Top 5 football films/series to stream
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Looking for the very best football tv shows and films around?
As Netflix celebrates the successfullaunch of Season Two of ‘Sunderland ‘Til I Die’, we’re taking a look at some of the very best footballing films and docsyou can find to stream online.
Here’s our top five:
1. Bobby Robson: More Than a Manager
Where: Netflix
What is it?
A feature-length documentary that chartsthe career of the former Newcastle, England and Barcelona manager from hisearly days at Ipswich Town, through to his final managerial role at NewcastleUnited.
What really comes across is just the sheerwarmth of the man, with luminaries like Alan Shearer, Sir Alex Ferguson, PepGuardiola, Gary Lineker, Jose Mourinho (who started his career as Robson’s translatorat Barcelona) and Paul Gascoigne lining up to pay tribute.
What you get from the film is a sense ofjust how much football mattered to Bobby Robson and just how much he matteredto the people and players who worked with him. It’s an emotional film,in light of Sir Bobby’s passing in 2009, but it’s also a fascinating portrait of the kindof manager we may not see again.
2. Sunderland ‘Til I Die
Where: Twoseasons currently streaming on Netflix
What is it?
A deep dive into the ailing north-eastclub, Sunderland ‘Til I Die has serious tragi-comic undertones as things go from badto worse for the former Premier League side.
Season One follows the Black Cats in theaftermath of their relegation from the Premier League, as their hopes for animmediate return are found to be wide of the mark. Instead the team findthemselves circling the drain into League One.
Season Two picks up the following year, asthe new owners Stewart Donald and the highly entertaining PR guru CharlieMethven seek to revive the fallen giant. To say they don’t find thateasy is an understatement, with Donald proclaiming “This club will killme”.
Sunderland ‘Til I Die is a lotmore warts and all than some of the other football documentaries out there, andit’s the passion of the club’s long-suffering fans that really shinesthrough.
3. The Damned United
Where: Availablefor rental or purchase from Amazon, Google, YouTube, iTunes Store.
What is it?
For our money, The Damned United is thefinest football film ever made. While the competition may not be that great,this film is, following legendary manager Brian Clough as he joins Division 1Champions Leeds United.
As you might expect from the title, it doesnot go well. Clough quickly alienates key players, still loyal to theirprevious manager Don Revie, dismissing his predecessor and his players, forplaying football the wrong way (there’s a reason Leeds still get called ‘Dirty Leeds’ by opposingfans).
At the heart of the film is Michael Sheen’s fantasticportrayal of Clough, a passionate, arrogant, stubborn, charismatic and kindcontradiction of a man who went on to great success with Nottingham Forest,winning both the League title and consecutive European Cups.
4. Take Us Home: Leeds United
Where: Oneseason currently streaming on Amazon Prime
What is it?
After fifteen years without top-flightfootball, Leeds fans are more than ready to get back in the Premier League andMarcelo Bielsa may just be the man to take them there.
However, last season, they fell to play-offdefeat, as the wheels came off Bielsa’s wild ride, including the infamous ‘spy-gate’ scandal – whereBielsa was reprimanded for sending a spy to watch Frank Lampard’s DerbyCounty train.
The first episode of Take Us Home appearsto be a contractually-obliged profile of owner Andrea Radrizzani, but once youget into the season proper it combines thrills, chills, scandals, high emotionsand a fanatical fanbase – falling somewhere in-between the polished All or Nothing and thedevastating Sunderland ‘Til I Die.
5. All or Nothing: Manchester City
Where: Oneseason currently streaming on Amazon Prime
What is it?
While a little slick and occasionallyfeeling like a PR exercise, All or Nothing gives you access to the Man City dressingroom in their title-winning 2017/18 season. So, you get Pep Guardiola infull-flow, with his manic team-talks, occasional outbursts and you get to seewhat the players are like behind closed doors.
Fabian Delph is a stand-out star, clearlyenjoying playing up to the camera, while Benjamin Mendy shows that hismickey-taking social media profile is just the tip of the iceberg. Kevin DeBruyne comes across as slightly arrogant, but when you’re that good atfootball, we’ll allow it.
All or Nothing sometimes comes across asthe literal opposite of Sunderland ‘Til I Die, swapping perennial, persistentfailure for serial winners storming their way to the Premier League title. Assuch, it makes a perfect pick-me-up after watching the latter.
If you enjoy the series, All or Nothing:Brazil National Team is also available, with All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspurson the way.
All odds and markets correct as of dateof publication
