Goal! (Also known as the Goal! Dream Begins in the United States) is a 2005 film directed by Danny Cannon becomes. This is the first installment of a trilogy and is the goal. This film is one of the reasons actual teams and players are used throughout the film, which FIFA has been in full cooperation.Story:
Santiago Muñez is a skilled footballer. The son of a
gardener who lives in SPAIN barrio section of Los Angeles, Santiago works as a
bus boy in a Chinese restaurant and helps with his father's gardening business.
His ultimate dream is to play football professionally. Due to his poverty and
the fact that he plays solely for a club made up of Hispanics from a local car
wash, he feels his chances are slim. Santiago is noticed by Glen Foy (Stephen
Dillane), a former Newcastle United player who works as a car mechanic but
still has ties to his old team. Glen arranges to get Santiago a tryout with
Newcastle United, who recently signed talented new player Gavin Harris
(Alessandro Nivola). Needing to get to England, Santiago begins to save his
money in an old shoe, but his father finds the stash and takes it to buy a GMC
truck to allow them to work for themselves. His dream is not lost though, as
his grandmother sells off her jewellery to buy him a ticket to England.
Glen warmly welcomes Santiago to his home and takes him to
the tryout. Unfamiliar with the English style, he performs poorly. Glen
convinces the team's manager that Santiago needs a month's trial to show his
full potential. Santiago does not tell club nurse, Roz Harmison (Anna Friel),
that he has asthma. After a month a jealous teammate crushes Santiago's inhaler
before a reserve game. An asthma flare-up prevents him from being able to run
hard, and his coach lets him go. While on his way to the airport Santiago meets
Gavin Harris, who was late to arrive to the team. Harris finds out what has
happened and makes Santiago explain it to the manager. The manager allows Santi
to stay, provided he gets treatment for the asthma. Santiago earns a contract
for the reserves team and moves in with Gavin. Finally he gets onto the first
team as a substitute in a match against Fulham. There he wins a penalty for
Newcastle, which is taken by Gavin winning them the match. Unknown to anyone
else in his family, his father watches the match on TV in the USA, and after
finally watching his son play, he leaves a proud father. Despite the victory,
the manager informs Santiago that his weakness is that he does not pass the
ball off. That night, he and Gavin go out partying. A picture of the two winds
up in the tabloid The Sun, causing anger from the manager. At the same time, Santiago's
friend, Jamie, suffers a career-ending injury that only causes him additional
grief.
Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Santiago's father dies of a heart
attack. Devastated, Santiago plans to return home. While in the airport waiting
for his flight back to Los Angeles, he decides not to return and reports back
to training. Believing he may not make it to the playing eleven, he goes to St
James' Park and practices till late in the evening, and is informed by the
manager that he has been selected to play against Liverpool F.C.. On match day,
Gavin puts Newcastle into the lead. Before half-time, Liverpool makes a
comeback with two goals, from Igor Bišćan and Milan Baroš. In the final minutes
of injury time, Santiago assists Gavin in scoring the equaliser by finally
passing the ball to him, to make it 2–2. However, a draw will not be enough to
earn Newcastle a place in next season's UEFA Champions League. Mere minutes
before the end of the game, Gavin is tripped and Newcastle gain a wide free
kick, which Gavin gives to Santiago. Santiago, with the hopes and prayers of
the whole city of Newcastle resting on his shoulders, scores, and Newcastle win
3–2. Glen reveals to Santiago that his grandmother is trying to call. She
mentions that his father did watch his first match against Fulham, after
learning this from a fellow supporter (a cameo by Brian Johnson, lead singer
from AC/DC, who was born and raised in Newcastle). Santiago shouted to Glen
that his father saw him play and was proud of him before he died. Glen replies:
He's probably watching you right now. The film happily ends with Santiago
shedding tears of joy while embracing his dream.