There haven't been too many engaging football films. In fact, bar possibly Bend It Like Beckham and the recent art-house flick Zidane, there have been precisely nil.
Goal 2 is unlikely to add to that total, it being an update of last year's Goal in which Kuno Becker's Santiago Munez is awarded the chance of a lifetime albeit one that involves him abandoning his life in Los Angeles in order to pursue a career at Newcastle United rather than follow his father into the lawn maintenance business. He, you won't be too surprised to learn, succeeds unlike pretty much every real player who has signed to the side in recent years.
So successful has he been that, when he rejoin him in Goal 2 - Live The Dream, he has turned his back on the underachieving Geordies and been snapped up by Real Madrid, where he joins up with guest stars David Beckham and Raul. And while neither have been signed up for their acting skills, the same could also be said of Rutger 'The Hitcher' Hauer, who plays Real Madrid manager Rudi Van Der Merwe with all the conviction and passion of a man who's long abandoned hope of a career in Hollywood.
On the strength of Goal 2, the chances of Becker having a long career are equally slight, sadly. Still, Becker's love interest Anna Friel is fine, while the action scenes are notably more impressive than anything in Escape To Victory, not to mention St James's Park.