Two new soccer movies have been released on DVD and this is definitely not Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen soccer (Switching Goals). I am certain that neither of these films played in Springfield, not even The Moxie.
Goal! The Dream Begins (PG)
The first part of a trilogy. Netflix has this description:
“For as long as Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) can remember, he’s had a passion for playing soccer, a pastime his father wishes he’d give up. But when British scout Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane) spies Santiago playing in an amateur match, Foy persuades him to come to England — and the world soon takes notice. Some of the hottest stars from the world of football, including David Beckham and Zinédine Zidane, make cameos in this action-packed romp.”
The Miracle Match (PG)
The theatrical release was titled “The Game of Their Lives” which also happened to be the title of a North Korean soccer documentary. Netflix has this description:
“Wes Bentley stars as Walter Bahr, the legendary American who was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, in part because of his role in the history-making game chronicled in this film. In 1950, the United States faced the esteemed team from England, known then as one of the best the sport had ever seen, in a heated race for the title in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. In a classic David vs. Goliath scenario, the underdogs win out.”
The 1950 U.S. team had a number of St. Louis players on the roster. Steve Olson from SGFsoccer.com has previously written about the movie.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I think they changed the title from ‘The
Greatest Game of Their Lives’ to ‘The Mircale
Match’ because of the Disney golf flick titled
‘The Greatest Game Ever Played’ Even so, people
should see both films!
Great to see the Miracle Match movie out. I have been looking for a copy for about a year. Last year in Columbia, I saw a student newspaper article about films made in Missouri. Much of this movie was shot around St. Louis. One of the main themes of the movie is that sons of immigrants were the players, i.e., Italians, Germans, and French from St. Louis and similar cites. We were able to purchase the book through Barnes & Noble under the original title “The Game of Their Lives.” Sounds a little like the Disney movie “Miracle,” and it was released around 2005. It would make a cool fundraiser for GHS soccer to hold a showing of this at the Moxie during one of the big state soccer tournaments in Spfld!
‘The Mircale Match’ is from the same director-writer
team behind ‘Hoosiers’ (1986) and ‘Rudy’ (1993).