Eric Cantona or Dejan Savićević?

Seaneh

Both Born in 1966.
Both played as a classic #10.
Both peaked in the mid 1990's.
But who was the better player?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gel2V4xemHk

Vs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vAOUgmRXsc

Le King

Cantona, please let this be the last thread. Oh and if Cantona doesn't win this then everybody truly is gone mad this week.

I'd hazard a guess that half the people who will vote for Savicevic would have never seen him play. Pity that, as he was a great player. Cantona was just a much better footballer.

Seaneh

Eric Cantona

Le King wrote: »

Cantona, please let this be the last thread. Oh and if Cantona doesn't win this then everybody truly is gone mad this week.

I'd hazard a guess that half the people who will vote for Savicevic would have never seen him play. Pity that, as he was a great player. Cantona was just a much better footballer.

I honestly think you're mental.
Savićević was just amazing. He did stuff with the ball other players couldn't even dream of. His close control and distribution was unmatched and he scored some insanely beautiful goals at extremely important times.

Savićević was the creative force at the heart of one of the greatest club sides of all time, Cantona was the best player in a second tier league (the premiership was pretty poor in the 90's), nothing more. It would be like saying that Toulalan is better than Xabi Alonso because he happens to be the best player in France.

Le King

Seaneh wrote: »

I honestly think you're mental.
Savićević was just amazing. He did stuff with the ball other players couldn't even dream of. His close control and distribution was unmatched and he scored some insanely beautiful goals at extremely important times.

Savićević was the creative force at the heart of one of the greatest club sides of all time, Cantona was the best player in a second tier league (the premiership was pretty poor in the 90's), nothing more. It would be like saying that Toulalan is better than Xabi Alonso because he happens to be the best player in France.

Firstly, it's not like comparing Xavi Alonso and Toulalan. Honestly, IMO, Cantona was a better player, a far better player.


But if we are going off a single performance Savicevic in the CL Final against Barca. Bar that Cantona is a better player.

DOC09UNAM

How about a comparison between Ron Harris and John Terry, both white, wore boots, and both english.

Seaneh

Eric Cantona

Savićević won EVERYTHING in his 6 years at Milan and was the heartbeat of the team!

3 Scudetti + 1 Champions League >>>>> 4 Premier leagues and 2 FA cups.

Even drop the CL win and the Scudetto was a much more important competition on a world scale than the premier league in the 90's.

Iron Hide

He is nicknamed King Eric for a reason......

Xavi6

Eric Cantona

Cantona was the most overrated player of his generation whereas Savicevic was just class.

Ex-Prem will win the poll though.

DOC09UNAM

Xavi6 wrote: »

Cantina was the most overrated player of his generation whereas Savicevic was just class.

Ex-Prem will win the poll though.

Yeah but cantona got his own celebration in fifa world cup, the sign of a legend. :pac:

tdv123

Eric Cantona

Savićevic is nicknamed IL Genio for a reason also.

Cantona couldnt do it on the big European stage Savićević could. And not just the 1994 final. I remember watching him on numerous occasions for Milan & Red Star in big european games & he was usually brilliant.

Although there both pretty different types of player.

eagle eye

Eric Cantona

Savicevic for me but Cantona was class too and I don't for one second agree that he was overrated. Imo he is one of the all time great Premier League players.

Tristram

Eric Cantona

Has to be Savicevic!

tdv123

Eric Cantona

Even the Op's videos should give you some clue to who was better.

Savićević scores against a Barcelona dream team in Champions League final.

Cantona scores against a soon to be relegated Sunderland team while Man United were already 4-0 up at the time. And thats probably the moment he's best remembered for aswell. God he was so overrated.

DOC09UNAM

tdv123 wrote: »

Even the Op's videos should give you some clue to who was better.

Savićević scores against a Barcelona dream team in Champions League final.

Cantona scores against a soon to be relegated Sunderland team while Man United were already 4-0 up at the time. And thats probably the moment he's best remembered for aswell. God he was so overrated.

The OP has already said he voted for Savicevic, so i'd like my videos from someone a little less biased

tdv123

Eric Cantona

Cantona could never do it against world class opponents tho is the point. Yeah has some great moments against Premier League sides but you'd just have to watch his performances against Juventus & Dortumend in 1997 to tell he wasnt in the same class as the top players in the world at the time because he always got found out against the world class defences.

iregk

Eric Cantona

Xavi6 wrote: »

Cantona was the most overrated player of his generation whereas Savicevic was just class.

Ex-Prem will win the poll though.

Couldn't agree more with this. Cantona was true class against Ipswich, Sunderland etc... Basically playing in England at the time when teams had no idea how to play against that type of player. When in Europe against players to whom Cantona was average cannon fodder they tore him up and he was utterly useless.

Savicevic did it at every level culminating in what I blieve is the greatest individual performance I've ever seen from a player in my lifetime. The '94 European cup final. Simply stunning.

applehunter

Eric Cantona

Savicevic & Jean Pierre Papin were the my favourite players during the early 90's.

Maybe because we didn't have a satellite dish and Football Italia was the only football to see on RTE that makes me biased.

Cantona was great too but that Machester team never produced it in the Champions League.

SlickRic

Eric Cantona

this is the best of one of these polls so far.

Savicevic was one of the core components of my love of early 90s Italian football.

Cantona was overrated, nost definitely.

PiE

Eric Cantona

Fully expected to see Cantona streak ahead in this one.

Delighted to see this is not the case. Savicevic was leagues ahead of Cantona.

SlickRic wrote: »

Savicevic was one of the core components of my love of early 90s Italian football.

Same here, along with Van Basten & Boban.

Rikand

Eric Cantona

Good contest, but Sav is never going to win this poll when at least 40% of the posters are united supporters

-edit-

Maybe I should have checked the poll results before making that comment, heh

parker kent

Eric Cantona

No contest, Savićević every day of the week. I say that as a United fan who had Cantona 7 on my back in the 1990s. Cantona was not up to it against the better teams in Europe. Having a little bit of skill in a very weak Premiership made Cantona seem a lot better than he really was.

Savićević quite clearly was up to it as is evidenced by his brilliance for Milan. I loved watching Milan on Channel 4 and in the Champions League mainly because of Savićević.

Dempsey

Eric Cantona

Savićević easily. Ran riot in a better league and Europe.

Cantona was regularly called a bottler after European Matches.

eagle eye

Eric Cantona

Dempsey wrote: »

=

Cantona was regularly called a bottler after European Matches.

Thats the greatest load of bollocks I've ever heard.

eZe^

On my iPhone. Clicked Cantona by mistake. Absolutely gutted!! =P

Dempsey

Eric Cantona

eagle eye wrote: »

Thats the greatest load of bollocks I've ever heard.

Maybe you should go watch all the European Matches he played in, I have and I still remember them and I stand by my statement wholeheartedly.

Dunphy's big man for the small occasion comment still rings in my ears

tdv123

Eric Cantona

eagle eye wrote: »

Thats the greatest load of bollocks I've ever heard.

Well I mean it my sound like bollox to you but it's true. I can't think of too many times when he turned on the style in Europe.

eagle eye

Eric Cantona

Dempsey wrote: »

Maybe you should go watch all the European Matches he played in, I have and I still remember them and I stand by my statement wholeheartedly.

Dunphy's big man for the small occasion comment still rings in my ears

Oh so you are saying that Dunphy called him a bottler. The same Dunphy who said Maradona was overrated at the start of the 1986 World Cup.

I wouldn't worry about one person saying it. You suggested that everbody was saying it with your 'Cantona was regularly called a bottler after European mathces' comment.

I think the fact that United won nothing in the 9 months that he was banned says it all really. You have to also consider the last Division 1 title which Leeds won in 91/92 which he was a huge part of, the next year they finished 17th.

92/93 League Champions
93/94 League Champions, FA Cup winners
94/95 Cantona 9 month ban and United win nothing.
95/96 League Champions, FA Cup winners
96/97 League Champions

Just to clarify in case you didn't read my first post, I voted for Savicevic but this trashing Cantona is just ludicrous.

Dempsey

Eric Cantona

eagle eye wrote: »

Oh so you are saying that Dunphy called him a bottler. The same Dunphy who said Maradona was overrated at the start of the 1986 World Cup.

I wouldn't worry about one person saying it. You suggested that everbody was saying it with your 'Cantona was regularly called a bottler after European mathces' comment.

I think the fact that United won nothing in the 9 months that he was banned says it all really. You have to also consider the last Division 1 title which Leeds won in 91/92 which he was a huge part of, the next year they finished 17th.

92/93 League Champions
93/94 League Champions, FA Cup winners
94/95 Cantona 9 month ban and United win nothing.
95/96 League Champions, FA Cup winners
96/97 League Champions

Just to clarify in case you didn't read my first post, I voted for Savicevic but this trashing Cantona is just ludicrous.

Savićević still did more in a better league and was one of the best players in the Champions League.

Cantona was a bottler in Europe.

Dunphy only echoes my opinion of the player, who cares what else he has said. Many United fans were left disappointed regularly after European games because he couldnt bring his league form into Europe. Fact or Fiction??

eagle eye

Eric Cantona

Dempsey wrote: »

Savićević still did more in a better league and was one of the best players in the Champions League.

Cantona was a bottler in Europe.

Dunphy only echoes my opinion of the player, who cares what else he has said. Many United fans were left disappointed regularly after European games because he couldnt bring his league form into Europe. Fact or Fiction??

I agree Savicevic was better.

Cantona was never a bottler at any stage in his career anywhere. I remember him scoring goals in Europe. They got beat by Dortmund in the semi-final, they lost to Galatasaray one year and they were behind at Old Trafford and Cantona scored a late goal to level it up but they failed to score in the away leg and lost the tie on away goals.

I'm just getting fed up of those saying he was overrated which is just dumb.

GavRedKing

Eric Cantona

Dejan Savićević for me, AC Milan were my 2nd team after Chelsea back in the 90's and watching the games back then I didnt fully understand how good he or that team was. He was a brillant player and proved it at a higher level.

Not taking away too much from Cantona, he was good in the EPL then but in direct comparison to Dejan, there is no contest.

Dempsey

Eric Cantona

eagle eye wrote: »

I agree Savicevic was better.

Cantona was never a bottler at any stage in his career anywhere. I remember him scoring goals in Europe. They got beat by Dortmund in the semi-final, they lost to Galatasaray one year and they were behind at Old Trafford and Cantona scored a late goal to level it up but they failed to score in the away leg and lost the tie on away goals.

I'm just getting fed up of those saying he was overrated which is just dumb.

One example, he got awful flak for the Dortmund match and rightly so. Rather than prove the doubters wrong, he retired at the end of that season.

eagle eye

Eric Cantona

Dempsey wrote: »

One example, he got awful flak for the Dortmund match and rightly so. Rather than prove the doubters wrong, he retired at the end of that season.

Wat???? A player retires and thats a reason to mark him down? Are you for real?

Dempsey

Eric Cantona

eagle eye wrote: »

Wat???? A player retires and thats a reason to mark him down? Are you for real?

My point was

never a bottler at any stage in his career anywhere

He bottled the Dortmund game and you didnt disagree with that.

A player retiring at the age of 30 to pursue a crap acting career is a good reason, yea :pac:

eagle eye

Eric Cantona

Dempsey wrote: »

My point was



He bottled the Dortmund game and you didnt disagree with that.

A player retiring at the age of 30 to pursue a crap acting career is a good reason, yea :pac:

Which Dortmund game?

Dempsey

Eric Cantona

eagle eye wrote: »

Which Dortmund game?

Both, especially the 2nd leg at Old Trafford

tdv123

Eric Cantona

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZbosfi7Diw

3:45 talk about bottling it.

Although to be fair the whole United team couldnt hit a barn door that night. David May on the pitch didnt help matters either.

jesus_thats_gre

Eric Cantona

Dejan Savićević was probably my favourite player in the world at the time so no competition.

Cantona was a great player but I can't understand the fuss that United fans make about him. Something I can't remember actually, was Cantona involved much in the French setup of the era?

daithijjj

Eric Cantona

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Dejan Savićević was probably my favourite player in the world at the time so no competition.

Cantona was a great player but I can't understand the fuss that United fans make about him. Something I can't remember actually, was Cantona involved much in the French setup of the era?

He wasnt allowed to play for france after the crystal palace game. By the time he came back there were other players in there. Il never forget the furore on TV in england when cantona was not selected for france, it basically went along the lines in the british media, "its unbelievable that cantona is not being selected by france, i mean, who is this zinedine zidane anyway" :pac:

PiE

Eric Cantona

I think it was his attitude, style of play and what he represented (an arrogance borne of winning) as much as what he did on the pitch, that made Cantona a fan favourite.

Still shocked to hear so many people say they loved Savicevic as kids. Not many I've ever mentioned him to could recall all that much about him.

greendom

daithijjj wrote: »

He wasnt allowed to play for france after the crystal palace game. By the time he came back there were other players in there. Il never forget the furore on TV in england when cantona was not selected for france, it basically went along the lines in the british media, "its unbelievable that cantona is not being selected by france, i mean, who is this zinedine zidane anyway" :pac:

He had problems with the French FA long before this, which is partly why he offered his services to Sheffield Wednesday in the first place.

#15

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Dejan Savićević was probably my favourite player in the world at the time so no competition.

Cantona was a great player but I can't understand the fuss that United fans make about him. Something I can't remember actually, was Cantona involved much in the French setup of the era?

He was an important part of the French team but was never selected after the kung-fu kick.
The Zidane thing is just revisionism.

Surprised that you don't get the fuss over Cantona - he inspired Utd to a title after 26 years.

Warper

Eric Cantona

Tbh I think both of these players were a bit over-rated. Both were brilliant on their day but both had a lot of off-days. One player that caught the eye in that Milan team was Zvonimir Boban.

daithijjj

Eric Cantona

greendom wrote: »

He had problems with the French FA long before this, which is partly why he offered his services to Sheffield Wednesday in the first place.

I knew this but i was referring to his career at its peak.

If you go around calling the french coach "a bag of ****" it doesnt exactly help though does it. Cantona didnt help himself in that regard.

greendom

daithijjj wrote: »

I knew this but i was referring to his career at its peak.

If you go around calling the french coach "a bag of ****" it doesnt exactly help though does it. Cantona didnt help himself in that regard.

No you wouldn't find that in the "How to win friends and influence people" book, he was always the maverick, and a very strong, impulsive character. You take those traits away from him though, and he wouldn't have been half the player he was.

Seaneh

Eric Cantona

Warper wrote: »

One player that caught the eye in that Milan team was Zvonimir Boban.

Different type of player. You wouldn't compare Boban to Dejan. One was a #10. Played either as a striker or behind a target man the other was a central midfeilder who sometimes played on the left.

Boskowski

Eric Cantona

Another one of the silly threads category. Surely there should be an age restriction on the soccer forum like 12+ or something. Anyway. No contest. Savicevic and Stoichkiv were my favourite players of the nineties.

Blazer

Xavi6 wrote: »

Cantona was the most overrated player of his generation whereas Savicevic was just class.

Ex-Prem will win the poll though.

my bollix..I remember Newcastle 15 points clear of United and while we started fading away Cantona was carrying United that year..
Newcastle handed them the league trophy but they handed it to Cantona who made no mistakes and didn't drop the bloody thing
Now I've never seen Dejan play (not sure anyway) but no way was Cantona overrated.
Now I'm a Newcastle fan but I wouldn't allow bias to blinker me googles unlike someone supporting the blue side of Manchester
There's plenty of great players who was never able to produce it at International level..in theory you could argue that Messi is an overrated player as he hasn't produced it for Argentina...but I think we can all disagree with that statement so why not the same for Cantona?
Here's another example..Matt Le Tissier? Would you class him as a great player or a lazy fúcker....or both