Goal!

Goal! (also known as Goal! The Dream Begins) is a 2005 British sports drama film directed by Danny Cannon from a screenplay by Mike Jefferies, Adrian Butchart, Dick Clement, and Ian La Frenais. It is the first installment in the Goal! trilogy and stars Kuno Becker, Alessandro Nivola, Marcel Iureș, Stephen Dillane, and Anna Friel. In the film, Santiago Muñez (Becker), an amateur player, earns an unlikely chance to play professional football. Goal! was made with co-operation from FIFA, which enabled the inclusion of FIFPro likenesses of real teams and players. Adidas contributed a reported $50 million towards the film's budget and marketing campaign, marking the then-biggest deal between a corporate brand and a film production. Goal! was theatrically released in the United Kingdom by Buena Vista International on 1 October 2005. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the sports sequences and Becker's performance but criticism for the screenplay, with many labelling it cliché. Goal! underperformed at the box office, grossing $27.6 million worldwide. Despite this, Goal! is considered to be a cult film, with Newcastle United, the team featured in the film, seeing a direct rise in popularity as a result. The sequel, Goal II: Living the Dream, was released in the United Kingdom in February 2007. Plot Santiago Muñez, a Mexican undocumented immigrant living in Los Angeles, is a skilled footballer who plays for his local team and works as a gardener with his father, Hernan, and as a busboy in a Chinese restaurant. During one of his matches, Santiago is approached by Glen Foy, a former player and scout for Newcastle United, who helps arrange a trial with the club. To afford travel to England, Santiago saves his earnings, which Hernan steals to buy a truck for the business, being dismissive of Santiago's chances at becoming a professional. Santiago's grandmother, Mercedes, secretly hands him money and urges him to depart for England before Hernan can find out.