Wilkinson preferring to put him on against tiring defences.

Against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on 7 March, Cantona came off the bench to set up a goal for Gary McAllister, securing a win that moved Leeds two points ahead of Manchester United, who had a game in hand, in the title race.

[29] Cantona was deployed as a part of a front three, along with Chapman and Rod Wallace, in a 5–1 thrashing of Wimbledon at Elland Road on 14 March, scoring Leeds' fourth goal of the game.

[30] Leeds' title ambitions survived the difficult tests of Arsenal at Highbury (a 1–1 draw with Cantona denied a late winner by David Seaman) and West Ham (a 0–0 draw with Cantona being denied a first-half goal through a dubious offside decision); however, they lost 4–0 to Manchester City on 4 April at Maine Road, allowing Manchester United to take pole position in the title race again.

[36] Cantona then flew to Paris to join the France national team for a friendly against Brazil on the very same day, due to newly installed manager Gérard Houllier's desire to have the whole squad present for his first match.

[46] Furious at being dropped, Cantona refused to report for training and faxed a transfer request to the club on 24 November, stating a preference to join Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal.

Ferguson had identified that his team was in need of a striker, having recently made unsuccessful bids for David Hirst, Matt Le Tissier and Brian Deane, and instructed his chairman to ask whether Cantona was for sale.

They were falling behind the likes of big-spending Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers in the race for the first Premier League title, as well as surprise challengers including Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers.

Goalscoring had been a problem since the halfway point of the previous season – when it had cost them the league title as they suffered defeats or were held to draws at the hands of teams they had been expected to beat.

[71][57][72] There had been media speculation that Cantona would leave United to play for a foreign club when his suspension finished and many observers felt he would not be able to cope with the inevitable goading from rival players and supporters.

Ferguson persuaded him to stay in Manchester, despite interest from Italian club Inter Milan, who had managed to lure his team-mate Paul Ince to Italy that year.

[79][80] However, eight months without competitive football had taken its toll and Cantona struggled for form prior to Christmas; by 24 December, the gap between United and league leaders Newcastle had increased to 10 points and eventually 12.

[81] However, after defeat to Tottenham on New Year's Day, which by that point, Man Utd faced with a 12-point deficit, United went unbeaten for 12 consecutive league matches, including Cantona's first visit to Selhurst Park since he was banned,[82] during which he scored twice in a 4–2 win over Wimbledon.

[83] Victory over Arsenal on 20 March, with Cantona scoring the only goal of the game with a 25-yard half-volley, saw United overtake Newcastle in the title race, where they would remain for the rest of the season.

[86] "The terrace chant of "Ooh Aah Cantona", sung with such fervour by the Manchester United faithful whenever their French hero scored, looks set to become a trademark."

Dressed in a flat cap, he began by quoting William Shakespeare's King Lear – "As flies to wanton boys we are for the gods" – before referencing science, war and crime.

[94] In September 1988, angered after being dropped from the national team, Cantona referred to Michel as a "bag of shit" in a post-match TV interview and was indefinitely banned from all international matches.

Under Houllier, France failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States after losing the final game 2–1 at home to Bulgaria, when a draw would have sufficed.

[98] Cantona still harbours resentment for the people at the head of his national team but also admiration for his adopted football country; at UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he supported England and not France.

Appearing alongside football players from around the world, including Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini, Luís Figo, Patrick Kluivert and Jorge Campos, they defend "the beautiful game" against a team of demonic warriors, which ends with Cantona receiving the ball from Ronaldo, pulling up his shirt collar in his trademark style, and delivering the final line, "Au Revoir", before striking the ball which punches right through the demon goalkeeper.

[108][109] In a Nike campaign ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Cantona appeared as the lead spokesman for the Joga Bonito organisation, an association attempting to eliminate acting and fake play from football.

In 2007, Cantona enjoyed another successful year as manager, taking France to fourth place in the World Cup and narrowly missing out on a second European title, finishing runners-up to Portugal after a 7–6 loss in the final of the 2007 Euro Beach Soccer League.

[133] He was known for being both mentally and physically tough, and was highly regarded for his strong, commanding and charismatic personality, as well as his leadership qualities and bravery, which helped to alleviate pressure from his team-mates.

Wayne Barton notes that he first wore his collar up in a Manchester derby match on 7 November 1993, following United's elimination from Europe at the hands of Galatasary, commenting: "one wonders if, in his own superstitious way, this was Cantona's way of calming that fire inside him after the trip to Turkey, a way to focus his thoughts on moving forward.

[141] Despite his talent and ability, he was also notorious for his aggression, confrontational behaviour, volatile temper and lack of discipline on the pitch, as well as his tendency to commit hard challenges, which made him a highly controversial figure in world football.

"[140] He drew criticism from certain pundits for being inconsistent at times,[148] and for his disappointing performances at international level[149] and in European club competitions, as well as his lack of significant speed, which was particularly evident in his later career with his advancing age.