Eight great football movies
Longest Yard, this 2001 film has former profootballer Vinnie Jones playing England captain Danny Meehan. After a run-in with the law, he ends up in Longmarsh Prison where the governor wants him to coach the guards’ semiprofessional team.
By infusing the cliched win-against-the-odds movie with a cast of bizarre and memorable characters (notably Jason Statham’s madgoalkeeper Monk), terrific football sequences and a jet-black sense of humour, director Barry Skolnick propels the movie into the premier division.
It also boasts the best commentary team since Best in Show: ‘‘He’s ambidextrous.’’ ‘‘I don’t know about that, Bob, but he can use both feet.’’
THE MIRACLE OF BERN
It’s easy to see why this 2003 dramatisation of West Germany’s 1954 World Cup campaign is such a crowd-pleaser, particularly in its native country.
A former second-division footballer, director Sonke Wortmann has created a sometimes compelling, exceedingly charming but slightly cheesy tale of family upheaval and underdog spirit. The pitch action is some of the most realistic committed to celluloid.
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
A quite simply stunning 2006 documentary that chronicles the rise and fall of the New York Cosmos and the North American Soccer League. Gathering some of the world’s best players – Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff – thanks to the millions provided by Warner Brothers president Steve Ross, the Cosmos attracted record crowds for the sport in the United States.
However, infighting and a lack of results on the field led to it all falling spectacularly apart.
ONE NIGHT IN TURIN
This Gary Oldman-narrated, 2010 documentary recounts England’s run to the semifinals of the 1990 Fifa World Cup. It was a performance that redeemed football in the eyes of a nation.
‘‘Revisit some fond and familiar sights – Gazza’s tears, Lineker’s goals, Bobby Robson’s rueful smile – and a handful we’d rather forget,’’ wrote The Independent.