Red's Offseason Soccer Movie/Series Streaming List
Red's Offseason Soccer Movie/Series Streaming List
Here's everything soccer related I watched in 2020 to help you with MLS offseason boredom.
The World Cup is over. There’s two more weeks left in the holidays. We’re months away from the 2023 MLS season starting. You, my dear High Liner, need something to watch. During the peak of 2020, I was very bored. I scoured the internet for anything and everything soccer I had not watched before. I kept a list of what I found, watched, and liked. Here is that list. Refer back to it when you need more soccer in your life and the calendar is uncooperative.
For each movie, series, etc. I have listed the year it came out and the current legal outlets where you can watch it. Many of these were made for streaming and don’t have a defined G, PG, PG-13 etc. rating. Do you research before assuming one of these is appropriate for your audience. Now, let’s get to the categories.
The Fun(ny) Stuff:
Fever Pitch (1997, Peacock, YouTube): Based on the book that turned many Americans into Arsenal fans. Colin Firth plays a school teacher and diehard Arsenal fan. He tries to balance a budding romance with the teacher next classroom while being a season ticket holder the year Arsenal makes a run at the title. Great insight for how to balance a relationship between a sports fan and non-sports fan. So many great lines. 10/10
Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001, Ruke, Amazon Prime, Tubi): A satirical mocumentary in which an under-qualified Mike Bassett manages England at a World Cup. This is worth it just for the press conference scene at the end. 9/10
Shaolin Soccer (2001, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, Pluto TV): Anime-inspired martial arts sci-fi. A rag tag group of kung fu soccer players team up to defeat Evil Team. This movie breaks so many laws of physics. Turn your brain off and enjoy. 8/10
When Saturday Comes (1996, YouTube): Sean Bean plays a blue-collar nobody, who grew up in Sheffield and dreamed of being a football star. He gets his chance to try out for Sheffield United while balancing a relationship and difficult home life. Oh, and he doesn’t die at the end like all the other Sean Bean movies! Warning: This one’s got nudity and it’s not set up or foreshadowed at all. 7/10
Green Street Hooligans (2005, Amazon Prime): This movie is a stupid violent meme and I love it. Elijah Wood’s character arc. The chants. Learning Cockney rhymes. That prank on the Man United firm. Not a great movie. But a classic for any footy fan. Don’t watch any of the sequels. 8/10
The Football Factory (2004, Amazon Prime): The less good predecessor to Green Street. Think “kids, we have Green Street Hooligans at home.” There’s no plot. It’s more violent than Green Street. There’s two fun quotes. I didn’t mind watching it. I don’t need to watch it again. 6/10
The English Game (2020, Netflix): A not super accurate biopic of Fergus Suter, the 1884 FA Cup Final, and the professionalization of English football. Worth seeing how it portrayed the game’s roots and the class warfare that spawned from it. 7/10
Looking For Eric (2009, Amazon Prime, Sling, YouTube, Roku): A middle aged postman in Manchester is a huge United fan. He smokes a magic joint that allows him to commune with Red Devils legend Eric Cantona to get his life together. Worth watching for the final scene when a bunch of postmen organize a drug bust. 7/10
Celtic Soul (2016, Tubi, Amazon Prime): A Canadian actor/comedian makes friends with the local foreign soccer correspondent. They bond over being Celtic fans and go on a boys trip to the motherland and to see a game “in Paradise.” 7/10
Well Produced Documentaries:
All or Nothing: Borussia Dortmund (2019, Amazon Prime): My favorite Amazon All or Nothing series. They follow Dortmund during one of their more competitive challenges of Bayern. Really good behind the scenes access and club history lesson. The intro with Waldstadion lit up in fog gives me chills. Klopp makes a cameo to talk about a drinking party. Heads up, Pulisic isn’t featured a lot. Also, all the audio’s in German, so be ready to read subtitles. 8/10
All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur (2020, Amazon Prime): Spoiler alter, Spurs win nothing. As usual. But the camera crew documents COVID and Project Restart in real time and produces it well. Also, Jose Mourinho’s super entertaining as expected. His halftime talks are lit. 7/10
All or Nothing: Manchester City (2018, Amazon Prime): I loved watching Pep Guardiola work a tactics board. Unlike the other “let’s follow a soccer team for a whole year,” series, this one has few low moments. But it’s incredible to rewatch that 100 point City team from this perspective. 8/10
Sunderland ‘Till I Die (2018, Netflix): The GOAT of soccer documentaries. Saving Private Ryan is the reason we have so many good historically accurate war movies nowadays. STID did that for this genre. Both season’s are a wild ride. Well made. Incredible humanity. Climactic. Cinematic. They catch lightning in a bottle with two amazing stories in real time. The production *chef’s kiss*. Stop reading this article and go binge this if you haven’t seen it. 10/10
Take Us Home: Leeds United (2019, Amazon Prime): Better than the All or Nothing’s. Follow Leeds United as they try to get back into the EPL under Marcelo Bielsa. Russell Crowe narrates wonderfully. Like STID, great club history lessons and feature on the community. A really good watch for fans who are now watching Leeds for the first time. 9/10
This Is Football (2019, Amazon Prime): A six part anthology on different and unique soccer topics. Each episode stands on its own. Episode 2 gives a great new spin on the Japan team that beat the USWNT in the WWC Final. The one about the kid who becomes a referee in South Africa had me in tears. My favorite of this category after STID. 9/10
Iron Men (2017, Amazon Prime): Documentary on West Ham’s final season at the Boleyn Ground and move to the Olympic Stadium. Bonus points for the Mark Noble wholesome content. 7/10
The Game (2021, ESPN+): Follow a Swiss Super League match from the perspective of the officiating crew. Really insightful. I am more empathetic and understanding towards referees having watched this. Great editing on the quick cut scenes. And it’s only 17 minutes long. 8/10
The Class of '92 (2013, Google Play, Apple TV, YouTube): A British documentary about the legendary Manchester United academy class that led to a treble win in 1999. A little preachy. Hardly Red Devil propaganda. 7/10
Stuff About One Person:
Bobby Robson: More Than a Manager (2018, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Vudu): A humanizing and posthumous film on Bobby Robson, the Marco Polo of English managers. This is the only time I’ve seen Mourinho speak about someone other than himself with reverence. 9/10
My Name is Ada Hegerberg (2020, ESPN+): Hegerberg’s one of the best women’s soccer players of this generation. This film follows her club life in Lyon and digs deep on her decision to leave the Norwegian national team to stand for equality for the women’s game. Also there’s a really good dig at Alexi Lalas, lol. 8/10
Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story (2011): We always forget Jay DeMerit played in the Premier League with Watford. This follows that career journey. Every American abroad should have to watch this to appreciate the path DeMerit had to take/paved for them. Non-league tryouts, sleeping on a host family’s couch, eating nothing but beans and toast and all. 6/10
Matthews (2017, Tubi): Same idea as the Bobby Robson documentary. Stanley Matthews was a crack back in the day. Dominated postwar football with Stoke City. Moved to Blackpool so he could train on the beach to prolong his career. Won FA Cups in his 40s. Played WELL AND GOOD into his 50s. Move over Tom Brady. Then he goes to South Africa to coach an all black player team during apartheid. What a mensch. 10/10
Becoming Zlatan (2015, YouTube, Google Plan, Apple TV): Follow baby-faced Zlatan as he starts at Malmo and moves to Ajax. Lots of exclusive interviews and behind the scenes content. Really good look at Zlatan as he builds his professional persona (and super ego). Your opinion of this film will largely depend on your existing opinions of Ibra. 8/10
The Damned United (2009, Tubi): Somewhat dramatic biopic of Brian Clough’s failed 44 days as Leeds United manager in 1974. A good look at what training, facilities, and coverage around the game was like in the 1970s. Also post-game manager meet ups. 7/10
Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (2006): A bunch of cameras track Zinedine Zidane for an entire Real Madrid match in 2005. I found this one a bit jarring. The camera movement gave me a bit of vertigo. But it gives a really good look at how little any one soccer player has the ball and what all they do when they don’t have it. There’s lots of good quotes throughout that humanize Zuzi and his character. He has an eventful game as well. 7/10
Unbreakable - The Steve Zakuani Story (2019, Philo, Amazon Prime): A cathartic healing journey for a great player whose career got cut short due to injury. Basically his book ‘500 Days’ in interview movie form. There’s a really profound five minutes when the film brings up Brian Mullan and how Zakuani made peace with him. 7/10
Adidas Vs. Puma: The Brother's Feud (2016, Amazon Prime): A semi-historically accurate biopic on two German brothers who started the athletic footwear industry as we know it. They work great together. They give Jesse Owens shoes at the Olympics when the German athletes snub them. They join the Nazi Party (reluctantly, we think). One gets drafted. The other modifies the shoe factory to serve the war effort. They become estranged after the war. Rudi starts a new company Puma. Adi starts Adidas, debuting his new screw in cleat technology for West Germany at the 1954 World Cup Final, a muddy affair against favorites Hungary. 9/10
Hold Onto Your Butt, This is Going to be a Wild Watch:
Forever Pure (2016): A UK-Israeli documentary about the radicalization of Beitar Jerusalem FC. Rabbi told me about this movie. He tried to warn me. I was NOT ready. Apparently Jewish Supremacy exists in the IPL’s best club and this movie captured all of it. 7/10
Hillsborough (2014, ESPN 30 For 30, ESPN+): One of three sad ones on this list. A comprehensive 30 For 30 on the Hillsborough disaster and the years of court cases that followed. A sobering look at stadium layout, security, how not to do safe standing, and how it devastated the Liverpool community. A fair critique of how people in power demonize sports fans when it benefits them. Justice for the 96. 10/10
The Two Escobars (2010, ESPN 30 For 30, ESPN+): Another sad one. Andres Escobar was a star center back for the Columbian national team. He committed the own goal at the 1994 World Cup that helped the USMNT get out of the group. He was murdered as a result with the drug cartel overtaking and losing control of Columbian football, initiated by Pablo Escobar. 9/10
Istanbul United (2014, Amazon Prime, YouTube): Ultras from Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas put aside their differences and unite to stand up to police brutality and government tyranny in Turkey’s capital. Very empowering. Deep in supporter subculture particular to the region. Almost all speaking is in Turkish, so get ready for subtitles. When they show supporters in the stands, be ready for inappropriate chants. Lots of profanity and threats towards people’s mothers. 8/10
The Four Year Plan (2011, YouTube): Follow Queens Park Rangers from 2007-11 as a consortium of billionaires buys the club and initiates a four-year plan to get QPR into the Prem. Neil Warnock shows up and is a meme. One of the owners becomes a snowflake and feuds with the fans. They get investigated for violating financial fair play. If The Wolf of Wall Street was a soccer movie and had a Matt Pickens cameo, this is what you’d get. 9/10
Offside (2006, Amazon Prime, YouTube Google Play, Vudu): A fictional Iranian film about a group of girls who try to sneak into a 2006 World Cup qualifier at Azadi Stadium. It’s a low budget foreign film so you won’t be wowed by the product. But it is historically accurate in capturing the brutal security around football matches and the inequality between the genders in Iran. Given the recent political protests for women’s rights in Iran and the fact that the USMNT beat them in the group stage, a topical and worthwhile watch. The language is entirely in Persian, so again be ready for subtitles. 8/10
Every American Soccer Fan Should Watch:
Once In A Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (2006, YouTube, Google Play, Apple TV): Before the LA Galaxy had David Beckham, the New York Cosmos signed Pele. He plays his first game on green painted dirt in Queens. Three years later, the NASL has arrived. Soccer Bowl. A shadow soccer government. Shep Messing doing a risqué photo shoot as a publicity stunt. Then, it all comes crashing down. 9/10
American Pharaoh (2014, YouTube): The third sad one. Learn about Bob Bradley’s two-year stint with the Egypt National Team in 55 minutes. Pressure to make the World Cup. The Port Said Stadium riot. Mohammad Salah’s rise to stardom. Playing behind closed doors. The federation’s office being bombed. Somehow they advance to the final round, drawing Ghana. 8/10
Escape to Victory or Victory (1981, Amazon Prime, YouTube): This film is called Escape To Victory in the UK and Europe but was marketed as just Victory in the US. It’s a fictional World War II movie. A bunch of soccer playing inmates at a Nazi POW camp challenge a German team to a match and use it to plot their escape. Michael Caine plays a former West Ham player who joined the BEF. The cast is littered with professional legends. Pele, playing a Trinidadian foreign legion volunteer, scores a bicycle kick goal. Osvaldo Ardiles does his signature rainbow flick over a Nazi. This movie’s worth it just to see Sylvester Stallone’s horrible goalkeeping technique and his “this frigging soccer game is ruining my life” line. 7/10
The Game of Their Lives (2005, Tubi): A very inaccurate biopic of the 1950 USMNT World Cup team that upsets England 1-0. To this day it’s regarded as one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. St. Louis citizen soccer journo Dent McSkimming (played by Sir Patrick Stewart) narrates his coverage a rag tag meme of St. Louis and East Coast soccer players as U.S. Soccer puts together a last minute World Cup team. A center back wears oven mitts (historically accurate). Gerrard Butler plays the captain. John Harkes plays Ed McIlvenny, a Scottish ex-pat. Harkes cannot do a Scottish accent (historically accurate or otherwise). Joe Gaetjens, the goal scorer, is portrayed as a voodoo worshiper. Inaccuracies aside, they depict the game against England, the goal, and the aftermath well. 7/10
Next Goal Wins (2014, Amazon Prime): American Samoa loses to Australia 31-0 in 2001. Thomas Rongen takes over as head coach of the national team to end the longest winless streak in international soccer. He institutes a professionalized culture and mentality. They bring back the goalkeeper who started that game against Australia to get redemption. A Fa’afafine makes the team and becomes the first openly transgender player to play in a Men’s World Cup Qualifier. They go all in on trying to win one game. This story is being turned into a biopic with the same name, set to be released in 2023. Michael Fassbender is playing Rongen. I’m so excited. 10/10