Eric Cantona
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His image appears on the back of a magazine being read by the star of the "Introducing Morrissey" opening sequence.
Excerpt from the NME blog "How Eric Cantona’s Infamous Kung-Fu Kick Helped Inspire Morrissey’s Most Daring Ever Solo Album" by Al Horner (January 20, 2015):
Sent off for the fourth time in four months, Manchester United’s French forward Eric Cantona was heading for the tunnel at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park early in the second half of a nervy 0-0 draw, when, hearing xenophobic abuse from a home fan, he launched a kung-fu kick into the supporter’s chest. The outcry was enormous. Morrissey, inevitably, was enraptured. He began turning up to interviews in Cantona t-shirts, howling his praises: “I find him very exciting,” Morrissey beamed to one interviewer. “I think [the kung-fu kick] set a good example. I found it very encouraging and glamorous.” The Mancunian started performing live with tambourines with “ERIC” and “CANTONA” scrawled on them, and even snuck the Frenchman’s image into a short film played as he came onstage each night on his 1996 world tour the following year. In the volatile, artistic, misunderstood Cantona, Morrissey saw a kindred spirit.
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Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (French: Éric; pronounced [e.ʁik dan.jɛl pjɛʁ kɑ̃.tɔ.na]; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor and former professional footballer. A large, physically strong, hard-working and tenacious player, Cantona combined technical skill and creativity with power and goalscoring ability. Invariably utilised as a deep-lying forward, he was also capable of playing as a centre-forward, as an out-and-out striker, as an attacking midfielder, or as a central midfielder. In 2004, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. Cantona played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes, and Leeds United before ending his career at Manchester United, with whom he won four Premier League titles in five years, including two League and FA Cup Doubles. He wore the iconic No. 7 shirt at Manchester United, and was known for turning up his collar – a trademark look. He is affectionately nicknamed by Manchester United fans as "King Eric". Cantona won the league championship across England and France in seven of his last eight full seasons as a professional, and at least one trophy in eight of his last nine. At international level, he played for the France national team and scored 20 goals in 45 matches. He appeared at UEFA Euro 1992 and, in preparation for Euro 96, was appointed the nation's captain. In 2003, Cantona was voted as Manchester United's greatest-ever player by Inside United magazine. He was an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. At the Premier League 10 Seasons Awards in 2003, he was voted the Overseas Player of the Decade. Cantona was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021. Charismatic and outspoken, Cantona's achievements in football were set against fallouts with coaches and team mates, and a poor disciplinary record throughout his career, including a 1995 conviction for an assault on an abusive spectator, for which he received a two-week prison sentence, reduced to community service on appeal, and an eight-month suspension from football. In 1997, Cantona unexpectedly announced his retirement from football at the age of 30. He pursued a career in cinema and had roles in the 1998 film Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett; the 2008 film French Film, and the 2009 film Looking for Eric. In 2010, he debuted as a stage actor in Face au Paradis, a play directed by his wife, Rachida Brakni. Cantona took an interest in the sport of beach soccer; as player-manager of the France national beach soccer team, he won the 2005 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup.
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- How Eric Cantona's infamous Kung-fu kick helped inspire "Soutpaw Grammar" - NME blog - Morrissey-solo (Jan 21, 2015)