Best Football Movies to Watch
In the mood to watch a flick to feed your football addiction? You've come to the right place! We're breaking down the best classic football movies of all time. From soccer comedies, dramas to documentaries, there's a movie for every mood. Whether you're a football player or fan, read on to find 6 of the best football movies to watch, chosen by the Ultra Football squad.
With many spectacular movies and documentaries focusing on this thrilling and action-packed sport, it took a lot of debate to narrow down the list to this top 6. Here is our list of the best football movies to binge watch this weekend:
Green Street Hooligans (2005)
Genre: Crime Drama
Matt Bucker, an American Harvard undergraduate, played by Elijah Wood, gets wrongfully expelled from Harvard and moves to London to live with his sister and her husband, Steve. Once there, he is befriended by Steve's younger brother, Pete, and is soon introduced to the violent underworld of English football hooliganism. Pete and his friends operate the Green Street Elite' firm' at West Ham.
Matt joins his newfound friends' operations after his initial fear of the violence involved in football hooliganism. As the plot unfolds, London's most intense football rivals, Millwall and West Ham United, go head to head. Matt learns a lot about the culture of football hooliganism and discovers more qualities about himself. If you feel like watching a relatively accurate portrayal of English football hooliganism from many perspectives, this is the film for you!
Watch the Green Street Hooligans trailer.
Diego Maradona (2019)
Genre: Docudrama
There are plenty of movies about Diego Armando Maradona, who is undoubtedly one of the greatest players in football history. Asif Kapadia, the Oscar-awarded director, has taken 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from Maradona's archives as well as news footage and interviews with journalists to focus on Maradona's turbulent times at Napoli. Maradona arrived in Naples in 1984, where he was worshipped on and off the pitch by Neapolitans.
He led the team to its first league title before facing darker times. Fernando Signorini, who trained the Argentinian football superstar, said there were two different sides to Maradona, and this documentary-style movie focuses on the darker side of the now-legendary football player. Watch one of the best soccer movies ever made, revealing the side of this famous footballer that not many had known.
Watch the Diego Maradona trailer.
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Genre: Comedy
In the mood for a comedy? You can't go wrong with the all-time classic 'Bend It Like Beckham'. The film is fittingly named after the iconic football player David Beckham who has won six Premier League titles amongst other achievements. This movie follows two young women who have a shared passion for football. Jess, the daughter of a strict Indian family living in London, doesn't permit her to play organised football, even though she is 18, and Jules who comes from a typical English family.
One day Jules witnesses Jess' impressive skills when kicking-about in the park and convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess agrees and hides her matches from her family. She works to reconcile these two prominent aspects of her life, football and her family, especially as the season's final game is nearing. There is potential for both the girls to be scouted from this game to play in the WUSA league. This comedy focuses on some of the struggles experienced by women in football, showing how, with their grit and by bending the rules at times, they can achieve their goals.
Watch the Bend It Like Beckham trailer.
Damned United (2009)
Genre: Comedy
It is a known fact that making Brian Clough the manager of Leeds United in 1974 was a controversial decision. Leeds United had been thriving under manager Don Revie, with a style of play seen by many to be the new aggressive football style. Clough was already unpopular amongst the football fan base, but he was possibly one of the greatest English football team managers.
Despite the widespread judgement, he later won two European Cups with Nottingham Forest and league titles with Forest and rivals Derby County. The movie is based on David Pearce's book on the events before, during and at the end of Brian Clough's challenging 44 days in charge of Leeds United. Starring the outstanding Michael Sheen, you are bound to be entertained in this semi-fictional movie scenes such as player revolts and team sabotages.
Watch the Damned United trailer.
Offside (2006)
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Offside tells the story of Iranian women who want to go watch their home team play Bahrain in a World Cup qualifier. Sadly, because of their gender, they are banned by law from going to the stadium to watch the match. This law is built because there is a high risk of violence and verbal abuse for women to attend football matches.
This film was shot during an Iran qualifying match and was banned from screening in Iran. Another interesting fact is that the director, Jafar Panahi, had planned two endings for the movie depending on the outcome of the game. The concept of this award-winning international film came from the director's daughter who decided to attend a football game despite the law. Follow these women's journey as they go through thick and thin to watch the football match of the Iranian national team.
Watch the Offside trailer.
Mike Bassett: England Manager
Genre: Comedy
Directed by Steve Barron, this movie is a satirical comedy about Mike Basset, who became the new England manager after his predecessor dies of a heart attack. Having previously been the manager of a successful team from a lower league, Mike was now expected to lead his new team to the World Cup, but disaster after disaster occurs instead. With Ricky Tomlinson as the protagonist, supported by many British comedy actors, this movie is definitely not the most accurate portrayal of football, but is certainly a very hilarious one.
Watch the Mike Bassett: England Manager trailer.
That brings our selection of soccer movies that will engage you more in football culture even more, to an end. The majority of these films are available on popular streaming platforms such as Netflix, Prime and HBO. Need even more football content? Ultra Football's YouTube Channel covers the latest news in football culture so you never miss a beat. Subscribe today and get your weekly dose of football!
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