Canada is all set to host its first Men’s Football World Cup. National flags adorn cars of all shapes and sizes, retro jerseys challenge the sea of monochrome Patagonia vests, and after an especially debilitating winter, everywhere you look, the city appears to be alive and kickin’ (pun intended). To keep the soccer fever raging, even on the downtime, POV has put together a list of 10 documentaries that are sure to make you fall in love with the beautiful game.
FIFA Uncovered – Netflix
Echoing the poignant words of the Walrus’ Harley Rustad, “I love soccer. I hate FIFA.” The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is a deeply corrupted and soulless institution that has consistently privileged the money in football over of the sport itself. FIFA’s bootlicking is perfectly demonstrated by their decision to award the inaugural FIFA ‘Peace’ Prize to the man who most recently threatened to kill off an entire civilization. It would take an unreasonably long film to completely catalogue the despicable nature of the men who run FIFA, but nevertheless, FIFA Uncovered is a necessary and competent investigation into the organization’s history of financial corruption and influence on global politics and why celebrating the World Cup in our country might come with its complications.
Next Goal Wins – VOD
Following the national football team of American Samoa in their bid for a place at the 2014 Men’s World Cup, Next Goal Wins was called, “the Cool Runnings of sports documentaries,” by POV Magazine’s Pat Mullen. A true underdog story, the film is centred around the coach Thomas Rongen and the relationships that he builds with his players to inspire a team that in 2001 lost 31-0 to Australia, in the largest defeat in an international men’s football match. Next Goal Wins is sure to make you perspire, it is sure to inspire, and it is one of the most authentic depictions of why our game is in fact called, the beautiful game. You can also watch Taika Waititi’s dramatic remake on Disney+.
Soccer – NFB
As vague as the title stands, it completely encapsulates what the film is about. Soccer is a short doc from 1974, directed by Shelah Reljic, that explores the culture of football in British Columbia, which at the time was the most played sport in the province. With stunning cinematography of games and electric music, the film privileges the pulsating excitement of the sport and what it meant to the country’s immigrant populations from Italy, Hungary, England, and Scotland. Over 50 years later, as Canada prepares to host its first Men’s World Cup game, Soccer will transport you back in time and make you think of the countless understated and unknown efforts that have made Canadian football culture a reality.
The Pitch – TVO
The Pitch follows Canadian soccer superstar Diana Matheson’s post-retirement quest to establish the first professional women’s soccer league in Canada. The film exposes the performative attitudes towards equity that continue to exist today, in relaying the struggles Matheson and her colleagues endured to actualize their vision. As director Michèle Hozer dubs it not a sports doc, but “a more universal story,” The Pitch is a must watch for anyone who wants to understand the game beyond the field and through the emotions of the billions of people who partake in it.
Captains of the World – Netflix
This documentary series follows the men’s football captains of six countries–Brazil, Croatia, Gabon, Jamaica, Lebanon, Vanuatu–in their respective journeys for a spot at the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar. Hearing from the captains offers enriching insight into what it means for these players to represent their countries on the biggest stage, and how pride and pressure impact their performances throughout.
Ultras – Netflix
Filmed over seven years, across eight countries and four continents, Ultras is a unique film that privileges the perspective of the passionate, die-hard, and life-long football superfan. In both club and international football, ‘ultras’ are a collective of fans who go above and beyond in celebrating their team, its players, and the football. Ragnhild Ekner’s sensitive portrait of these ultras conveys the highs and the lows that accompanies such an unfiltered attachment to football. A must watch for anyone seeking to understand how instrumental the fan is to the game.
Copa 71 – CBC Gem
Before the official FIFA Women’s World Cup was held in 1991, there was a tournament held in Mexico City in 1971 called the Women’s World Cup. Despite drawing nearly 100,000 fans, the tournament has virtually been forgotten in the sport’s modern era. Directed by Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine, Copa 71 uses “a trove of archival footage,” as POV’s Susan G. Cole notes in her review, to trace the glorious history of this tournament, contextualizing the battles women had to fight on and off the field to attain the right to play the sport on their own terms.
Diego Maradona – Crave
One of soccer’s most remembered names, Diego Maradona has left a lasting imprint on the sport and the culture surrounding it. For a legend of Maradona’s stature, it is quite fitting that the man in charge of sharing his story with the world is Asif Kapadia, a legend in his own right when it comes to documentaries. Crafted from over 500-hours of never-seen-before footage, Diego Maradona offers an unfiltered, unbiased, and unprecedented look into the life of the “The Golden Boy,” magnified on the years he spent playing for Italian side, SSC Napoli.
Untold UK: Liverpool’s Miracle of Istanbul – Netflix
For those looking for a more Last Dance-esque, Netflix documentary, Liverpool’s Miracle of Istanbul is the perfect film that offers behind-the-scenes footage of one of the sport’s greatest comebacks. The doc dives into the events leading up to the iconic 2005 Champions League final where a below-par Liverpool side came back from a 3-0 deficit at halftime to trump A.C. Milan, one of the strongest sides in world soccer at the time. Through a combination of player & coach interviews and archival footage tracing the year leading up to the final, the film relays the immense stakes of the game for Liverpool and offers to viewers the story of what truly happened during the half-time break that led to one of the sport’s most memorable stories.
Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In – Prime Video
The most decorated manager in English football, Sir Alex Ferguson cemented Manchester United as the premier football club in the country during his 26-year tenure with the team. Produced by BAFTA winner Andrew Macdonald and directed by Ferguson’s son Jason, Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In paints a heartfelt portrait of the man(ager), chronicling his life from early days to the heights of his career. Through stories shared by Ferguson, the film shows the demands faced by a football manager and how the sport impacts mimics life itself, in more ways than one.
The post Half-Time! 10 Soccer Documentaries to Enrich Your World Cup Experience appeared first on POV Magazine.