What Does Cantona Expect From Reds?

Manchester United legend Eric Cantona believes the Reds will finish the season with a wealth of silverware and has praised the influence of Jose Mourinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the club.

The former France international striker was in Manchester last week for some special shows where he spoke to fans about his illustrious career at Old Trafford.

During his stay in the city, he sat down exclusively with ManUtd.com to discuss the Reds and he also spoke of his admiration for Mourinho and Ibrahimovic.

“I think they will win more than one trophy this season and the first one will be this one,” he declared in reference to Sunday’s EFL Cup final against Southampton. “Mourinho is a winner, he has won a lot of things and he is a great manager. I think United will win many things.

“The first one is important, I think. In a club like United, of course, you have the pressure of winning things so, when you win one, you have less pressure but people ask for more of course, and Mourinho doesn’t have any kind of problem with the pressure. He has been around for many years, he has been a manager of many great clubs and has won things with all of them, and improved the team every time, so he will win. They will win it, don’t worry! [Smiles].

“I think he plays more attacking football than he used to play and he tries to understand the expectation all the time [of the club],” added Cantona. “He is a very intelligent man, very clever, and he has a great sense of humour. I always said that before he came to United. He takes all the pressure on him, he doesn’t care about any kind of pressure. He’s great psychologically. He takes all the pressure on him so it’s less pressure on others and so the players can enjoy [it].”

Comparisons have already been made between Cantona and Ibrahimovic, in regards to their character and the impact both have made at the club. What has impressed Eric so much is the Swede’s support for the young players in the squad, something Cantona feels strongly about having helped the Class of '92 youngsters settle into the first team back in the 1990s.

“He is a great player and a strong personality, he played for Milan, he played for Barcelona so he knows all the about the pressure, he understands it and he has proved that he is also a great man,”
explained Cantona, whose new film, Anka, for which he learnt Croatian, has just been released. “There are two kinds of older players, the ones that don’t like the young ones because they want to play and they can destroy them, and the others who will help.

“I remember when I was 17, I played with [Andrzej] Szarmach. He was Polish, he played in two World Cup semi-finals, he was a great player and he helped me so much. I remember this and said to myself when I am older, I will try to do the same, and I’m sure Ibrahimovic does the same. He is very helpful for young players because he is a great player with a strong personality, and he is the right older player who wants to help the younger ones. It’s very important to have an experienced player who gives examples to the other ones.”