Goal! (film)
Encyclopedia
Goal! is a 2005 film directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 by Danny Cannon
Danny Cannon
Danny Cannon is a film and television screenwriter, director and producer.- Career :Cannon began making films at the age of 16 in 1984, and started a youth experimental theatre group at 33 Arts Centre...

. It is the first installment of a trilogy also named Goal!
Goal! (trilogy)
The Goal! trilogy is a series of football films directed by Danny Cannon, Jaume Collet-Serra and Andrew Morahan. The first film, Goal!, was released in 2005, and the second film, Goal! 2: Living the Dream, was released in 2007...

. This film was made with full cooperation from FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

, which is one of the reasons actual teams and players are used throughout the film. The second installment, Goal! 2: Living the Dream...
Goal! 2: Living the Dream...
Goal II: Living the Dream is the second part of the football film trilogy Goal! and it was released on 9 February 2007 in the United Kingdom and 29 August 2008 in the United States.- Plot :...

, was released in February 2007. The third installment, Goal! III: Taking on the World, was released straight to DVD in June 2009.

Plot

Santiago Muñez is a skilled footballer. He is the son of a gardener who lives in a barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...

 section of Los Angeles and illegally entered the USA from Mexico ten years earlier. Besides gardening with his father, he works as a bus boy in a Chinese restaurant. His ultimate dream is to play soccer professionally. Due to his poor life and the fact that he plays solely for a local club consisting of Hispanics who work in a car wash, he feels it is unlikely. One day his skills are noticed by Glen Foy, a former Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

 player and scout who works as a car mechanic. Glen arranges to get Muñez a tryout with Newcastle United, who have recently signed a new player named Gavin Harris. Needing to get to England, Santiago starts to save his money, which he stashes in an old shoe. Unfortunately, his father steals his savings to buy a Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 truck, allowing them to work for themselves. His dream is not lost, though, when his grandmother, who loves soccer as much as he does, sells off some old jewelry and buys him his tickets to England.

Glen warmly welcomes Santiago to his house and takes him to his tryout. Unfortunately, he is unused to playing in England, and plays badly. Glen manages to convince the manager that Santiago needs a month's trial to show his full potential. Santiago does not tell the full truth to the club nurse, Roz Harmison, in his medical test and does not mention his asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...

. After a month, in a reserve game, a jealous teammate crushes Santiago's inhaler. His asthma causes him to play badly, and his coach lets him go. On his way to the airport, though, Santiago meets Harris, Newcastle's new signee, who was late for training due to stolen car tires and needed the same taxi. Harris finds out what happened in the reserve game, and makes him explain it to the manager, who lets him stay, provided he gets treatment. Santiago manages to get a contract for the reserves team and moves in with Gavin. He finally makes it into the first team, as a substitute
Substitute
Substitute may refer to:In economics:*Substitute good: two goods are substitutes in demand if, when the market price of the first good rises, the price of the second good also rises, and vice-versa....

 in a match against Fulham F.C.
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

 He manages to get a penalty for Newcastle, winning them the match. Unknown to anyone else in his family, his father watches the match on TV in the USA, and after finally watching his son play, he leaves a proud father. Despite the victory, the manager informs Santiago that his weakness is that he does not pass the ball. That night, he and Harris go out partying, only for a picture of the two to wind up in the tabloid The Sun, causing anger from the manager. At the same time, Santiago's friend, Jamie, suffers a career-ending injury that only causes him additional grief.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, Santiago's father dies of a heart attack. Devastated, Santiago plans to return home. While in the airport waiting for his flight back to Los Angeles, he decides not to return. Believing he may not play any longer, he goes to St. James' Park to feel what it would be like to play there, and is informed by the manager that he has been selected to play against Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...

. On match day, Harris puts Newcastle into the lead. Before half-time, Liverpool makes a comeback with two goals, from Igor Bišćan
Igor Bišcan
Igor Bišćan is a Croatian professional footballer, playing for Dinamo Zagreb. He also played for the English team Liverpool and Greek side Panathinaikos, also spending one-year loan at NK Samobor in his early career...

 and Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker for Galatasaray and the Czech national football team.In the 2008–09 season, Baroš scored 20 goals in Turkish Süper Lig, the highest total in the league...

. In the final minutes of injury time, Santiago assists Harris in scoring the equaliser by finally passing the ball to him, to make it 2-2. However, a draw will not be enough to earn Newcastle a place in next season's UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

. Mere minutes before the end of the game, Harris is tripped and Newcastle gain a wide free kick
Free kick
A free kick is used to restart play in several codes of football:Association football* Direct free kick, from which one may score directly* Indirect free kick, from which one may not score directlyAmerican football;* Safety kick...

, which Harris gives to Santiago. Santiago, with the hopes and prayers of the whole city of Newcastle resting on his shoulders, scores, and Newcastle win 3-2. Glen reveals to Santiago that his grandmother is trying to call. She mentions that his father did watch his first match against Fulham, after learning this from a fellow supporter who happens to be Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson is an English singer and lyricist who has been the lead singer for the rock band AC/DC since 1980. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 along with the other members of the band....

, lead singer from AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

, Newcastle born and bred. Santiago shouted to Glen that his father saw him play and was proud of him before he died. Glen replies: He's probably watching now. The film ends with Santiago shedding tears of joy while embracing his realised dream.

Cast

  • Marcel Iures - coach
  • Kuno Becker
    Kuno Becker
    Eduardo Kuno Becker Paz is a Mexican actor who has worked in telenovelas, Mexican cinema and U.S. cinema, but is best known for his portrayal of Ruben Berrizabal in Soñadoras and Santiago Muñez in the football movie Goal! and following sequels.-Early years:Becker was born in Mexico City to Manuel...

     as Santiago Muñez
    Santiago Muñez
    Santiago Muñez is a fictional character in the Goal! series of films and has recently retired. He is the main character in Goal! and Goal II: Living the Dream, and he is a supporting character in Goal III: Taking on the World. Muñez is portrayed by actor Kuno Becker...

  • Alessandro Nivola
    Alessandro Nivola
    Alessandro Antine Nivola is an American actor, perhaps best known for his roles in the films Best Laid Plans, Jurassic Park III, Face/Off, and the first two films of the Goal! trilogy.-Personal life:...

     as Brandon Harris
  • Stephen Dillane
    Stephen Dillane
    Stephen J. Dillane is an English actor. He won a Tony Award for his lead performance in Tom Stoppard's play The Real Thing.-Early life:...

     as Glen Foy
  • Anna Friel
    Anna Friel
    Anna Louise Friel is an English actress. She rose to fame in the UK as Beth Jordache on the Channel 4 soap Brookside.-Early life:...

     as Roz Harmison
  • Tony Plana
    Tony Plana
    Tony Plana is a Cuban-American actor and director. He is well known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC show Ugly Betty.-Personal life:...

     as Santiago's father
  • Neymar Da Silva
    Neymar da Silva
    Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior , commonly known simply as Neymar or Neymar Jr., is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a forward for Santos and the Brazilian national football team.-Santos:...

     as Erik Dornhelm
  • Kieran O'Brien
    Kieran O'Brien
    Kieran O'Brien is an English actor.-Biography:O'Brien, who grew up in nearby Royton, began acting at a early age and was the star of a BBC TV series Gruey by the time he was 15. He also featured in several other series at the time in one-off or recurring roles...

     as Hughie McGowan
  • Sean Pertwee
    Sean Pertwee
    Sean Pertwee is an English actor known for his television, film and voice-over work.-Career:In the early 80s, he auditioned for a place at the Surrey County Youth Theatre where he was cast as Captain Fitzpatrick in the play Tom Jones, based on the novel by Henry Fielding...

     as Barry Rankin
  • Míriam Colón as Mercedes Muñez
  • Cassandra Bell as Christina
  • Alejandro Tapi as Júlio
  • Kate Tomlinson as Val
  • Arvy Ngeyitlala as Tom
  • Zachary Johnson
    Zachary Johnson
    Zachery Joinson is the drummer of The Cinematic Underground. He is also Katie Chastain's drummer, and he was the drummer for The Fray before he quit the band to become a famous actor. This didn't really work out....

     as Rory
  • Jorge Cervera as Cesar
  • Tasha Hettiarachchi as Cheerleader

Cameo appearances

Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...

    }} David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...

 Raúl González
Raúl González
Raúl González Blanco , known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for German club Schalke 04....

 Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

 Martin Tyler
Martin Tyler
Martin Tyler is an English football commentator who was voted as the FA Premier League Commentator of The Decade...

 Shay Given
Shay Given
Séamus John James "Shay" Given is an Irish footballer who plays for Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland national team as a goalkeeper. He won the PFA's Player of the Year in 2002....

 Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson
Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

 Lee Bowyer
Lee Bowyer
Lee David Bowyer is an English professional footballer born in Canning Town, London, who plays as a midfielder for Ipswich Town of the Football League Championship....

 Jermaine Jenas
Jermaine Jenas
Jermaine Anthony Jenas is an English footballer who plays for Aston Villa in the Premier League on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. He is of mixed African-Caribbean and English descent.-Nottingham Forest:...

 Kieron Dyer
Kieron Dyer
Kieron Courtney Dyer is an English footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers. Born in Ipswich, he is an attacking midfielder who played youth football for his home club before going on to make nearly 100 league appearances for the club's first team...

 Titus Bramble
Titus Bramble
Titus Malachi Bramble is an English footballer who plays for Sunderland as a defender. He is currently suspended by Sunderland after bring arrested for possession of a class A drug and sexual assault.-Ipswich Town:...

 Brian McBride
Brian McBride
Brian Robert McBride is a retired American soccer player who finished his career for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer , but spent the majority of his time in MLS playing for the Columbus Crew. For much of his career he played in Europe, notably for Fulham in the English Premier League...

 James Adams
James Adams
James Adams is the name of:* James Adams , British diplomat* James Adams , English cricketer* James Adams , Scottish footballer...

 Carlos Bocanegra
Carlos Bocanegra
Carlos Manuel Bocanegra is an American soccer player who plays for Scottish Premier League club Rangers and is the captain of the United States national team.-Chicago Fire:...

 Tomasz Radzinski
Tomasz Radzinski
Not to be confused with the Czech footballer Tomáš RosickýTomasz Radzinski is a Canadian association footballer who plays as a striker. He is currently unattached.-Club career:...

 Stephen Carr
Stephen Carr
Stephen Carr is an Irish footballer who plays for and captains Birmingham City. He previously played for the Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and, for a shorter spell, Newcastle United. He is a former international player with the Republic of Ireland...

Jean-Alain Boumsong
Jean-Alain Boumsong
Jean-Alain Boumsong-Somkong is a professional football defender who currently plays for the Greek team Panathinaikos and the French national team.-Early career:...

}} Michael Chopra
Michael Chopra
Rocky Michael Chopra is an English footballer who plays for Football League Championship side Ipswich Town. He is of mixed Indian and British descent....

 Rafael Benítez
Rafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....

 Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš
Milan Baroš is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker for Galatasaray and the Czech national football team.In the 2008–09 season, Baroš scored 20 goals in Turkish Süper Lig, the highest total in the league...

 Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer
Vladimír Šmicer is a former Czech football midfielder and forward player. Šmicer was a devout player of Slavia Prague, the only Czech club he ever played for. He also played notably for Lens in France, with whom he won the Ligue 1 title. In 1999, Šmicer moved to England, where he played several...

 Laurent Robert
Laurent Robert
Laurent Robert is a former French footballer. He was a left winger, and has played for the French national football team....

 Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...

 Joe Cole
Joe Cole
Joseph John "Joe" Cole is an English footballer who plays for Lille, on loan from Liverpool, and the England national football team as midfielder. He started his career with where he played more than 100 games during five years, until he left for Chelsea in 2003...

 Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...

 Thomas Gravesen
Thomas Gravesen
Thomas Gravesen is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has played for teams such as Hamburger SV, Everton F.C., Real Madrid CF and Celtic F.C.....

 William Gallas
William Gallas
William Eric Gallas is a French footballer who plays for Tottenham Hotspur.Gallas began his career in France, before being signed by English club Chelsea in 2001. He transferred to rivals Arsenal as part of an exchange deal in 2006...

 John Arne Riise
John Arne Riise
John Arne Semundseth Riise is a Norwegian footballer who currently plays as a left wing-back for Fulham and the Norwegian national team. Riise spent seven years playing for Premier League side Liverpool before moving to Roma in 2008...

 Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher
James Lee Duncan "Jamie" Carragher is an English footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League side Liverpool...

 Igor Bišćan
Igor Bišcan
Igor Bišćan is a Croatian professional footballer, playing for Dinamo Zagreb. He also played for the English team Liverpool and Greek side Panathinaikos, also spending one-year loan at NK Samobor in his early career...

 Dave Hughes
Dave Hughes
David William "Hughesy" Hughes is an Australian stand-up comedian, radio and television presenter. He is currently co-host on the Network Ten's The Project and Before the Game as well as the breakfast radio show Hughesy and Kate.-Television:Hughes co-hosted the ABC comedy talk show The Glass House...

 Patrick Kluivert
Patrick Kluivert
Patrick Stephan Kluivert is a former Dutch footballer, currently head coach of the youth side of FC Twente. He played as a striker for AFC Ajax, A.C. Milan, FC Barcelona, Newcastle United, Valencia CF, PSV Eindhoven, and Lille OSC. Kluivert played for the Dutch national team from 1994 to 2004. He...

Jiří Jarošík
Jirí Jarošík
Jiří Jarošík is a Czech footballer who is currently playing for AC Sparta Prague. He played Czech national team, where he played 23 matches. He is a defender and midfielder.-Early career:...

 Rob Lee
Rob Lee
Robert Martin "Rob" Lee is a retired English footballer who played the majority of his career for Charlton Athletic and Newcastle United.-Charlton Athletic:...

 Pablo Garcia
Pablo Gabriel García
Pablo Gabriel García Pérez is an Uruguayan footballer who plays for PAOK F.C. in Greece, as a defensive midfielder....

 Shola Ameobi
Shola Ameobi
Foluwashola "Shola" Ameobi is an Nigerian footballer who plays for Premier League club Newcastle United as a forward. Born in Nigeria but raised in Newcastle, he played for England at under-21 level. He is the older brother of fellow footballers Tomi and Sammy...

 James Milner
James Milner
Milner was described as a "first class" student at his school; he left with 11 GCSEs and an award for his performance in physical education. Milner also showed talent in cricket, sprinting and long-distance running...

 Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...

 Sergio Ayala
  • AC/DC
    AC/DC
    AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

     singer Brian Johnson
    Brian Johnson
    Brian Johnson is an English singer and lyricist who has been the lead singer for the rock band AC/DC since 1980. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 along with the other members of the band....

     as a Newcastle United fan in a Los Angeles sports bar
  • Howard Webb
    Howard Webb
    Howard Melton Webb, MBE, is an English professional football referee who officiates primarily in the Premier League and has been a FIFA-listed referee since 2005....

    , as referee in final match Newcastle-Liverpool

Soundtrack

The soundtrack contains "Playground Superstar", the track that marked the full return of alternative rock group Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...

.
A video was also made to promote the soundtrack.

The soundtrack was released on Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...

' Big Brother label and contains three Oasis songs unavailable elsewhere, including the exclusive Noel Gallagher
Noel Gallagher
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...

 song "Who Put the Weight of the World on My Shoulders?".

The soundtrack also contains a re-recorded version of Oasis' "Cast No Shadow
(What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Morning Glory? is the second studio album by the English rock band Oasis. It was released on 2 October 1995 through Creation Records. The album was Oasis' most enduring commercial success, charting at number one in the UK and number four in the U.S...

" with Noel Gallagher on vocals and produced by UNKLE
UNKLE
Unkle are a British musical outfit founded in 1994 by school friends James Lavelle and Tim Goldsworthy. Originally categorized as trip-hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and have employed a variety of guest artists and producers.-First incarnation :Lavelle and Goldsworthy were joined...

. Dave Sardy
Dave Sardy
David Sardy is a Brooklyn born-and-raised composer, musician, songwriter, and record producer- Biography :...

, a producer of two Oasis albums, also contributed a hard-edged remix of their song "Morning Glory" for inclusion on the soundtrack.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews.
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

gave the film a score of 44% based on reviews from 80 critics, with an average score of 5.2/10.
Other reviews included: Variety.com, BBC film, and UEFA Perspective.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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