Looking for Erik

Eric #1 - Cantona

My hero as a youngster was Eric Cantona, the charismatic football player who helped turn my team Manchester United into the title-winning machine of the 90s and 00s (think a French version of Zlatan Ibrahimović and you're not far off, at least as far as self-belief is concerned). I have a vivid memory of lying awake with the lights out past my bedtime one night in January 1995, listening to the radio at whisper volume, as the commentator described Cantona being sent-off against Crystal Palace and a subsequent altercation with a supporter; it was only the next day I understood the full implications of his infamous kung fu kick. In October later the same year my Mum took me, ten years old, to the Manchester United Supporter's Club in Jersey to watch his comeback live on the big screen after a nine-month ban (actually watching games live was a rare treat in those days, it was all about BBC Radio 5 Live, Match of the Day and Ceefax). As Cantona scored the crucial equalising penalty in a 2-2 draw, a random stranger hoisted me high towards the ceiling in a moment of sheer footballing joy.

It's surprisingly difficult to watch Premier League games in Mexico, particularly given the proliferation of baseball caps and training jackets adorned with United, Liverpool and Chelsea logos. The standard TV packages include Fox Sports and ESPN which seem to cover between them the German, Italian, French, Spanish (standard), Mexican (of course) and even Dutch (wtf?) leagues, but English football is only available via Sky. Very few bars and restaurants seem to have Sky; the last time I was here I searched all over and finally found a place that claimed to be showing a United game, only to conveniently be told after I'd ordered my tacos and beer that they didn't have the right channel after all. We decided to get Sky for the apartment this time, only to be refused permission by the building's administrator at the last minute to install another dish on the roof (Murphy's law strikes again).

Erik #2 - Niva

Fortunately, with a little help from a more technically-able friend, I was able to set up a reliable VPN connection to Sweden and watch the games on viaplay.se. There are many things that we all know Sweden is good at, like social welfare, green living and cinnamon buns, but after living there for the best part of five years I've come to appreciate some of the hidden delights, which include fantastic pizza and top-class football coverage. One of my footballing heroes these days is another Erik, the nerdy-looking Swedish sports journalist Erik Niva. For me he's a welcome voice of reason with an incredible breadth of knowledge amongst the shallow and sensationalist reporting from most other outlets. While it's hard not to admire the excessive celebrations offered by Mexican commentators ("gooooooooool!!!") even for a consolation goal in the 91st minute of a 4-1 victory, in this instance I'm happy to tunnel back over to remote Sweden and enjoy some more reasoned analysis.