Goal is a British sports film and is the first installment of the Goal movies (trilogy) starring Kuno Becker, Marcel lures, Alessandro Nivola, Anna Friel, and Stephen Dillane. The movie came to be after a collaboration with FIFA, permitting the addition of FIFPro resemblances of real players and teams.
According to reports, Adidas contributed $50 million to its production, but the movie didn’t meet expectations in the box office, grossing just $27.6 million globally. However, the movie is widely regarded as a cult film, which led to a rise in its popularity. At some point, it was voted as the greatest football film ever.
With the Goal movie, there have been more football lovers, with more people gaining inspiration from the story. With a rapid rise in football fans, comes more sport betting lovers globally, especially from Hungary. For sports betting lovers from Hungary, please visit today’s soccer tips to enjoy the best tips that could take your betting experience to another level.
For those who haven’t watched the movie “Goal”, here’s a summary of what happened.
Summary of the Movie Goal
Santiago Munez, (played by Kuno Becker) flees Mexico with his family to the United States, settling in Los Angeles. His father works as a labourer to provide for the family, while Santiago also offers support, working on two jobs and handling the kitchen tasks. However, he continues pursuing his passion for football.
While training with Lox Americanos Jovenes (a local team), an ex-English football player and Newcastle United scout, Glen Foy (played by Stephen Dilane) notices Santiago’s natural football skill and invites him over to England to try him out.
Santiago’s dad doesn’t buy the idea, and stops him from travelling with the idea that his future has a different direction. However, his grandmother offers support as she has been actively involved in catering for the boys since the passing of their mother. She encourages Santiago saying:
“When your mother walked out on us, I promised God I’d do everything to help you boys to follow your dreams.”
On reaching England, Santiago doesn’t impress the team manager or the coach, as he realizes that playing under the mud and rain is different from what he was used to. Still, he remained confident of his abilities and made a famous statement:
“The only one who can tell me I’m not good enough is you. And even then I may not agree with you.”
Unexpectedly, he gains the favour of one of the players, Gavin Harris (played by Alessandro Nivola), who recognizes Santiago’s potential and helps to reinstate him in the reserves team.
Moreover, Galvin tries to influence Santiago negatively with his wild behaviour, constantly partying and chasing women. Still, Santiago stands his ground and prefers spending his free time with his sincere Nurse girlfriend, Roz Harrison (played by Anna Friel). With time, everyone recognizes Santiago’s footballing skills and eventually achieves his dream, playing in a Finals for Newcastle United.
10 Facts You Never Knew About the Movie Goal
If you’ve watched or seen the movie goal or you’ve heard the story, you may have missed some details. Here are some important facts about the movie you probably didn’t know about.
The Filming Location
The filming of Goal the movie took place in Newcastle, London, and Los Angeles. The London location also made it possible to include cameos from Liverpool, Chelsea, and Fulham players.
Becker Trained for the Role
Becker, a Mexican actor who took the main role in the movie underwent training to improve his football skills and to help him play naturally with the ball.
The Goal Movie is a Trilogy
Asides the Goal movie (the dream begins), there are two other Goal movies forming a trilogy. These include Goal II: Living the Dream (released in 2007) and Goal III: Taking on the World (released in 2009).
Change in Main Character
The main character role wasn’t initially meant for Kuno Becker. Diego Luna was meant to take the role, but had other projects to work on. Kuno Becker reached out to Diego via phone call to know his reasons for declining the role.
Brian Johnson was once part of the Geordie Band
AC/DC’s Brian Johnson is a strong Newcastle United fan, but in the movie, acts as a Geordie fan. He appeared in just two scenes, both in a Los Angeles bar. His first scene is the game between Newcastle and Fulham, while the second was when Newcastle defeated Liverpool at the end of the movie. Brian Johnson was part of the band “Geordie” before joining AC/DC.
Alessandro Learnt to Imitate the London Accent
Alessandro Nivola took the Gavin Harris role in the movie; but did you know he spent much time with people from London to help him imitate their accent?
The Movie had a change of Director Due to Creative Differences
The film’s initial director was Michael Winterbottom. The production had started already when he abandoned the project because of the producers’ request to complete the script before principal photography begins. Under his direction, the football stadium of Darlington saw two nights of filming.
Not long after, the producers saw the footage shot and discovered that Winterbottom made it look like a drama-documentary instead of the straight drama they desire. This led them to relieve the cast and crew of their duties and hired Ian la Frenais and Dick Clement to create a new script, with Danny Cannon taking the Director role.
Not a Continuity Error!
What seemed to be a continuity error during the Newcastle vs. Chelsea match wasn’t one. It was an FA Cup match and the snowfall was very heavy that day. Umbro was the ball supplier and the football was white in color. The heavy snowfall that occurred in the first half prevented the players from seeing the ball properly. Changes were made in the second half, with Nike’s hi-vis ball used as a replacement.
It should have been Nike-Sponsored Teams for the Main Character
The film series used Adidas-sponsored teams for the teams of the main character. It would have been Nike’s, but the producers couldn’t agree with the brand.
Santiago’s goal was Laurent’s goal in real life
The film’s final scene saw Santiago score the winning goal against Liverpool. But did you know that this is the goal that Laurent Robert scored in real life? It is obvious that Santiago, who was clearly right-footed in the movie, shoots and scores with his left foot.
Final Thoughts
After learning about these facts, you will probably re-watch the movie and watch the other goal movies in the trilogy if you haven’t. This story will surely motivate you to pursue and achieve your dreams. Much love from Aladar Kollar for taking time to read this article.
