• Premier League

Cantona labels kung fu kick his greatest memory

ESPN staff
March 4, 2011
Eric Cantona was banned for nine months following his attack on a Crystal Palace fan at Selhurst Park © Getty Images
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Eric Cantona has singled out his infamous kung fu kick as the greatest highlight of his illustrious career.

Cantona is remembered as one of the best players to have donned the Manchester United shirt, having won four Premier League titles and two FA Cups during his time at Old Trafford. In 1994 he was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year, but none of those memories possess the fondest place in the Frenchman's recollections.

Despite endless highlights such as the chip against Sunderland, the volley at Wimbledon or the FA Cup final winner against Liverpool at Wembley, Cantona picks out the moment when he attacked a football fan as his favourite. The taunts of Crystal Palace 'supporter' Matthew Simmons proved enough in 1995 to prompt Cantona into a flying kick at Simmons, earning him a nine-month ban.

Asked on BBC's Football Focus what the highlight of his career was, he responded: "When I did the kung fu kick on the hooligan, because these kinds of people don't have to be at the game.

"I think maybe it's like a dream for some, you know sometimes to kick these kind of people. So I did it for them. So they are happy. It's a kind of freedom for them.

"So I speak about that because maybe they felt it. Because they felt something special physically. Maybe it was a different feeling. It's a great feeling, but different."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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