Soccer Movies

Soccer Movie: Vasermil - 2007

Writer-director Mushon Salmona conceived the idea for his first feature film Vasermil after making a documentary about the marginal lives of teenagers in his hometown of Beer-Sheva, in southern Israel. The three boys in this story all come from broken homes and have to grow up quickly, although they are ill-prepared to do so. In this downer of a movie, they suffer the consequences of their drug-dealing and gangster ties.

There is a lot of straight soccer in this movie, as the director may have used local players throughout rather than professional actors.

After a slow beginning, the story is fairly compelling. One player is discriminated against because he is Ethiopian, but his skill on the ball wins his teammates' friendship, and they begin to see past his color. I wished I could have learned more about Israeli life from this movie, but the scope is very limited. It assumes that you are already familiar with Israeli ceremonies and celebrations, so I couldn't understand the meaning of some of the incidents. Even the stadium Vasermil looks like a school facility, but it turns out to be the home of the local pro team and in fact, was the site of a 1973 friendly where Israel defeated the USA. So playing in a youth tournament there has more importance to the story than is apparent.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124001/
Streamable from Netflix. In Hebrew and other languages, with english subtitles.

 

Soccer Movie: In the Hands of the Gods - 2007

In the Hands of the Gods follows five British freestylers over a 6-week odyssey as the young men work their way from London to Argentina to meet Diego Maradona. This documentary is very similar to the movie Pelada, but it has a lot more friction, because the five have set out on their journey without a plan or money. They are accompanied by the film crew, which cannot intervene in any way. Eventually, the group has to split up, and only three make it to Maradona's doorstep.

The freestyling street performances, and the crowds' reaction to them, are fun to watch. As one freestyler says, it takes flair, confidence, personality, and performance to be successful. In addition to Times Square, one of their stops is the half-time show for an FC Dallas game.

This movie was the first feature film for its production company. Though made on a tiny budget, it was shown at Cannes, which led to its opening in many theatres in England. However, while there may have been a lot of enthusiasm for this film, I felt it was slow and needed a lot more editing. In the beginning, their quest is inspiring, but after 40 minutes it starts to feel obsessive and passionless.

One thing I learned is that "keepy uppy" is the British term for freestyling soccer.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1051231/
Streamable on Netflix.

 

Lesbians of Buenos Aires - 2004

Lesbianas de Buenos Aires is not really a soccer movie. Neither is it a movie that Howard Sterns would salivate over. It is a documentary of interviews of several unrelated 30ish lesbians. It came up in a Netflix soccer search because one of the subjects runs a woman's indoor league, and there are a few minutes that show her playing in a facility where small sided fields are in wire fence cages. She is very passionate about soccer, but she is basically a recreational player.

The movie is disjointed because the subjects' stories do not interwine, and the film cuts back and forth between their free-form interviews. Sadly, there is no sense of Buenos Aires, as all shots are indoors or in a car, except for one interview in an empty stadium. I learned a few things from this movie. The subjects feel that Argentine men take their sexuality as a rejection of men, and so the men call the lesbians Tortilleras as a very derogatory term. One woman tried to explain the meaning of the word, which frankly I couldn't understand, even after they cooked a potato tortilla as an example. It was also curious that some of the subjects are women who seem to have chosen lesbianism based on a relationship, but they could be equally happy with the right man. I think many American gay activists would have a problem with such a Cynthia Nixon-like portrayal. Maybe this film does this because first-time director Santiago Garcia is presumably male. Anyhow, this movie is very boring and I had to wake myself up several times to finish it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308498/
DVD is on Netflix. In spanish with english subtitles. No extras.

 

Soccer Movie: Yesterday's Hero - 1979

Rod Turner (Ian McShane) is a former big star (and still adept womanizer) drinking his way to the end of his career, playing for a small club. The pop star owner of the third division Saints wants an experienced striker and signs him for the semi-final game of the League Cup over the protestations of the Saints Manager. The owner is in unrequited love with fellow pop star Cloudy Martin (Suzanne Somers), who had her own unrequited groupie encounter with Rod back in the day. Can Rod continue to perform in every sense of the word?

I don't know why this movie doesn't show up on more soccer movie lists, as I found it quite entertaining. Written by novelist Jackie Collins, who specializes in fiction that thinly veils Hollywood lives, the film appeals to a broad base, with its romance novel storyline, soccer footage from a Southampton-Nottingham Forest League Cup Final, and a ton of disco-dancing pop music... Okay, so maybe that wouldn't appeal to a lot of people.

This movie was a first-time film in many ways: first feature film for director Neil Leifer--a renowned sports photographer, first starring roles for Somers and McShane, first original story/screenplay by Jackie Collins. According to McShane, he used to drink with George Best in a pub owned by Collins, and that is probably why the film mirrors his life. McShane's father played for ManU, and so Ian has maintained contacts with the football community. Suzanne Somers has a few Marilyn Monroe moments in the film (she was an MM fan) and runs around braless throughout. I'm curious to know if she does her own singing in the film, but could not find any info about the soundtrack.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080158/
Streamable on netflix.

 

Joyeux Noel - 2005

Earlier in this thread, someone suggested Joyeux Noël. I stayed in a hotel in Avila Beach this weekend, and they had this DVD in their library. Well, it's a fairly well done movie, but like The Boys in Company C, it is really an anti-war movie, not a soccer movie at all. However, I'm posting a review because there is a similar movie that has more soccer in it, so I may as well cover all the bases.

Joyeux Noel is a French film based on actual incidents that occurred in 1914 throughout the Western front in World War I. As it was the first Christmas of the war, many troops ceased hostilities without a formal truce, originally mainly to retrieve and bury their dead. But some troops fraternized further by singing together the newly popular song, Silent Night, and they exchanged food, drink, and even played a game of football.

In the movie, an incident is greatly fictionalized. A famous tenor rises from the German trenches to serenade the enemy, xmas tree in hand. This opens a dialog between the lieutenants of the French, German, and Scottish troops. A famous soprano sings for the combined troops, and a pastor leads them all in a Latin mass. Each side shelters the other in their trenches during artillery barrages. The soldiers are no longer willing to fight each other. Once word of the incident spreads, they are considered compromised and are sent to other fronts.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424205/
DVD has director's commentary and an interview. In French, German, and English, with various language subtitles.

 

Soccer Movie: Soccer City - 2010

Nick Fitzhugh went to South Africa during WC 2010 and filmed a documentary ostensibly about the impact of soccer on South African culture. They interviewed and followed the lives of various youth players and former National Team members from the impoverished township of Alexandra (Alex) in Johannesburg. Fitzhugh wrote about his subjects in the NY Times and followed that up with “Soccer City”, a 60-minute documentary.

With massive unemployment and little future beyond crime, the youth players in Alex see soccer as a path to education. If they play well, they can get a scholarship at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). The real purpose of playing soccer is to get out of the township and rise above the discrimination that comes with being a resident of the slum.

The film has a good purpose. But the stories show just how hard it is to leave Alex, and once done with soccer, how hard it is to move on to something better. It reminds me of Prof Harry Edwards at UC Berkeley in the 70s, when he complained that sports was used to hold the black man down, by encouraging black youth to excel in sports as the best path out of poverty, rather than education.

As far as low-budget soccer documentaries go, this film does not capture its passion as in Pelada or In the Hands of the Gods. There is video from local games, but it suffers from minimal equipment, and I suspect, a lack of knowledge of the game. The most interesting soccer comes from young Nancy Majola, who has good juggling and dribbling skills.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1795653/

I watched this film on ESPN Classic. Much of the spoken English is subtitled. If you subscribe to the redfitz.com website, you can download an HD version for 50% below its regular price of $12.
Read Fitzhugh’s articles at http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/defined-by-soccer/. Fitzhugh graduated from Brown University in creative writing and started a foundation to encourage youth to share their stories from around the world. It was acquired by National Geographic, then spun off again, and eventually turned into glimpse.org.

 

Soccer Movie: Shaun the Sheep: Off the Baa! - 2007

Shaun the Sheep is a BBC kids TV series of claymation figures from the creators of Wallace and Grommit. A flock of sheep clandestinely conduct human-like activities behind the back of their farmer. This DVD has eight 7-minute episodes from Season 1. In the first episode, "Off the Baa", the sheep play soccer with a head of lettuce, with the watchdog as the referee. The greedy pigs next door try to steal and eat the lettuce. In the "Who's the Mummy?" episode, there is a tiny bit more soccer action as Shaun juggles a soccer ball.

The depictions of the claymation sheep playing soccer, juggling, and heading the ball are very cute. There is no dialog, partially because Aardman Animations wanted to emulate the silent screen slapstick of Buster Keaton. But also, dialog is expensive to animate in claymation. The official website at shaunthesheep.com has clips from all episodes, but unfortunately, none of the soccer clips. A movie is coming out soon, as well as new 3D stuff on Nintendo.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0983983/
DVD is on netflix and has an extra where children explain a little background about the characters.

 

Soccer Movie: Inspector Mom - 2005

Danica McKellar has grown up from being Winnie on the Wonder Years, to the 30ish "Inspector Mom". This TV movie lead to a short-lived series about soccer mom Maddie Monroe, who used to work in the local police department but is a pretty good sleuth on her own, ala Angela Lansbury's character in "Murder, She Wrote". In this pilot movie, the fiery and verbally abusive Columbian soccer coach of Maddie's daughter's team is murdered, clobbered with his own megaphone. Turns out that he has been sleeping around with bored soccer moms and other women in the town. His wife attributes his behavior to his sterility... sheesh. Anyhow, Maddie finds her husband's cuff link at the murder scene and wonders if he's the culprit. He had fought with the coach over his treatment of the team (this being Texas, the Positive Coaching Alliance hasn't yet caught on).

Besides the terrible acting (a Winnie rehash), there is only a miniscule attempt to portray soccer. The girls are only shown coming on/off the field or stretching, the coach yells at them with his megaphone, and the referee is of course wearing a black and white striped jersey. The only thing they got right was the parents' chairs and umbrellas on the sideline.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0826384/
DVD is on netflix. In std def. Not worth watching.

 

Soccer Movie: Kick Like a Girl - 2008

Kick Like a Girl is a 25-minute HBO documentary that follows a team of 8yo girls who, having devastated all competition the previous two years, decides to get more challenge by playing in the boys division. The team is coached by soccer mom Jenny Mackenzie, a 40ish PhD Social worker turned filmmaker who also directed and wrote the documentary. Apparently the team's games were filmed in Salt Lake City in 2005, but it took several years to complete and distribute the project.

The film is charming, and the 8yo girls are adorable, particularly Jenny's daughter. Lizzie appears to be a star on the team and is also a Type 1 diabetic. A google search today shows that she is now a competitive HS tennis player.

But being from Silicon Valley, I found the film a bit anachronistic, because around here, girls playing sports with or against boys has been pretty common for a long time. E.g., Brandi Chastain played on a boys middle school team. So when the girls' parents take offense at the boys' parents wailing at their players not to get beat by girls, both attitudes feel to me like making a mountain from a mole hill. But then I have to tell myself, oh wait, that's Salt Lake City. Of course a lot of parents are going to prefer male gender superiority.

However, the film is inspiring for young dads and moms wanting to become parent coaches even though they don't know the game. Jennie Mackenzie is also a motivational speaker, and her positive coaching behavior on the sideline is the kind that AYSO would love to clone.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1263689/
I received this DVD at a FC Gold Pride game, but you can order it from kicklikeagirlmovie.com. I've also seen the film on HBO. But the DVD has a lot of extras including coverage of the NYC launch with Kristine Lilly and Heather O'Reilly. There is a also a segment on how little Lizzie was managing her diabetes starting at age 5.

 

Soccer Movie: Les Arbitres - 2009
(aka "The Referees" or "Kill the Referee")

Les Arbitres is a French documentary that follows several referees during Euro 2008. Much like the movie about Zidane, there is no voice over or commentary to the footage as you watch and listen to the communication headsets of top referees while they work the games. The camera crew also follows Howard Webb (UK), Roberto Rosetti (Italy), Peter Fröjdfeldt (Sweden), and Massimo Busacca (Switz) into their locker rooms, buses, and even some homes to show the backstage of professional refereeing that you never see. They attend assessor meetings, including the one after the controversial game where Webb, in his first major tournament, called a last-minute PK against Poland, and his AR missed an offside against Austria. The film highlights how referee teams strive to work the final but can be eliminated by a single mistake. In Webb's case, because of the AR error, he returns home to his family to watch the final, where Rosetti works a flawless game.

Referees want to work the highest games, and the threat of elimination, making a mistake, and going home early hangs over everyone's heads. I'm fortunate to live in the SF Bay area, where I have heard Kari Seitz speak about WC refereeing and the aspects that this movie reveals. If you can't get to a presentation by a top International referee, then watch this movie.

I actually watched this film via Youtube. It is probably unauthorized, but I'm posting the link because it appears a US-version DVD is not easily available yet. I don't know how long the link will work.


Mostly in English, this version has polish captions. You can translate them to english in the bottom right of the video.

 

Soccer Movie: Montevideo, Taste of a Dream - 2010
(aka Montevideo, Bog te video: Prica prva)

Vladimir Stanković is a Serbian sports journalist who wrote a "documentary novel" -- "Montevideo, Bog te video" -- recounting the tale of the Yugoslavian National Team that went to WC 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay. The book was turned into this feature film, a TV series, and now a second film that is in production. This movie covers the formation of the team from two rival Serbian clubs (the Croatian players boycotted) and the effort to get funding for the trip to Uruguay. The on-field success of the team depends on the relationship of the two strikers, one a playboy soccer star, and the other a boy who is faced with becoming a tailor for the rest of his life. Their camaraderie flares up when they get involved with each other's loves.

The characters are very engaging, and the story is entertaining but a bit long (140'). It is extremely reminiscent of "The Game of Their Lives", the story of the American victory over England at WC 1950. The soccer is portrayed realistically along with the passion of the fans, although apparently the cast had to learn to play. There is a lot of juggling with eggs, the significance of which was unclear, since they kept saying that people who could juggle eggs would die. There is some swearing, drug use, some nudity, and prostitution. The cinematography is very sepia-toned in line with its being a period piece, but I found it difficult to watch, as if the theater screen needed adjusting.

The translation of the book's title is "Montevideo, God Bless You", which sounds rather unrelated, but it comes from a congratulatory telegram sent to Yugoslavia.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1634013/
In Serbian with English subtitles. For more info, go to http://montevideoproject.com/engleski.

If you live in Silicon Valley, this movie is playing at the Bluelight Cinema in Cupertino until Sep-27-2012. I enjoyed watching it on the big screen!

 

Soccer Movie: Sexy Soccer - 2004
(Sing gum zhook kao)

Billed as an "erotic comedy", Sexy Soccer is a Hong Kong soft core porn film. I was surprised that it was rentable on Netflix, but I guess the erotica is about as revealing as the stuff on HBO. However, the production values are terrible, as are the sex scenes.

Rolando the coach is broke but figures he can make big money by putting together a team of 5 good-looking women and entering them in a tournament. He teaches them to play soccer and also has sex with all of them. This is not the movie you want your daughter's coach to watch. Anyhow, the girls win their games by exposing themselves to their opponents, distracting the guys and allowing the ladies to score. You can imagine how bad the soccer play is...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1221199/

DVD is on netflix. In Cantonese with English sub-titles.

 

Soccer Movie: One Night in Turin - 2010

I imagine One Night in Turin is very difficult to watch if you were an England fan during their semi-final shoot-out loss to West Germany in WC 1990. This documentary by writer-director James Erskine captures the many emotions and struggles of the country, coach Bobby Robson, the team (including Paul Gascoigne), and its fans. Apparently for some, this film is so dead-on that it brings back the tears they shed that night in Turin.

The film shows how hooliganism had lead to the ban of English clubs from European play, the economy was in shambles, and how media muckrakers pursued the players and called for Robson's ouster. But as Robson points out, if you get it all right on the field, the rest will go away. And so it does. Having played heroically and creatively, when the losing team returns home, they are mobbed in a massive celebration.

Erskine apparently dug through archives to resurrect marvelous footage of the period and the games, giving the film a real insider feel. It's hard to believe he put this piece of history together in 6 months. Gary Oldman narrates.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1626175/
Streamable on netflix.

 

Soccer Movie: The Four Year Plan - 2011

Queens Park Rangers FC (QPR) had emerged from administration (analogous to Chapter 11 bankruptcy), and in 2007, it was purchased by wealthy businessmen with backgrounds in Formula One auto racing. In this incredibly revealing fly-on-the-wall documentary, Director Mat Hodgson recorded the in-office dealings of the QPR Board as they tried to raise the team from bottom of the Championship to EPL promotion in four years. ​

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If you watched the end of the 2011-2012 EPL season, you saw the spoiler role QPR almost played in Man City’s league championship. And if that were all you knew about QPR, you would have assumed The Four Year Plan was some kind of feel-good Moneyball success story. Its not.​

In the stands, when the team won, the Board members jumped to their feet, cheered, and hugged. But when the team regularly lost, tickets sales disappeared. Fans complained obnoxiously and chanted at the games, “We want our Rangers back.” The Board, led by Flavio Briatore, was disdainful, saying that the fans spent 10 pounds on the team while they spent 30M. ​

​

The Board thought they knew more than the manager or the fans. Their meddling took them through a succession of 8-10 managers in 3 years. Flavio told a manager what the lineup should be, and at one point, he joked he would text instructions to the manager during the game so that people wouldn’t see him calling his cell. They also loaned out their top striker without telling the manager, and when the manager related this to the media, they fired him for releasing confidential information.​

​

The only way the team found its way back to the EPL was when Flavio stopped meddling and Amit Bhatia--a more level-headed Board member--took over. Amit brought in Neil Warnock, who turned the team around very quickly. The film was very complimentary towards Warnock.​

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In researching this movie, I discovered that Flavio Briatore is similar to Donald Trump. He even has his own Apprentice show. According to Wikipedia, Flavio has been convicted of criminal activity (phony card games), accused of fixing a Formula One race, banned from Formula One racing, and fined for an illegal player transfer to QPR. Also very surprising for such an ugly guy, he is the father of Heidi Klum’s first child. Goes to show how sexy you can be with half-a-billion dollars.​

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After watching this film, how anyone can remain a fan or a player of QPR befuddles me. But in all probability, this is what goes on in your soccer team’s boardroom. Your 10 pounds or $30 is fueling a big toy for these Board boys.​

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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2006869/​

streamable on Netflix. In English with subtitles; many conversations are in Italian.​

 

Soccer Movie: Chivas USA: Si, se puede - 2005

Si se puede follows Chivas USA as the front office and coach Thomas Rongen try to convert a 99-year-old Mexican product (Club Deportivo Guadalajara, aka Chivas Guadalajara) into a successful MLS expansion team. Similar to "The Four Year Plan", which was unafraid to show QPR owners warts and all, director Sergio Guerrero (a writer on Day without a Mexican) documents the many problems that confront the players.

Aside from marquee midfielder Ramon Ramirez (who is even more handsome than David Beckham), the imported Mexicans are from poor areas. They struggle with being on their own for the first time, loneliness, separation from families, housing, leasing cars, and language. It's flabbergasting to watch Coach Rongen lecture and give pep talks in English without a translator. The only players who can understand him are Ezra Hendrickson, Brad Guzan, and Ryan Suarez. In pre-season, they are literally beaten to a 7-0 pulp by the US MNT (looks like Joe Cannon is the GK) and in the process lose a prize field player and their starting GK. This gives 20yo Guzan the job. In practice, tempers flare, and a Mexican throws Ryan Suarez into the goal net and kicks him in the groin. Ramirez temporarily quits the team just before the first game, because he can't get visas for 2 people he needs.

Because the director prefers to be positive about Latino themes, he only films the story up to the inaugural game, as if to imply the team will rise above adversity. But the truth is, Rongen was replaced after they won just one game in 10, and Chivas USA finished the 2005 season 4-22-6.

This film was not as outrageous as The Four Year Plan, and it only shows problems at the lowest levels of players, coaches, and front office staff, rather than owners. But it is an honest film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491181/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490394/

DVD is on netflix. In English and Spanish with subtitles.

 

Soccer Movie: Garrincha, Estrella Solitária - 2003
(aka Garrincha - Lonely Star)

Manuel Francisco dos Santos, commonly known as Mané Garrincha, was second only to Pele as one of Brazil's greatest players. Born with bent legs in an indigenous Indian tribe (the Fulniô), the nickname Garrincha came from the antwren-like birds that he liked to keep as pets. Garrincha - Estrela Solitária is a docudrama that shows some of his dribbling flair on the field, but mostly it covers his life and many women. He continually impregnated wife, mistress, and others, leading to at least 14 children, almost all daughters. Covering all these affairs in this film requires frequent sex scenes showing a high degree of appreciation for the Brazilian Butt (the story is told during Carnaval). By the end of his short life (49 years), the illiterate and broken-down Garrincha is penniless, forgotten, alone, and demented from alcoholism.

His major love, samba singer Elza Soares, sings during the closing titles.

The FIFA website has video of Garrincha in world cup play. 7 years older than Pele, their combined efforts lead to the 1958 and 1962 World Cup championships.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383373/
DVD is on netflix. In Portuguese with English subtitles.

 

Soccer Movie: United - 2011

United tells the story of the 1958 Munich air disaster involving ManU's young team known as Manager Busby's Babes. Trying to take off in a snowstorm, the plane ran out of runway, hit a house, and was torn apart. Half of the passengers were killed, and of the young players, 8 lost their lives, and 2 were too seriously injured to ever play again.

What makes the drama compelling is the devotion of Coach Jimmy Murphy (David Tennant) for his club and players. Murphy had missed the fatal trip because of World Cup duties for Wales, and it falls to him to hold things together. The ManU Board wants to shut down the club for the rest of the season, but Murphy refuses, saying, "It's about showing who we are to the world. Showing we'll not be bowed by tragedy. Because how we are in the future will be founded on how we behave today." Bobby Charlton has survivor's guilt and does not want to play, but Murphy tells him, "Remember why you loved the game? I need you. Don't be another one who dies out there."

With just two starters (Bill Foulkes and goalkeeper Harry Gregg--played by Ben Peel, a ringer for Kasey Keller with hair), Murphy crafts a team that returns to competition in less than a fortnight--a triumph over disaster.

This movie for BBC TV was written, directed, and starred in by members of the Doctor Who team, who filmed it in 4 weeks.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1777034/
Streamable on netflix.

 

Soccer Movie: Hermano - 2010

Hermano (aka Brother) is the story of two brothers and their single mom in a barrio of Caracas, Venezuela. The younger boy, Daniel, was adopted as a baby after being found in the trash piles of the slum. At 16 and ~20, he and Julio are unbeatable together on the soccer field and have a chance to tryout for the local pro team. Daniel throws off tackles like Messi. But Julio, the man of the family, is a collector for the local gang. Can he pull himself away from la familia of "the life" to help Daniel pursue his dream?

I was afraid that Hermano, the first feature film from writer/director Marcel Rasquin, was going to be a Venezuelan version of Rudo y Cursi, which I hated. It is a little less dark, but it has a similar aftertaste. There are some incongruities in the story, for example, the ganglord tells Julio to get out of the life and then crushes Julio's hand with a sledgehammer and tells him to go win the next day's championship game. I had to listen to the director's commentary to understand the ending.

The barrio soccer is excellent, played on dirt fields where, as in the barrio, anything goes. Hand guns and violence are everywhere, as is the desire to have a good time and live day to day. There is a sex scene between the mom and the boys' coach, and a lot of drinking and implied sex by the boys and their teammates. There is a plea for right-to-life, while on the other hand, a player is beaten to death on the pitch. Like most south american movies, the women are all bimbos, but at least here they are not prostitutes. The film was shot in Petare, the biggest slum in Caracas; the cinematography is excellent.

www.imdb.com/title/tt1588358/
DVD is on Netflix. In Spanish with English subtitles. The director's commentary is in English, as Rasquin and his team studied filmmaking in Australia.

This is my 100th soccer movie posting.

 

Soccer Documentary: Vanguard: Soccer's Lost Boys - 2010

Soccer's Lost Boys is an evocative documentary about Soccer Trafficking in Africa. Current TV/Vanguard Correspondent Mariana van Zeller interviews players, parents, and coaches to show how poor families in West Africa hand over life savings to agents who promise to get a teenage son a tryout in Europe, but then the players are abandoned in Morocco or Europe, without money and too ashamed to return home.

Youth coaches sign children to contracts and encourage them to drop out of school, in the hopes of someday getting their cut if the boys get sold to a real team. Agents demand thousands of dollars to take boys to Morocco, or smuggle them into Europe, where possibly they will get a meaningless tryout. But then they abandon the boys, leaving them without money and too ashamed to return home. Some players turn to prostitution, drug-dealing, or crime as they hang on to their dreams of becoming real footballers, while hiding out as illegal aliens. The really sad part is that no one admits to the charade, and so boys and families in ever-increasing numbers continue to pursue the hope of escaping poverty by becoming the next Drogba, Essien, and E'to. The correspondent estimated there were 20,000 such boys abandoned in Europe.

I often wondered where US colleges and MLS teams get their African players, and I assume it is through the system shown in this documentary. FIFA and MLS should put a stop to this practice.

A summary of the situation and a trailer are on The Human Trafficking Project.
The 45 min video is posted here. (But probably not for long. Current TV has it on cable.)
Foot Solidaire is an organization started by a former player who is trying to stop the practice.

Current TV is the cable channel founded by Al Gore and which he recently sold (Jan-2-2013) to Al Jazeera for $500M. Vanguard is its documentary series.