Football is all about the stories, whether it be a team winning their first trophy or a player becoming a hero from zero. 2025 is all about stories, whether it be Paris Saint-Germain winning their first UEFA Champions League title in their history, or Crystal Palace winning their club’s first major trophy. Let us look at the Best Football Films Inspired by Real Events to watch in 2025.
Over the years, there have been stories that have melted our hearts with the journey of players as well as the teams. It could be about Cristiano Ronaldo‘s never-give-up attitude and Lionel Messi’s complete football to Real Oviedo promotion after 24 years in the Spanish top division football.
Best Football Films Inspired by Real Events: Top 10 Must-Watch in 2025
Goal
The story is of a young boy, Santiago Munez, who lives in America, Los Angleses, and dreams of playing football. He gets selected for the trials of Newcastle United, and when he gets selected, he lies about his medical problem as he has asthma.
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He eventually solved it and made his debut for the club, and his father died in between. Munez comes to know that his father watched him play, and he burst into tears. The movie shows all his struggles, and later, two more parts of the movie came out.
Diego Maradona
This is the story of one of the greatest footballers ever, Diego Maradona. It came out in 2019, and Asif Kapadia was the director.
It is a documentary that states how Diego Maradona rose with the Italian side Napoli and his national team, Argentina. The documentary focuses more on the 1986 FIFA World Cup. It also shows the struggles Maradona faced with fame, addiction, and controversy.
Pele: Birth of a Legend
It is the story of Pele, a footballing legend and the only player to win three FIFA World Cups so far (1958, 1962, and 1970). The movie shows his struggles of coming from a small village to becoming the person to change the look of Brazilian football.
It was released in 2016, and Jeff Zimbalist & Michael Zimbalist were the directors of the movie. There is also some rare footage and interviews in the film.
The Beautiful Game
It was released on Netflix on March 29, 2024. Thea Sharrock was the director. The main motive of the movie was to celebrate football as a powerful tool for redemption, unity, and healing. Basically, the story of the movie states that Mal, who was a former scout, later became a coach and made a Homeless World Cup team for England.
The bond grows, and the team starts performing well against teams like Portugal, Italy, and South Africa, and they face a lot of injuries. At the end, their star player, Vinny, joins the South African team and wins the cup.
Next Goal Wins
This movie is a heartwarming plus comedy factor, which is inspired by an underdog event. The American Samoa National Team got trashed as they suffered a 31-0 loss at the World Cup.
Later, they hired Michael Fassbender as the coach who plays the role of the Dutch manager Thomas Rongen. It shows the real story of fa’afafine player Jaiyah Saelua. The movie was out in 2023, and it was directed by Taika Waititi.
The Miracle of Bern
This movie shows the return of the POW father after the Second World War. He basically gets reunited with his son, who just loves and breathes football. The story revolves around how the father-son duo helped West Germany win the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
Eventually, the situation of Germany was not good, but this win reunited everyone and also shared the personal redemption of the father. It was released in 2003, and the director was Sonke Wortmann.
Fever Pitch
The movie came out in 1997. Basically, the storyline of the movie states that Paul Ashworth was obsessed with the football club Arsenal. He left everything: his romance, homework, work, when he heard the name Arsenal.
Paul finds it hard to manage his relationship with Sarah, as things were getting serious in the Arsenal 1988-1989 title race. At the end, Arsenal wins, so does Paul, as Sarah approaches him.
The Damned United
Tom Hooper was the director as his movie was released in 2009. It is the story of the English footballer, Brian Clough, who managed Leeds United. Brian Clough eventually clashes with Don Revie.
The movie shows the glorious days Brian Clough had with Derby County and his emotional side in his relationship with his assistant Peter Taylor. The movie highlights later that the Pundits applauded it for its psychological depth and performance
Offside
This movie was eventually shown during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in various festivals. The Iranian girls showed themselves as boys to attend a qualifying match (Iran vs. Bahrain). Later, they were caught and not allowed to watch the game because of their gender.
They waited where the bored soldiers gave them in-match commentary. At the end, Iran won the game, and they celebrated from the bus. It shows the gender discrimination in Iran, but also shared humanity.
King Otto
Christopher Andre Marks was the director of the King Otto movie. It basically highlights the Greek national team winning the Euros in 2004. The movie shows the magical performance of Greece under Otto Rehhagel, with live interviews and match footage. Greece defeated the home team, Portugal, in the final and left Cristiano Ronaldo in tears. It was released in 2021.
