The best football films ever

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Sport and cinema are bound by their ability to provoke emotion and make people dream.

Whether it be seeing Hugh Grant turn fairytale romances into swooning realities (I can admit Notting Hill is a modern masterpiece) in literally any of his 1990s to early-2000s performances or witnessing David Beckham whack a dead ball into the top bins from 30 yards to send England to the World Cup, sport and screen are both very powerful.

And when done right, sport on screen can be unforgettable. So, here at 90min have ranked some of the best football films ever made.

As a disclaimer, this list is purely based on opinion. Please don’t have a go if you don’t find Green Street 2: Stand Your Ground at the top of this list – although, if you’re expecting to find it there, you should probably take a look at yourself rather than give anyone else grief.

Okay, this could quite easily be plopped onto the list of worst football films ever made, but any movie that gives Pele, Bobby Moore and Ossie Ardiles screen time is pretty sensational by our standards.

The legendary ballers joined stars like Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone in 1981 to portray an underdog story of the mightiest proportions.

A group of Allied prisoners of war find themselves in the midst of a Nazi propaganda stunt having agreed to play an exhibition match with a German side, although fail to follow the script as heroic performances lead the Allies to a 4-4 draw in spite of predictably violent opposition and biased officiating.

Football is only the uniting front for the Allied team’s hidden agenda, however, as in the raucous pitch invasion that follows the dramatic draw, the men in white disguise themselves before surging through the gates to their freedom.

Escape to Victory by no means boasts a ground-breaking plot but, boy, is it a good watch.

Kuno BeckerKuno Becker

Kuno Becker played the part of protagonist Santiago Munez / Peter Kramer/GettyImages

An almighty classic. Keep your Pride and Prejudice, we’ve got Santiago Munez in Goal!

The story of a dream-driven boy, portrayed by Kuno Becker, who longs to switch his laborious life of gardening alongside his father in Los Angeles for a starlit footballing career, Goal! simply presents a comic book-style dream come true.

Alright, there’s some over-dramatisation and shoddy acting along the way but, littered with star-studded cameos ranging from Zinedine Zidane to Titus Bramble and culminating in Santi’s rise to Newcastle United folklore, the original Goal! movie is a must-watch for any football fan – the less said about the rest of the trilogy, the better.

Fever Pitch is essentially the story of a rollercoaster romance between Paul Ashworth (played by Colin Firth) and Sarah Hughes (portrayed by Ruth Gemmel), framed by Arsenal’s First Division-winning season in 1988/89.

Ashworth, a teacher, falls head over heels for newly-appointed member of faculty Hughes, only for their love to face the impossibility of the underlying narrative of the story – football, and more specifically, Ashworth’s unwavering passion for the Gunners.

What happens in the end? Come on, it’s a Colin Firth rom-com – the love interest ends up being swept up by the football frenzy as well as Firth’s character, and they live happily ever after.

Actually, they’re Arsenal fans, so maybe not.

Football, martial arts, underdogs, revenge, unbelievable acrobatic goals, superhuman abilities and an antagonist who leads a side named Team Evil among other irreverent qualities – Shaolin Soccer is as bizarre as football films come, but it’s undeniably a fun-filled 112 minutes.

The story, through the amalgamation of martial arts and football, centres around redemption and settling old scores as former Shaolin monk Sing (also known as Mighty Steel Leg and portrayed by Stephen Chow) creates the unstoppable Team Shaolin by reuniting his fellow monks to found the side.

Coached by Fung (otherwise referred to as Golden Leg and played by Ng Man-tat), Team Shaolin pick up pace as they enter a tournament and deploy their dazzling supernatural skills (attained through meditation, naturally). An ultimate challenge awaits them, however, as they are faced with a final against Team Evil, led by Hung – the man who crippled Fung in their playing days and forced the Team Shaolin coach into homelessness.

With such a backstory, you can probably determine the outcome of this bonkers, amusing and massively watchable football-centric piece of art for yourself.

David TennantDavid Tennant

David Tennant portrays Jimmy Murphy in United / Ian Gavan/GettyImages

Focusing on one of football’s most tragic events, United tells the story of the friendship between Jimmy Murphy and Bobby Charlton around the time of the Munich air disaster.

Matt Busby’s successful Manchester United side sees triumphs in both their domestic and European ventures but, upon a return flight from Belgrade, the squad’s plane crashes, killing seven players and gravely injuring several others.

The film’s subsequent story portrays a tale of strength and unity in the face of adversity as Charlton, with the support of Murphy (who takes charge of the Red Devils while Busby recovers in hospital), battles back to the football pitch despite his momentary desire to give the sport up and United make it all the way to the 1958 FA Cup final.

The heart-breaking and heart-warming tale is complimented with fantastic details that bring memories of trench-coated managers and cigarette smoke-polluted terraces of the 1950s alive, making the film a necessity for any football aficionado.

Far from the wackiness of Shaolin monks levitating to wallop balls into top corners is the inspiring story of Bend it like Beckham – another footballing classic.

Showcasing football’s ability to unite and eradicate differences, the film centres around the journey of Jesminder (played by Parminder Nagra), a British-Indian girl. Her passion for football and need to play is forced into hiding by her family’s disapproval due to her gender but, through the friendship and support of Jules (Kiera Knightley’s breakthrough performance), Jesminder finds success with the Hounslow Harriers.

An account of courage, determination, friendship and the power of football, Bend it Like Beckham ends with Jes and Jules walking joyfully through an airport gate to commence their football scholarships in the United States – ‚feel-good‘ doesn’t even cover it.

While the film’s main theme is more kicking the living daylights out of practical strangers than kicking footballs, The Football Factory is an absolute classic portrayal of one of the ugliest parts of our beautiful game.

Danny Dyer’s gritty, careless and arrogant internal monologue throughout this 2004 film (playing the part of Tommy Johnson) epitomises the disturbing and senseless nature of this particular activity, while his elation in the film’s final stages – walking into a pub on crutches to be greeted by the rest of the Chelsea firm following a near-fatal beating at the hands of Milwall, therefore confirming, in his handicapped state, that his place is among this useless violence – epitomises the whole thing’s stupidity.

The shooting of fellow Headhunter Zeberdee (a recurring nightmare for Tommy throughout the flick) at the film’s conclusion, however, is a reminder that the football hooligan protagonist simply cannot escape reality.

As well as the unforced cockney accents (we’re looking at you, Green Street), the Streets-littered soundtrack, the all-action and fast-paced cinematography, and the brilliant early-2000s costuming make this an all-timer.

Offside is as pertinent today as it was upon its release. The film follows a group of Iranian women on their journey to consume the events of their country’s 2006 World Cup qualification match against Bahrain.

As women, they are of course banned from entering the stadium and, after their attempts to sneak in, are forced into a holding pen on the ground’s roof, with the onfield action painfully just out of view. Escorted away from the match in a bus halfway through the second half, the women are able to take in the game’s final stages on the radio before joining a spontaneous street party in the centre of Tehran and celebrating their country’s eventual 1-0 victory.

The film, released in 2006, showcases the painful reality for women in Iran through the medium of football, portraying their unjust fight to simply enjoy their passions and their struggle for freedom.

With these issues just as scandalously present today, Offside is a must-watch for anyone.

There can only be one film at the top of this list – The Damned United.

The enigmatic Michael Sheen’s performance of the…well, enigmatic Brian Clough is one to really remember. Telling the story of Clough’s cursed 44 days (even Liz Truss lasted longer) as Leeds United manager, the Welsh actor brings the wonder of the footballing icon – and his faults – to life on screen.

Also a deep – and immensely entertaining – exploration of the inner workings of English football and its complex culture with a captivating script and fascinating performances, The Damned United is widely regarded as the best football film of all time, and you can see why.