It is difficult to compile a list of the greatest soccer movies of all time. People have different opinions about the best soccer movies.
Best soccer movies of all time
1- The Damned United (2009)
The Damned United is one of the best soccer movies of all time. It is directed by Tom Hooper and is based on the famous novel The Damned Utd by David Peace.
Brain Clough’s management of Leeds United in 1974 has been greatly talked about in the world. In the famous soccer movie The Damned United, Michael Sheen has played the role of Clough. It recounts the story of how one man manages to change the future course of a football club.
The Damned United also stars Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, and Jim Broadbent in the leading roles.
Box office
The soccer movie spectacularly failed at the box office, garnering just $4.1 million against a $10m production budget. However, it was very well received by the critics, with the film boasting an approval rating of over 90 percent on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
The Damned United was also nominated for several prestigious awards, including British Independent Film Award and ALFS Award. It was also shortlisted for the Satellite Award and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award.
Sony Pictures Releasing International distributed the soccer film. It first hit the screens in March 2009.
2- Offside (2006)
Offside is also one of the most famous soccer movies of all time. Jafar Panahi directed it and first came out in 2006.
Made only on a budget of $2,500, Offside became a big hit with the critics. The commentators showered praise on it. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that over 90 percent of the critics gave the movie positive reviews.
The top soccer movie recounts the story of a group of girls who want to see a football match. However, they are forbidden to do so in the country because of their gender. The film is inspired by Jafar Panahi’s daughter who attended a football match despite the ban.
The language of the film is Farsi and it is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. It even went on to win the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2006.
3- Goal! (2005)
Goal! is a great movie about the beautiful game of football. This sports drama film is directed by Danny Cannon and produced by Mike Jefferies, Matt Barrelle, and Mark Huffam.
The film revolves around a young man named Santiago Munez (who is played by Kuno Becker) who wants to play professional football. However, he is from a rough background and there are many challenges in his way. The protagonist gets a great chance to progress in his field when he gets to trial with one of England’s top football clubs.
Alessandro Nivola, Marcel Lures, Stephen Dillane, and Anna Friel are also part of the cast.
Goal! first came out in October 2005. However, it failed to do well commercially. Made against a budget of $33 million, the soccer movie only managed to make $27.6 million at the box office.
4- Looking for Eric (2009)
Looking for Eric is a very good fit for those sports fans who want to watch movies about soccer besides just talking about the top goal scorers of Serie A. It is directed by Ken Loach and written by Paul Laverty.
The British-French film featured Eric Cantona, the former footballer who needs no introduction to any soccer fan. Steve Evets, Lucy-Jo Hudson, Matthew McNulty, and Gerard Kearns are also part of the cast.
The Rebecca O’Brien-produced film was released in 2009 and went on to garner $11,546,932 at the box office. It is also regarded as one of the best soccer movies of all time.
The British-French film has an 85 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 99 reviews. It also won the Magritte Award for Best Film in Co-production.
5- Montevideo: Taste of a Dream (2010)
Montevideo: Taste of a Dream is another famous movie about soccer. It is directed by Dragan Bjelogrlic and written by Srdan Dragojevic and Ranko Bozic.
The story of the film is loosely based on the novel Montevideo, Bog te video written by Vladimir Stankovic. It first hit the screens in December 2010 and achieved significant box-office success in Serbia.
This great football movie achieved $2,192,931 at the box office. It stars Milos Bikovic, Petar Strugar, Nina Jankovic, and Danina Jeftic as part of the cast.
6- Shaolin Soccer (2001)
If you want a fun and entertaining movie about soccer, then Shaolin Soccer is a good fit for you. It was directed by Stephen Chow while Yeung Kwok-Fai is its producer.
Stephen Chow has also played the main role of Sing who is a master of Shaolin kung-fu. The protagonist’s main purpose is to promote the spiritual and practical benefits of the art to the society. He reunites his five brothers and together they use kung-fu skills to play soccer.
Shaolin Soccer also featured Zhao Wei, Ng Man-tat, Patrick Tse, and Danny Chan Kwok-kwan as part of the cast.
Box office
The movie was a commercial success for Stephen Chow. Made against a budget of $10 million, it grossed over $40 million at the box office. It also received very good reviews from the critics with the film having a 90 percent approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
The commentators heaped praise on the acting, choreography, and visual effects of the famous football movie. It also won several awards, including the Blue Ribbon Awards, Golden Horse Awards, and Hong Kong Film Awards.
7- Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Bend It Like Beckham is one of the top 10 best soccer movies of all time. It is produced, written, and directed by Gurinder Chadha, with Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers playing the main roles.
The Top 10 soccer movie revolves around a teenager in London whose parents are Indian Sikhs. She loves nothing more than football and that’s what lands her in trouble. This is because her parents have forbidden her to play due to her gender. Nonetheless, the protagonist goes on to join a local women’s team which makes its way to the top of the league.
Box office
Bend It Like Beckham first came out in April 2002. The film was a commercial success for Gurinder Chadha. It made over $100 million at the box office against the production budget of $6 million. The Best Football Movie also met with very favorable reviews from the critics who showered praise on the acting, screenplay, and music.
Bent It Like Beckham also won many prestigious awards. It bagged awards at the Pyongyang Film Festival, British Comedy Awards, and GLAAD Media Awards.
8- Next Goal Wins (2014)
Next Goal Wins is another top film on our best soccer movies of all time list. It is a British documentary movie that was directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison while Kristian Brodie produced it. The famous movie stars Thomas Rongen, Jaiyah Saelua, and Nicky Salapu in the leading roles.
Next Goal Wins tells the story of the national football team of American Samoa who try to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. This is easier said than done as they are known as one of the weakest sides in the world.
Next Goal Wins first hit the screens in April 2014. It was also released in the United Kingdom in May of that year.
The film won over the critics and audiences alike who all heaped praise on it. It even has a 100 percent approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
9- United (2011)
United is also regarded as one of the greatest soccer movies of all time. The British television film is based on the chilling story of the Busby Babes and the Munich air disaster of 1958. It is directed by James Strong while Chris Chibnall is its writer.
United mainly focuses on assistant manager Jimmy Murphy (who is portrayed by David Tennant) and Bobby Charlton (who is played by Jack O’Connell).
The film came out in April 2011 and it received some good reviews from critics. It is a heartbreaking story and shows how unpredictable life can be.
10- Guys and Balls ( 2004)
Guys and Balls is also one of the most interesting soccer movies of all time. It is a sports comedy film that is directed by Sherry Hormann while it is produced by Kirsten Hager.
For this top soccer film, Eileen Eilender and Leon Breitenborn have been featured in the main roles. The movie recounts the story of a gay goalkeeper who makes a gay-only team to play against his former team which fired him due to homophobia.
11- Linha de Passe (2008)
Another great soccer movie on our list is Linha de Passe. It is directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas, starring Sandra Corveloni, Joao Baldasserini, Vinicius de Oliveira, and Kaique Jesus Santos in the leading roles.
Linha de Passe revolves around four poverty-stricken half-brothers who all have to struggle a lot during the pursuit of their dreams. One of the brothers tries to improve the quality of his life with his amazing soccer skills.
The movie was first released in September 2008. Sandra Corveloni went on to win the Best Actress Award for this film at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
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