Eric Cantona was an interesting character, apart from being one of the best players of his generation. Not only did he walked away from the game too early, but he had ‘episodes’ during his seasons with Manchester United. The most famous was off course a kung-fu style kick on a Crystal Palace supporter back in 1995, for which he received a nine-month ban. And who thought he would learn from his mistake was wrong. It was revealed recently that he nearly had a fight with another player on his first game after a suspension. Eric Cantona’s kung-fu kick against a Crystal Palace fan, 1995. pic.twitter.com/hUbYL6iW2X— 90s Football (@90sfootball) June 25, 2019 Former Liverpool defender Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock was playing at the time in the Premier League, and it’s safe to say that the player also had it’s ‘moments’, like when he allegedly spent two nights drinking in a pub with non-other than the former South Africa president Nelson Mandela! But in this particular story, he spoke on the ‘All to Play For podcast’ about winding up Cantona, but later feared to be beaten by the Frenchman.Where a King should be throned if not in the Hall of FameIt was the big derby between Liverpool and Manchester United, Cantona’s first match after serving a nine months ban and Ruddock had a habit of winding up opposition players in order to motivate himself, and that day, he choose Cantona. “He used to wear his collar up – I used to put it down. I carried on, and he said, ‘I’ll fight you in the tunnel’, I went ‘yeah of course you will you n**’. He was going to kill me after. I’ve got to get into his head, like Di-Canio, and then all he’ll want to do is fight me. So I’ve turned his collar down and he wants to fight me. I was doing it at goal kicks, Schmeichel was kicking it and I was doing it and getting out of his way. So the ball’s dead, and I’ve done it. He’s swung for me, and as I’ve turned round he’s toe-punted me…. I do it again, and do it again” recalled Ruddock. ##NAJAVA_MECA_6521549##After the match, which started with a Liverpool lead, but ended 2-2 after Cantona’s late penalty equalizer, Ruddock began to feel uncomfortable, since it was time to go to the tunnel and face the Frenchman. Eventually, he was saved by keeper David James, who was as big as Cantona. “So I’m striding to the half-way line and he’s saying, ‘come on fat boy’, and I get to the half-way line, and I’m getting out of my head thinking, ‘f**k me, he is big’. David James ripped his gloves off, and Cantona went and legged it up the tunnel” said Ruddock. He turned out to be a coward, but eventually escaped the beating that’s to his his goalie.
