Just For One Day

Cantona ... forever the hero?

Here are three things guaranteed to make football fans of a certain vintage feel the weight of years. First, in April 2010, Portsmouth’s Lenny Sowah became the first player born after the 1992 formation of the English Premier League to start a match in the competition.

Second, in July 1994, after scoring a goal against the Netherlands in the semi-final of that year’s World Cup, the Brazilian forward Bebeto famously ran to the touchline and began rocking an imaginary baby in his arms. That child is now turning out for his father’s old club, Flamengo.