Goal! The Dream Begins (Goal!: The Impossible Dream) (2005)
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44% of critics liked it
(80 reviews) -
76% of users liked it
(95,530 ratings)
One young man's dream takes him on a remarkable journey in this sports-themed drama. Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) was born in Mexico, and came to California with his family when he was just a boy. One of the few things Santiago brought with him was a love for soccer, and while he holds down two… More One young man's dream takes him on a remarkable journey in this sports-themed drama. Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) was born in Mexico, and came to California with his family when he was just a boy. One of the few things Santiago brought with him was a love for soccer, and while he holds down two jobs -- working landscaping during the days with his father, Hernan (Tony Plana), and as a busboy at night -- he still dreams of playing the game professionally, and spends his precious spare time with an amateur team in Los Angeles. One day, Santiago is approached by Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), a part-time scout for powerhouse British team Newcastle United; Glen has seen Santiago play and thinks he has talent, and can get him a tryout with Newcastle if he can make his way to England. While Hernan refuses to help Santiago pay for the trip, his grandmother (Miriam Colon) empties her savings to help him follow his dream. Santiago's first reserve game with the team happens during a typically British rainstorm, with Santiago suffering a mild asthma attack to boot; he doesn't play at his best and is turned away from the team, but he refuses to go home, determined to make good. After striking up a friendship with star kicker Gavin Harris (Alessandro Nivola) and demonstrating his mettle to coach Mal Braithwaite (Gary Lewis), Santiago earns a second chance to show Newcastle United what he can do and make his father proud of him. Goal! was a major international hit, and a sequel was already in production before the film opened in the United States in the spring of 2006. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Danny Cannon, Jaume Collet-Serra
- Genres
- Sports & Fitness, Drama
- In Theaters
- Sep 8, 2005 Wide
- Studio
- Buena Vista Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
It is constructed of sports movie clichés but built on an unshakable foundation of earnestness.
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Trevor Johnston, Time Out
The combination of button-pushing uplift, sundry sweeping helicopter shots and a bombastic score that sounds like it came on a free transfer from a Tony Scott movie proves as resistibly synthetic as the CGI-enhanced heroics on the pitch.
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John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press
Everything here is beyond predictable.
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Goal! is filled with cringe-inducing scenes we've seen before many, many times.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
... it is good and caring work, with more human detail than we expect.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Leonardo Guerra
as 10-Year-Old Santiago
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Tony Plana
as Hernan Munez
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Miriam Colon
as Mercedes
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Kuno Becker
as Santiago Munez
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Jorge Cervera Jr.
as Cesar
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Herman Chaves
as Referee
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Alfredo Rodriguez
as Julio
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Donald Li
as Chinese Restaurant Manager
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Kathryn Tomlinson
as Val
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Zach Johnson
as Rory
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Stephen Dillane
as Glen Foy
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Sean Pertwee
as Barry Rankin
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Jonathan Hernandez
as Armando
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Alessandro Nivola
as Gavin Harris
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Cassandra Bell
as Christina
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Rhydian Jones
as Sales Person
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Marcel Iures
as Erik Dornhelm
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Christoper Connel
as Reporter 1
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Peter Michael McGowan
as Reporter 2
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Andy Hawthorne
as Immigration Official 1
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Michael Gunn
as Immigration Official 2
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Ashlea Sanderson
as Girl
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Alex Parkin-Goodchild
as Kid 1
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Callum Aynsley
as Kid 2
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Christopher Fairbank
as Foghorn
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Craig Heaney
as Phil
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Jack McBride
as Walter
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Rob Dixon
as Bobby Redfern
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Anna Friel
as Roz Harmison
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Kieran O'Brien
as Hughie Magowan
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Gary Lewis
as Mal Braithwaite
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Ashley Walters
as Carl Francis
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Kevin Knapman
as Jamie Drew
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Lee Ross
as Bluto
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Stephen Graham
as Des
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Andy Kidd
as Bouncer
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Alan Shearer
as Alan Shearer
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Emma Field Rayner
as Lorraine
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Martin Tyler
as Martin Tyler
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Brian Lonsdale
as Fan
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Glynis Brooks
as Cleaner 1
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Maxine Evans
as Cleaner 2
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Blondell Taylor
as Sister
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Daniel Maier
as Patient
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Frances Barber
as Carol
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Madeline Moffat
as Woman in Tower Block
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Louis Lennie
as Teenager
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Baden Burns
as Teenager
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Nicholas Lumley
as Taxi Dispatcher
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Mike Elliot
as Gordon
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Louise Franklin
as Drunk Girl
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Leslie Randall
as Mr. Ives
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Bryan Johnson
as Geordie Fan
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Greg Ellis
as Fan 2
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Sven-Göran Eriksson
as Sven-Göran Eriksson, Sven-Göran Eriksso...
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David Beckham
as David Beckham
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Raúl González Blanco
as Raúl González Blanco, Raúl González Bl...
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Zinedine Zidane
as Zinedine Zidane
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Shivani Ghai
as Ground Attendant
- Anne Friel




