Goal! - The Dream Begins | 
 enlarge | Director: Danny Cannon
Actors: Kuno Becker, Alessandro Nivola, Anna Friel, Leonardo Guerra, Tony Plana
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $6.56
You Save: $13.43 (67%)
New (46) Used (29) Collectible (3) from $6.56
Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 11046
Format: Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 118
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 05017300
UPC: 786936700275
EAN: 0786936700275
ASIN: B000GJ0LLI
Theatrical Release Date: May 12, 2006
Release Date: September 12, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
You'd have to be a heartless curmudgeon to dislike a movie as enjoyably sincere as Goal! The Dream Begins. Yes, the corny title tells you all you need to know about this rags-to-riches soccer tale, but like Hoosiers and Rudy, this conventional sports drama rises above its familiar plot with an engaging cast and some pleasant surprises along the way. The first in a proposed trilogy that will follow young Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) as he rises to prominence in the competitive world of British soccer, this one begins by showing how Santiago, an undocumented immigrant in Los Angeles, attracts the attention of a talent scout (Stephen Dillane), who arranges a tryout for England's prestigious team, Newcastle United. It's rough going for a beleaguered trainee who suffers from asthma, but soon Santiago is befriended by a hard-partying soccer star (Alessandro Nivola) and he's on his way to reaching his…Goal! It's all very inevitable, but director Danny Cannon makes the most of this inspiring story by exploiting the unexpected subtleties in an otherwise predictable screenplay: Santigo's relationship with his seemingly unsupportive father (Tony Plana) gains additional resonance as the story unfolds; a local nurse (Anna Friel) turns out to be more than a routine love interest; and Newcastle's German manager (Marcel Iures) is a wry, colorful character who works miracles with his unruly squad of players. Add some obligatory cameo appearances by real-life soccer stars including (of course) the great David Beckham, and you've got a modest, likable hit that delivers exactly what it promises, and a little bit more.--Jeff Shannon
Product Description
Like the inspiring heroes in MIRACLE REMEMBER THE TITANS and THE ROOKIE the amazingly gifted Santiago Mu ez a young immigrant living in the barrios of Los Angeles has an impossible dream -- to play soccer for a world class team. Unexpectedly getting a tryout with one of England's premier soccer clubs Newcastle United Santiago finds himself totally alone in a world where soccer is a religion and the players are gods. Now he not only has to prove he has the passion talent and determination to make it alongside the best in the world but he has to overcome his own demons and those of others. Filled with memorable characters great heart and real-life soccer legends GOAL! THE DREAM BEGINS is a triumphant story about believing in your dreams.System Requirements:Running Time: 118 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SPORTS/GAMES Rating: PG-13 UPC: 786936700275 Manufacturer No: 05017300
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| Customer Reviews: Read 39 more reviews...
 Goal! - The Dream Begins July 24, 2008
Amazing movie, not just for football fans, but for anyone. For those of you who enjoyed, the second one is equally terrific, and they will soon be releasing the third. - 5 STARS!
The Rocky of Soccer July 24, 2008
Bend it like Beckham was previously the Rocky of Soccer, but it was too weird to really fit the genre. This is a true sports movie - training montages, lots of failure, good slips of games, etc. The story is basically a poor Mexican illegal immigrant from LA going to England to pursue his dream of being a pro soccer player (I guess the US teams weren't good enough for him?). Lots of setbacks and challenges ensue, but the story works itself out very well. I enjoyed it a lot. Highly recommended for anyone who likes the Rocky genre of movies.
 Quite horrible, actually June 8, 2008
This is actually much worse than Rudy or Hoosiers, as in way more cliched, predictable, and ultimately unbelievable. And I love soccer. I got a hell of a lot more out of watching Bend it Like Beckham, which has far more compelling human elements mixed in with the fantasy. But Goal! is mildly disturbing, ridiculous fantasy. It actually made me wince. Plus I generally cringe at the idolatrous worship of Premier League football. I personally prefer Serie A, La Liga, and the regional MLS and USL clubs. And kicking it around the yard, of course. You could do a lot better than watch this.
Warm & entertaining . . . it also offers some interesting life lessons! May 17, 2008
I am not a football fan, although I had been to a real foot-ball stadium, & that was about thirty years ago. It was in Dortmund, West Germany, where I was undergoing factory training with O & K Orenstein Kopel AG.
A German service engineer had invited me to watch a foot-ball match between the home team & a team from Munich, during one weekend. I can't recall who won, but to me that was the first & the last time I had seen a real foot-ball game.
Since I am not a football fan, I don't watch the EPL or World Cup on television. In fact, I just don't understand why people can get so frenzy with watching foot-ball matches on television.
The last time I had seen a foot-ball match on television was while watching the action movie, 'Escape to Victory'. It starred Sylvester Stallone & Michael Caine, plus a handful of real-world foot-ballers - Pele, Bobby Moore - I could not recognise the others.
The movie was about a foot-ball match between a ragtag group of Allied prisoners & a German foot-ball team, which the Nazis had originally planned to promote as a propaganda event during WWII. To the chagrin of their German captors, the Allied prisoners had used the closing of the game as a brilliant escape with the spectators.
Last night, after channel surfing, & also checking out the synopsis, I finally settled down to watch a movie entitled 'Goal! The Dream Begins'.
Frankly, all the actors or actress in the movie were unknown, at least to me, with the exception of Tony Plana, whom I last saw as the prison warden in the action movie, 'Half Past Dead', opposite Steven Seagal, who played an undercover agent.
In a nutshell, the movie traced the exploits of a young Mexican immigrant, Santiago Nunez (played by Huno Decker, a Latin American actor) from Los Angeles, working in the building maintenance crew with his divorced father (played by Tony Plana).
He often dreamed of becoming an international foot-ball star. In fact, he spent most of his evenings in street-corner matches.
One day, while dribbling with his ball, he was spotted by Glen, a visiting talent scout from UK, who was a retired foot-ball player with Premiership Club Newcastle United.
Glen called his ex-boss/club manager, Erik, to inform him of his talent finding. Erik agreed to give the young man an opportunity, & Glen invited Santiago to come to UK.
Santiago's hard-headed father was dead against the whole idea, as he believed that the entire family could only made it through hard-work by setting up their own building maintenance business. To discourage the son, the father even snatched part of the son's own meagre savings to pump into the new business.
Fortunately, his grand-mother was supportive of his dreams, & managed to get him an air-ticket & some cash to fly to UK via Mexico city.
Upon arrival, he got in touch with Glen, who invited him to stay in his private home. Glen then arranged for him to go for his "screen test" under the watchful eye of Erik.
It was raining heavily that fateful day, & the foot-ball grounds were a muddy mess, & so poor Santiago flunked his first "screen test".
Glen pleaded to Erik to give the young man a chance. Santiago got one month to prove himself.
At this point, the movie traced his trials & tribulations as a rookie in the premiership club. As usual in most movies, he also got romantically entangled with a beautiful nurse. He also got teamed up with another newly recruited footballer, Gavin, from Germany.
The latter was a night owl & party animal, who introduced him to the booze, the parties, the clubbing, & the women, often associated with the decadent lifestyle of foot-ball stars we read in the papers.
Santiago (as well as Gavin) almost got kicked out of the club, if not for the unwavering support of Glen, the nurse/girl-friend, the coach, & of course, the club manager/boss, Erik, who truly saw the raw talent in the young man.
It was quite fun to watch Erik showing the young man the importance of being a team player in a club, & sharing some important pointers about game discipline.
I like one particular confrontation dialogue between Erik & Santiago, who uttered: "The only one who can tell me I'm not good enough is you. And even then I may not agree with you."
Of course, the movie ended with a critical match in London, where both Santiago & Gavin finally demonstrated their natural ballistic prowess with their heads & legs.
I have really enjoyed watching the movie. Despite some minor technical goofs here & there, & from an overall standpoint, it has been entertaining & warm to watch. Interestingly, David Beckham had a cameo role in the movie.
For me, it also has many interesting learning points.
In the course of pursuing our fondest dreams, one should always remember all the people who cared, especially those who have extended their encouragement &/or help in one way or another as we move forward.
In the case of Santiago, his grand-mother, his mentor in the person of Glen, his girl-friend, his coach in the club, & of course, the club manager/boss, Erik, all played their contributing part in his journey to personal success.
Even his hard-headed father, who often refused to acknowledge the son's phone calls whenever the latter had called home, had drilled into him the importance of standing up for himself, with no excuses whatsoever.
In fact, the father was very proud of his son, when he happened to witness one of his son's foot-ball matches on television, while visiting a local pub in Los Angeles.
This important fact was only made known to Santiago by the grandmother, after the father had died of a sudden heart attack on a job site. The earlier news about his father's unexpected demise had somewhat tormented him, which affected his training.
This personal realisation about his father's eventual acknowledgement certainly gave him the necessary closure to move on with his own life as a foot-ball star. In fact, that was his defining moment, as he had earlier made several vain attempts to seek understanding & recognition from his angry father.
What I am saying in the end analysis is that, warm support of the spouse &/or family plays a very important role in one's journey in life.
Very watchable, but... March 14, 2008
Filled with cliches, stereotypes, and music videos for the MTV crowd. But hey, it's got soccer! No, seriously, it feels like it could've been edited to half this length. But as I was logging on to write this review, I learned there was a sequel. Okay, that explains the length! It's not exactly full of surprises, telegraphing everything well in advance despite not really needing to telegraph such an old hat of a plot. And yet, like the title of this review says, very watchable. I didn't turn it off. I couldn't decide between 2 and 3 stars until I saw all the gushing reviews by everyone else. They need to be offset, because this is a far cry from, oh, BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM or WE ARE MARSHALL.
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