The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 237 Bottle Opener

"It's not surprising that Cantona did anything bad, but it was unexpected that he brought such a big improvement to the Red Devils. His joining made the Red Devils' attacking system like a magic injection. The players in the frontcourt had a magical chemical reaction. Now the Red Devils have become a beast with great destructive power."

--Inscription

On the first day Cantona joined the Red Devils, his performance immediately changed the views of many Red Devils players.

Cantona arrived at the training ground on time for the first training session. Strictly speaking, he arrived early because he had a habit of warming up early. This alone surprised the staff at the Manchester United base, "How could a bad boy be so hardworking?"

Starting warm-up early, Cantona then carried out adaptive training with the team, group confrontation, individual training, etc. These were all completed normally, and Cantona did not have any special ideas.

Cantona's individual shooting practice did not produce any earth-shattering performances. There were many players who could perform various fancy moves in training. No matter how good Cantona was, he would not surprise the Red Devils players and coaching staff.

But the Red Devils coach and players discovered a new world. Ferguson was the first to verify the rumors he had heard long ago, "Cantona is really special. He completes his training every day according to the highest standards. This is not our standard, but his high standard that is higher than ours. Not only that, he also consciously practices more after training, spending a lot of time on boring exercises."

The Red Devils players were stunned by Cantona's behavior.

This Frenchman has no bad habits. He does not accept interviews, does not ask for leave without permission, does not participate in team entertainment activities, does not propose any family dinners, and does not take the initiative to let teammates ride in his car... He is indeed independent and special, but he has a special obsession with training. He consciously practices every day and is said to continue training at home. This dedicated attitude, self-discipline and incomparable enthusiasm make his teammates who are used to going to and from get off work on time every day feel ashamed.

It’s not that there are people who have extra training for the Red Devils, but people like Hughes who occasionally do extra training once or twice according to their own ideas are still not as abnormal as Cantona.

Gary Neville and Beckham were completely shocked. They actually saw a senior who was more enthusiastic about extra training than themselves.

Cantona brought a new style, which surprised Ferguson. Ferguson said: "Cantona changed everything, and the players were deeply influenced. Cantona set an example and gave the players a strong stimulus. He made everyone understand that being stronger and having more training is the basis for the display of talent."

Cantona's extraordinary skills also impressed everyone. His teammates were convinced by this. They knew very clearly that the level Cantona reached in training was almost unattainable for them, not to mention the dominance he showed in the game. The reporter who followed the team recorded Cantona's internal training games in detail. He always gave his all and used his best performance to defeat the opponent. The Red Devils' internal games were real fights, but Cantona's team won almost every confrontation.

Cantona seemed to master magic. He could dribble past opponents, change the rhythm to make opponents make mistakes, dribble forward, create opportunities, and shoot in various ways... The Red Devils sometimes played on small pitches, which required fine small ball skills and micro-operations. Cantona was even more impressive. He controlled his strength precisely, used small feints to shake off opponents, and passed them by suddenly accelerating and changing direction. He was able to find opportunities in advance and create space.

“He’s a master of control.”

"He has magic with his feet, and he has all kinds of fake moves."

"His shooting is really accurate. He can hit the target every time."

Beckham asked Cantona how to kick a precise looping ball, just like he had discovered a new world. Scholes asked him how to find opportunities in the front court. Even the big players in the team, such as Hughes, took the initiative to discuss how to create opportunities in the front court... Cantona was actually very patient. He never tired of demonstrating how to score goals, how to identify situations, how to observe open spaces, how to design passing routes, how to run and receive, how to conceive space creation... He could be almost everyone's friend and partner. He always made his teammates more comfortable and the team more coordinated and efficient.

The media who wanted to watch the fun dropped their eyes to the ground.

Cantona was not as irritable, arrogant and domineering as rumored, and his teammates soon became comfortable with him.

Outside of training and matches, Cantona was very quiet, even a little introverted. Some people had previously spread rumors that he would often beat and scold his teammates and attack the coach, and the Red Devils players now felt that he was a complete joke. Gary Neville recalled many years later, "Kung Fu kicks, a series of red cards, fists waved at Galatasaray... Cantona is always described as a thug who breaks the rules and a criminal who destroys the team, but is he really a violent maniac? We firmly believe that he is not. Eric is always gentle and quiet. He doesn't even make a sound when drinking. He is completely different from us British people. He is not arrogant, but very low-key, and sometimes surprisingly elegant. He can write poems, paint, sing arias, and I have even heard that he can compose his own songs... How can this be a barbarian? If it weren't for the field of professional football, you would even think he was an artist or a philosopher."

Gary said: "Cantona has always remained true to himself. His daily car is also very simple and unpretentious. As for the world's only graffiti-board Rolls-Royce sports car, it is his work of art. Eric has always lived in a terraced house in Salford and has never planned to buy a luxury villa or manor. He attends all group activities, Christmas parties, and gatherings with family members. He is always very polite and decent, and even doesn't like to make noise at parties."

The Red Devils player that Cantona hated the most was Pallister, because this guy was very lazy and would slack off whenever he had the chance, not to mention taking the initiative to practice. Cantona began to semi-force Pallister to practice one-on-one offense and defense with him, often only asking for it after all the training sessions were over.

Pallister could not endure this kind of torture, but he could not refuse. In addition to Cantona's polite request, his aura, the half-smile on his face, and the temperament of a "social big brother" made Pallister have to take the initiative to practice more.

Pallister later recalled: "What can I say? I saw with my own eyes that Ince went to provoke him, and he was beaten like a dog by the Frenchman, and his whole body was bruised. After returning, he didn't dare to complain. I could only silently train according to his requirements, even if I couldn't breathe, I had to keep up with his rhythm."

Pallister said: "Cantona has his own aura. He is the second most important person after the boss. I think Robson, Bruce, Hughes and other guys have to obey him."

Robson felt he could give up the captain's armband. "Cantona was the leader. He rarely spoke, but when he did, everyone was as quiet as a chicken. It felt like he had ruled this place for decades, and I was like a guest."

When deploying tactics, Ferguson emphasized that Cantona should play as a striker, but there was no restriction on his position, and he was directly announced that he could play in any position in the front court. Ferguson later said: "I think Cantona should be given tactical privileges, so that he knows how to participate in the game and can decide how to run and attack."

Subsequent games proved that Cantona's joining immediately brought about a qualitative change in the Red Devils as a whole. He was like a magical substance that not only changed the Red Devils' structure, but also changed the Red Devils' tactical content, and also changed the Red Devils' rhythm and offensive methods. In a word, he changed the Red Devils as a whole!

Cantona has a magical ability, the most obvious of which is his extreme self-confidence, which makes those around him full of confidence and courage. He is actually so confident that his opponents dare not act rashly, and he can further boost the morale of the Red Devils team. Cantona's skills are certainly not the best in the Premier League, but his temperament is definitely the strongest. He also has a tough label, fierce and violent, iron-blooded and domineering. His unique temperament also carries a kind of arrogance that looks down on opponents. The addition of this high-handed momentum has created a new chemical reaction in the entire team.

Cantona brought revolutionary changes to the Red Devils' 442 formation. In the traditional 442 formation, Cantona retreated slightly, but he did not play a pure striker position such as No. 9 or No. 11, nor a pure No. 10. Instead, he roamed flexibly in the frontcourt and changed at any time according to the situation. He became the command center of the team's offense and the pillar of the offense. He could also become the most powerful attacking point at any time.

From an outsider's point of view, Ferguson only put Cantona next to Mark Hughes, which was just a double striker, but Cantona's position behind the center forward was very particular. He would give Hughes more opportunities to get the ball with his back and attack the opponent's central defender, and better connect the two wing attackers, and smoothly get the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt. Ferguson believed in Cantona's ball possession advantage and trusted him to command the attack in the frontcourt, allowing him to hold the ball more and organize the ball, and take over the task of launching the attack. The Red Devils' lineup showed more of a 4411 attack formation, but it could be transformed into a 3-forward formation with Cantona and McClair at any time, or it could be transformed into a 4213 formation with Giggs or Kanchelskis, with Cantona becoming the key 1; when confronting the opponent's midfield, it would flexibly become a 451 formation, with Cantona and McClair both retreating deep to play in the middle of the midfield, allowing the Red Devils' midfield to maintain a numerical advantage. When Mark Hughes also chased back to the half court to defend, the Red Devils' defensive intensity was the strongest, and it was also the critical point closest to successfully stealing the ball and counterattacking. At this time, if there was an opportunity to counterattack, Cantona would quickly move forward to the midfield, leading the team to press forward quickly, and sometimes he would lead the team to accelerate the attack.

Cantona's position is flexible and free, and opponents can hardly send a dedicated defender to closely guard him. Cantona can appear in any position in the front court at any time, and will win the confrontation with the opponent, breaking the balance of offense and defense in this area and winning offensive opportunities.

Ferguson was right. Cantona was a bottle opener - he had a mysterious energy that could open up space. He was also a metronome that could help the team find a reasonable and efficient offensive and defensive rhythm, thereby better controlling the game.

Cantona is like a top chef who adds the secret seasoning to the main dish at the very end of cooking, suddenly activating the team, making it powerful and strong.

Cantona quickly activated the Red Devils' training and stimulated the players' energy. Ferguson initially wanted to give Cantona at least two weeks to slowly adapt to the team, but he did not expect that the French striker would integrate into the team without any obstacles and directly become the soul of the team. The Red Devils found a guiding light.

Many years later, the famous journalist Andy Mitten commented on Cantona, "For the Red Devils at the time, Cantona was the most important piece of the championship puzzle. It would have been impossible without him. It was he who helped the Red Devils win the first league championship trophy in 26 years. He did not play the kind of football that most people understand, but the kind of football that is full of imagination. The most rare thing is that this kind of football can also bring victory, which is why the Red Devils fans like him."

Mitten said: "How crazy are the Manchester United fans? They even sang the Marseillaise at Old Trafford just to dedicate it to Cantona."

Everything proves that after signing Cantona, the Red Devils started a new journey and began a new impact on the Premier League championship.