page_title: Eric Cantona
section_title: 1995–96 season
hierarchical_section_title: Eric Cantona / Club career / England / Manchester United / 1995–96 season
caption_attribution_description: English: Spitting Image Puppet of Éric Cantona displayed at the "Only a Game" exhibition at the World Museum, Liverpool. [1]
context_page_description: Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes, and Leeds United before ending his career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in five years and two League and FA Cup Doubles. He won the league championship in seven of his last eight full seasons as a professional. At international level, he played for the French national team.
  A large, physically strong, hard-working, and tenacious forward who combined technical skill and creativity with power and goalscoring ability, Cantona is often regarded as having played a key role in the revival of Manchester United as a footballing force in the 1990s and having an iconic status at the club. He wore the No. 7 shirt at Manchester United, and is known for turning up his collar. Cantona is affectionately nicknamed by Manchester United fans as "King Eric" and was voted as the team's greatest ever player by Inside United magazine.
context_section_description: In his comeback game against Liverpool on 1 October 1995, Cantona set up a goal for Nicky Butt two minutes into the game, and then scored a penalty after Ryan Giggs was fouled to secure a point for Manchester United in a 2–2 home draw against their great rivals. However, eight months without competitive football had taken its toll and Cantona struggled for form prior to Christmas – by 24 December, the gap between Manchester United and league leaders Newcastle United had increased to 10 points.
  However, after defeat to Tottenham on New Year's Day, United went unbeaten for 12 consecutive league matches, including Cantona's first visit to Selhurst Park since he was banned, during which he scored twice in a 4–2 win over Wimbledon. Victory over Arsenal on 20 March, with Cantona scoring the only goal of the game, saw United overtake Newcastle in the title race, where they would remain for the rest of the season. The goal came as part of a personal scoring run of six consecutive league matches for Cantona, four of which saw him score the game's only goal. He scored the fifth in a 5–0 win over Nottingham Forest on the penultimate day of the season, a result that meant that United realistically only needed to avoid defeat at Middlesbrough on the final day; they won 3–0 to secure their third league title in four years. Cantona finished the season as the club's top scorer with 14 goals from 30 league appearances.
  Cantona's ban meant he was not eligible to appear in their League Cup or UEFA Cup campaigns, but he did score in four of Manchester United's six matches on the way to the 1996 FA Cup Final against Liverpool, their third in a row in the competition. In the absence of regular captain Steve Bruce due to injury, Cantona wore the armband for the final and took on the captain's responsibility by volleying in the only goal of the game in the 86th minute after Liverpool had failed to clear a corner. Manchester United's victory made them the first club to win the Double twice and Cantona the first FA Cup-winning captain from outside the British Isles.
caption: Puppet of Cantona which appeared on the British satirical puppet show Spitting Image during the 1990s
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