Goal! – Lebe deinen Traum (2005)

Goal! – Lebe deinen Traum: Directed by Danny Cannon, Michael Winterbottom. With Leonardo Guerra, Tony Plana, Miriam Colon, Kuno Becker. The extremely talented Santiago Muñez is spotted by a Newcastle United scout and given a chance at professional football.

“I think we would all likely agree the u0026quot;rags to richesu0026quot; story has been done to death by Hollywood. But, when someone comes along and gets it right the results can be truly excellent. Perhaps the best know of this genre is original u0026quot;Rockyu0026quot; movie. u0026quot;Goal – the dream beginsu0026quot; gets it right, even though it is loaded with all the clichés that generally accustom this kind of movie. u0026quot;Goalu0026quot; has the whole recipe here – the unknown with the heart of gold, a unique and virtuosic talent, from a downtrodden and hopeless setting, the brooding and unsupportive parent who refuses to accept his childu0026#39;s potential, the doting grandparent who can see the potential that lies within our hero, the outsider who promises a way to fame and fortune and so on… But, like the first few u0026quot;Rockyu0026quot; movies, this one delivers without falling into the usual schmaltzy pitfalls.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKuno Becker is very well cast as promising young player Santiago Munez. He is earnest, honest, and gives off that glow of burning desire to be the best. My only knock is that he doesnu0026#39;t quite physically look the part at times. When they line him up with real professionals he looks a touch slight and skinny, not quite boasting the musleclature of a professional athlete. The supporting cast works out well, too. No real complaints to offer as everyone seems to be a very good fit. Alessandro Nivolau0026#39;s dialect could use a spot of work, but no one outside of the UK will really pick up on this. I very much liked Marcel Irues as Newcastle Unitedu0026#39;s Manager. He seemed to be a totally natural fit for the role and is a shoe in for the lead if someone ever decides to make the u0026quot;Aime Jacquet storyu0026quot;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhere this movie really takes off is on the pitch, whether its a park in LA, the training ground in Newcastle, or St. James Park, the home of Newcastle United. The soccer scenes are exceptionally well done and look realistic. Real players feature prominently all over film, both on and off the pitch, and not just in walk on cameos, ie u0026quot;Bend it like Beckhamu0026quot;. The action is convincing, the tackles are crunching, and the goals are authentic and not the usual over the top spectacle (anyone remember Peleu0026#39;s winner from u0026quot;Victoryu0026quot;?) Becker fits in well with the action scenes, though itu0026#39;s odd how you never really see all of Becker on the ball and usually just the waist up, kind of like they found some else to do all the little flicks and stepovers…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd for all those who say u0026quot;it canu0026#39;t happenu0026quot;, I beg to differ. This movie is not fantasy. In fact, they could have made a biopic about a young Calgarian from Western Canada who somehow manages to make Bayern Munich, works his way up through the reserves, and in his premier season with the senior side wins the league and European Cup, makes the England side for World Cup 2002, and returns again to be the best England player in World Cup 2006! Maybe someday someone out there will make the u0026quot;Owen Hargreaves storyu0026quot;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll in all, great stuff and Iu0026#39;m already looking forward to Goal 2 u0026amp; 3.”