Football has been shown in movies in just about every way possible, from comedies to romantic action and gritty dramas.
There’s something for every taste, but what are some of the best football films worth checking out?
Escape to Victory – 1981
Possibly the most famous football movie of all time, this war-time drama was directed by the highly-respected John Huston. Two of the biggest stars in Escape to Victory are actor Sylvester Stallone and Pelé, who is still arguably the best player ever, so it was a big budget film that didn’t cut any corners.
A team of Allied prisoners are ordered to play an exhibition match against the German guards who watch over them. While many of the faces will be unfamiliar to modern viewers, both teams are made up of some of the leading pro players of the time. Anyone who knows some of the players from the early 1980s is likely to spot some familiar faces.
Football fans probably won’t be completely convinced by the realism of the action, as incredible goals and rather unbelievable moments of high drama unfold. However, there’s probably enough drama and tension throughout the rest of the movie to keep you hooked until the end to find out whether the Allied team manages to escape from the guards.
Goal! The Dream Begins – 2005
This story introduces us to Santiago Muñoz, a promising young player from Mexico who is living in Los Angeles as an immigrant without any paperwork. However, he gets his big break when he gets spotted and is offered a trial for Newcastle.
Naturally, things don’t go smoothly and Santiago has to deal with a variety of setbacks on and off the field before he clinches his first professional deal. This is the first in the trilogy of Goal movies, with Goal II: Living the Dream released a couple of years later and showing how the player moves to Real Madrid as his career progresses.
The series was completed by Goal III: Taking on the World, which had a 2009 release date. This movie focuses on the World Cup and Muñoz is no longer the main character, as we follow the highs and lows of a couple of English players taking part in the tournament. Since the odds for World Cup Qatar 2022 are tightening up, it might be the perfect time to watch it.
The first movie in the trilogy is probably the best and by the time the third came out, it was just slipped out without any fanfare.
One Night in Istanbul – 2014
This movie is based on the famous 2005 Champions League Final played between Liverpool and Milan. Played in Istanbul, it turned into one of the most memorable of recent times, as the English team fought back from 0-3 behind to win on penalties. As one of the most thrilling football games in living memory, making a movie about it was a smart choice.
The movie is a comedy that follows two taxi drivers from Liverpool who decide to try and take their sons across to Turkey for a once in a lifetime experience watching their heroes play. Based on a play of the same name, it shows us how they lurch from one problem to another while waiting for the big game to kick off.
One Night in Istanbul sees the fans get caught up in things like a pile of counterfeit money and a gang of crooks that will stop at nothing to recover their cash. The football action isn’t the main focus but the setting certainly adds some extra enjoyment to the movie. It never got the widespread attention that it probably deserved, but this likeable movie has a good sense of fun about it.
Mean Machine – 2001
This sports comedy drama is a remake of The Longest Yard, which is a popular 1970s film about former American football players in prison playing against their guards. So it’s similar to the plot from Escape to Victory in a lot of ways, but with a more modern feel and plenty of tougher action sequences for audiences to watch.
Former player Vinnie Jones plays the role of prisoner and former England player Danny Meehan, who gets singled out by the guards for particularly harsh treatment. He gets offered the chance to coach the wardens’ football team but turns it down and asks instead if he can train a team of prisoners to take on the guards.
Danny struggles to get a team together, and is generally disliked by other prisoners due to his past. The stakes are raised as a prison guard and one of the most feared prisoners each place large bets on the outcome of the match. Football fans should enjoy the climax of the movie, as the long-awaited game takes place, but there’s enough excitement and emotion in the rest of the film to keep everyone else interested too.