NAME: Eric Cantona (known as "Dieu" to Manchester United fans . . . and various other things to everyone else).
Born: Nimes, France, 35 years ago - as the Nike advert put it, "1966 was a great year for English football - Eric Cantona was born."
Football career: 1983-1997 (six French clubs, Leeds United, Manchester United and France).
Ever in trouble? No. Well, OK - there were the far too many red cards to count; an eight-month ban from football for kung fu kicking a Crystal Palace supporter; a three month suspension for calling each member of the French football federation an idiot (to their faces); another three-month ban for throwing a football at a referee, another . . . repeat to fade.
Relationship with officialdom? Not healthy. "It's as if I were on the roof of a building in New York, looking down, and seeing a lot of small people passing by," he once said of the French football authorities.
Arrogant? "Was I surprised by the scoreline? Well, I'll say yes to be polite" (after Manchester United had beaten Newcastle 4-0 in the Charity Shield).
Enemies? Lots - like former French coach Henri Michel who he called "un sac de merde"; Didier Deschamps who he labelled the national team's "water carrier"; and David Ginola who he didn't call "a fine footballer and a very good friend of mine" (in other words "unpublishable").
The greatest Manchester United player of all time? Depends on your age. If you're under 30 you'll probably say yes (as did the readers of the club's official magazine in a poll earlier this year - they voted him ahead of George Best and Ryan Giggs). If you're over 30 you'll probably guffaw at the notion and place him behind Best, Bobby Charlton, Dennis Law, Duncan Edwards and about 12 others. But ahead of Phil Neville.
What's he doing now? Combining a largely unsuccessful acting career with playing beach football. He will display his skills at a tournament this weekend in Wanderers Rugby Club on Merrion Road, Dublin.
Finest film? Probably Mookie (1998) in which he played - stop laughing at the back - a boxer who befriends a talking chimpanzee and a maverick monk in Mexico and finds himself on the run from evil scientists intent on exploiting the chimpanzee. The plot was based loosely on Cantona's time at Leeds United.
Will he be Manchester United's next manager? Well, he HAS just been appointed to their coaching staff but you'd still imagine Dustin the Turkey has a better chance of succeeding Alex Ferguson . . . but it's a funny old game, Brian.
Top Three Quotes
(1) "When the seagulls follow the trawler it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea."
(2) "It's not the darkness of death that worries me, but the thought of no longer existing in the bright light of living."
(3) "Pleasure can be silence after a deafening din. Calm after a crowd. Going up into the mountains and listening to the silence."
What do they mean? Funny, we were about to ask you the same question.