Goal! Kick-Off (2005)

Directed by: Danny Cannon | 118 minutes | drama, romance, sports | Actors: Kuno Becker, Stephen Dillane, Alessandro Nivola, Marcel Iures, Anna Friel, Tony Plana, Kieran O’Brien, Sean Pertwee, Gary Lewis, Kevin Knapman, David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Kluivert, Alan Shearer

‘Goal! Kick Off’ is, as the title suggests, the beginning of a triptych of football films in which a young football player is followed on his way to the top. Producers Mike Jeffries and Matt Barelle got the idea for this film during the 2002 World Cup. At the time, they wondered why Hollywood never made a decent movie with football as its subject. This while countless films have been made about boxing, baseball, basketball, golf, etc. see ‘Rocky’ (1976), ‘Raging Bull’ (1980) and ‘Miracle’ (2004). The makers of this film mainly wanted to use existing teams for authenticity and therefore entered into a partnership with FIFA. From a selection of clubs, Newcastle United (NUFC) was chosen for its fans The Toon Army, the stadium and the contrast of the city with Los Angeles.

Many Latino actors who could also play football auditioned for the lead role of Santiago Muñez, but the choice fell on Mexican TV star Kuno Becker (also from ‘Imagining Argentina’ (2003)). After making this film he can kick a nice ball. For 27-year-old Becker, the film was quite close to reality. He also had to go to a foreign country where he knew no one to train directly with professional footballers. As a fairly unknown actor, he had to carry the film in English, his second language. That also worked well for him. Fortunately, the makers provided a solid supporting cast. American actor Alessandro Nivola of ‘Face/Off’ (1997) and ‘The Clearing’ (2004) plays Gavin Harris as the prototype of a spoiled soccer star. Stephen Dillane from ‘The Hours’ (2002) and ‘King Arthur’ (2004) plays Glen Foy, the sympathetic scout/ex-player who sees a talent in Santiago. Anna Friel (“Perfect Strangers” (2004)), pregnant during the shooting of the film, is the beautiful sister Roz Harmison. One of the most famous Romanian actors Marcel Iures from ‘Mission: Impossible’ (1996) and ‘The Peacemaker’ (1997) plays the German coach Dornhelm.

The story, on the other hand, is quite predictable and at times unbelievable. Of course the tough football world is shown, but where many players would be sent home straight away, Santiago gets chance after chance. One may wonder what ‘Goal! Kick Off’ distinguishes it from all other sports films in which the underdog ultimately triumphs. The answer: not really much. However, football fans will love the cameos from Zidane, Raúl, Beckham and Shearer. There are also action scenes with Baros, Kluivert, Dyer, Van der Sar, Gerrard and we see the Liverpool coach Benitez. For football fans or those chasing a football dream, this film is a must see. The film was clearly made with love for the football and those fans. Other than that, it’s a fun movie for in between.

A promising preview for the fans: in ‘Goal 2 (2006)’ and 3 a contract with Real Madrid and the World Cup in Germany are on the program.