Goal! The Dream Begins
One day Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), a part-time talent scout from England, sees him on the field and is impressed enough to make a call to Erik Dornhelm (Marcel Iures), the manager of Newcastle United team in England. However, when his father takes the money he has saved, Santiago has no way of getting to the tryout. Luckily, his grandmother sees that he needs to take his shot at the dream of playing professional soccer for a living. She gives him her blessing and the money he needs to travel overseas.
Goal! The Dream Begins
Once in England, he faces one challenge after another trying to make the team. Glen turns out to be loyal and enthusiastic supporter of this talented young man who, after a setback, manages to win a slot as a trainee. Santiago falls in love with Roz (Anna Friel), a nurse who sees that he is different from other men with his single-minded focus on his dream. He is also taken under the wings of Gavin Harris (Alessandro Nivola), a superstar soccer player who introduces him to the fast lane of fame and fortune with all its attendant problems. The manager of the Newcastle United goes out of his way to give Santiago the time he needs to learn the ways of English soccer.
Goal! The Dream Begins is directed by Danny Cannon and proves to be a pleasant drama revolving around the popular sport of soccer. The film explores the power of Santiago's yearning and the things he learns on the path to fulfilling his dream. The story's moral message, which some movie critics will no doubt dismiss as being too melodramatic and predictable, is that we can't do become the best we are meant to be without the love and enthusiasm of others. We think this is a point worth making in a time when the myth of individualism still holds sway. Robert Muller has stated: "Have a dream and believe in it. Strong dreams always come true." Especially with a little help from people enthusiastically cheering us on from the sidelines.
The dream of playing professional soccer begins for Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) when a former scout for a British football team spots the young man. But he will have to overcome enormous obstacles before he can reach his Goal! The feel-good script also contains a few content obstacles for young viewers.
Because this is a movie, there is really never any doubt Santiago will accomplish his goal. Instead, the unanswered questions are: How will he leap the many obstacles in his path and is he able to deal with the problems associated with success? Thankfully, the script manages to sidestep much of the possible sentimentality by providing room for character development, reasonable challenges, and ample evidence of effort expended for the rewards received.
A female athlete with a desire to play soccer/football tries to emulate her hero in the movie Bend It Like Beckham. In Rudy, a young man goes through incredible obstacles to pursue his dream of playing American football.
Santiago Muñez (Kuno Becker) is a skilled footballer. The son of a gardener who lives in a barrio section of Los Angeles, Santiago works as a busboy in a Chinese restaurant and helps with his father's (Tony Plana) gardening business. His ultimate dream is to play football professionally. Due to his poverty and the fact that he plays solely for a club made up of Hispanics from a local car wash, he feels his chances are slim. Santiago is noticed by Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), a former Newcastle United player who works as a car mechanic but still has ties to his old team. Glen arranges to get Santiago a tryout with Newcastle United, who recently signed talented new player Gavin Harris (Alessandro Nivola). Needing to get to England, Santiago begins to save his money in an old shoe, but his father finds the stash and takes it to buy a GMC truck to allow them to work for themselves, believing that Santiago's dreams are hopeless. His dream is not lost though, as his grandmother (Miriam Colon) sells off her jewellery to buy him a ticket to England.
The amazingly gifted Santiago Munez, 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.
A young man (Kuno Becker), who came to the U.S. illegally with his family when he was a boy, doesn't want to spend the rest of his life tending the gardens and lawns of wealthy Angelinos. After clashing with his father, who insists that everybody should keep to their assigned station in life, he follows his dream of becoming a professional soccer player by going to Britain and trying out for Newcastle United. Also with Stephen Dillane, Alessandro Nivola, Anna Friel and Marcel Iures. Directed by Danny Canno. [1:57]
How far would you go to live your dream? When Santiago Munez (KUNO BECKER) is given the chance of a lifetime, he must leave his family, his life in Los Angeles and everything that he knows to travel halfway around the globe to England and into a completely foreign world - the exciting, fast-paced and glamorous world of international soccer.As an underprivileged Mexican-American immigrant growing up in the poor section of Los Angeles, Santiago seemed destined to follow his father's path in life: laboring at menial jobs to earn just enough money to support his family. Naturally gifted, his amazing talent on the soccer field was wasted in recreation league games while he could only dream of playing on the world stage of professional soccer. But when a British scout (STEPHEN DILLANE) discovers his talent and gets him a tryout with one of England's premier soccer clubs, Newcastle United, Santiago must choose between his father's fate and his own destiny.Now alone in a world where soccer is a religion and players are gods, this underdog must prove that he's got the talent and determination to make it amongst the best in the world.
Everyone has goals, everyone has dreams; for Santiago Munez, his dream was to grow up and play professional soccer. He got to live out that in the new Disney film, Goal! The Dream Begins starring Kuno Becker as Santiago.
We had the chance to speak with Kuno about his role in this film; a Mexican actor, he was chosen out of hundreds - and to top that off, he's not a soccer player. So how did he live out his dreams? Check out the trials and tribulations that led him to star in one of this summer's uplifting films.
How far would you go to live your dream? When Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) is given the chance of a lifetime, he must make the decision to leave behind his family, friends, and the Los Angeles neighborhood where he has spent his entire life to begin a new life in England and the fast-paced, glamorous world of international soccer. As a Mexican-American growing up in the poor section of Los Angeles, Santiago seemed destined to follow his father's path: laboring at menial jobs to earn just enough money to get by. But when a British scout (Stephen Dillane) recognizes his natural talent and gets him a tryout with one of England's premier soccer clubs, Newcastle United, Santiago must choose between his father's fate and his own destiny. Electrifying and heart-pounding, Goal! The Dream Begins is set in a world where soccer is a religion and players are gods. Featuring cameos by soccer superstars David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, Raúl, and Newcastle captain Alan Shearer.
SynopsisSantiago Munez (Kuno Becker) is an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles working multiple jobs to support his family. However, his passion is to play football professionally. When Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), a retired Newcastle United player, notices Munez talents, Foy sets him up with a try out with Newcastle United. In hopes of making his dreams a reality , Munez travels to England. 041b061a72