“I’ve spent muddy days watching young lads beat the hell out of each other. But once in a while, there’s one that comes along and lifts your heart.” — Glen Foy in “Goal!”
Like every kid, Santiago Munez has a big dream. But unlike every kid, he’s given the rare opportunity to make that dream come true-if he’s willing to put his fears aside, travel thousands of miles from home, and hold his own with some of the best in the world. The intense pressure and personal sacrifice prove costly for Santiago on his quest-but will they be enough to keep this gifted, determined young athlete and fledgling hero from his ultimate “Goal”?
When Santiago crossed the border into America at the age of 10, he had two things in his possession: his football and a tattered picture of the World Cup. Working menial jobs while growing up in Los Angeles, Santiago’s (Kuno Becker) passion was playing football.
But when Brit Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), an amiable former football player and sometime scout spots Santiago at a local L.A. match, he recognizes a deft, fast and brave footballer-the kind of talent that the glamorous English Premier League Club, Newcastle United, is hungry for.
Now thrust into a foreign land where football is a religion and Newcastle’s St. James’ Park its cathedral, this young American must prove that he’s got the grit and the game to win a contract with one of the most prestigious football clubs in the world.
Production notes provided by Touchstone Pictures.
Goal: The Dream Begins
Starring: Kuno Becker, Stephen Dillane, Alessandro Nivola, Anna Friel
Cameos: David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Raul, and Alan Shearer
Directed by: Danny Cannon
Screenplay by: Dick Clement
Release Date: May 12nd, 2006
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some sexual content, language and brief drug reference.
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Box Office Totals
vDomestic: $4,283,255 (15.5%)
Foreign: $23,327,618 (84.5%)
Total: $27,610,873 (Worldwide)