Sports films were especially popular during the Soviet era. The Goalkeeper (1936), Sports Honour (1951), The Spare Player (1954), The Third Half (1962), and The Blow! The Blow! (1968) – all of them became legends of Soviet cinema. Since then, there has been a slight lull; very few sports films have been made. In the 2000s, there was a new surge in popularity.
Movies based on true stories of athletes:
“The Bronx Bull” and “The King of Football”: 9 best biopics about great athletes
“FC Rodina” (2023-2024)
Gender: comedy series
Director: Ivan Plechev
Main actors: Roman Evdokimov, Valeria Repina, Maxim Belborodov
Age restrictions: 18+
The players of the provincial football club “Rodina” find themselves in a very difficult situation. Suddenly the owner of the team, the mayor of the town, decides to sell the club and disperse all the players. In order to save the team and find money, the guys decide to take a desperate step. They turn to the local crime boss and agree to smuggle contraband from China for a decent reward. But it turns out that the footballers are losing their property, and now the cruel Chinese mafia is after them and an angry authority demands payment of the debt.
Photo: Frame from the series “FC Rodina” / “Kinopoisk”
“Coach” (2018)
Gender: drama
Director: Danila Kozlovsky
Main actors: Danila Kozlovsky, Vladimir Ilyin, Andrey Smolyakov, Olga Zueva
Age restrictions: 12+
Russian national team captain Yuri Stoleshnikov misses a penalty in an important match against Romania. In a rage, he gets into an altercation with his opponent and the referee, and leaving the field with a red card, he also starts a fight with the fans. For unsportsmanlike behavior, Stoleshnikov is disqualified for a whole year. A frustrated footballer decides to end his playing career and looks for a job as a coach. But famous clubs are in no hurry to invite the controversial athlete.
One day, Yuri receives an offer to lead the Meteor football team from Novorossiysk. Over time, Stoleshnikov realizes that his choice was not in vain. The athlete has already been demoted, and officials believe that he will not be able to cope with the position. After all, if Meteor is relegated from the league, a shopping center will be built on the site of the stadium. So Stoleshnikov decides to pull himself together and lead his players to victory.
Danila Kozlovsky admitted that he dreamed of becoming a football coach. The actor turned out to be a big football fan. Before starting filming “Coach”, Kozlovsky studied the history of the sport, read many autobiographical books by great football players, watched matches and studied technique. Real stars also took part in the filming, for example Dmitry Sychev and Alan Gatagov.
Photo: Still from the film “Coach” / “Kinopoisk”
“Streltsov” (2020)
Gender: biography, drama
Director: Ilya Uchitel
Main actors: Alexander Petrov, Stasya Miloslavskaya, Alexander Yatsenko
Age restrictions: 6+
The film is based on real events. Twenty-year-old Eduard Streltsov was considered one of the best Soviet footballers. His game was admired by colleagues, coaches and foreign journalists. The young athlete was destined for an impressive world career, but the star’s future was cut short due to a criminal case. Eduard Streltsov, who was to be taken to the World Championships in Sweden, was arrested two days before his departure. The footballer was accused of rape.
Literally a month later, Streltsov was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Olympic champion then ended up behind bars. There are still different versions of why they decided to ruin the career of the famous Streltsov and force him to sign a sincere confession. In the film, director Ilya Uchitel presented his vision of the tragic events.
Photo: Still from the film “Streltsov” / “Kinopoisk”
“Monsters” (2011)
Gender: comedy
Director: Levan Gabriadze
Main actors: Konstantin Khabensky, Milla Jovovich, Ivan Urgant
Age restrictions: 18+
Initially, Levan Gabriadze’s comedy was called “Kolotilov: The Wedding Planner.” The main character, Slava Kolotilov, an ordinary teacher from a small town, is mistaken for the coach of a children’s football team due to the machinations of the school director. A funny coincidence turns into a disaster for Kolotilov. He cannot go to Moscow to marry his beloved Nadezhda. Because the “coach”-teacher is not released by the administration of his hometown. Kolotilov must hold a match for his new players, and only then will his passport be returned to him and he will be able to go to his fiancée.
Photo: Still from the film “Freaks” / “Kinopoisk”
“Garpastum” (2005)
Gender: drama
Director: Alexey Aleman Jr.
Main actors: Evgeny Pronin, Danila Kozlovsky, Chulpan Khamatova, Gosha Kutsenko
Age restrictions: 16+
A film about the development of football in Tsarist Russia. The action takes place in 1914, on the eve of the First World War. Four young friends are passionate about football. They are trying to become players for a match with the British, who are gathering football teams in St. Petersburg. But they do not accept friends. So the young men decide to organize their own team and buy an empty field for the game. However, this requires considerable financing. The boys negotiate with a lending authority to organize matches with local teams in exchange for money.
Photo: Still from the film “Garpastum” / “Kinopoisk”
“Party” (2012)
Gender: biography, drama
Director: Andrey Malyukov
Main actors: Sergei Bezrukov, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Eduard Bezrodny, Ekaterina Klimova
Age restrictions: 18+
The film tells of the tragically famous “match to the death” that took place in the summer of 1942 in occupied Kiev between Kiev football players and Luftwaffe anti-aircraft gunners. The prototype of the main character Nikolai Ranevich was the 33-year-old Soviet goalkeeper Nikolai Trusevich. Before the match on August 9, 1942, the German commander ordered Trusevich to do everything possible to yield to the Germans. Otherwise, the players would have been shot. But Nikolai and his team took to the field to fight for their honor and their homeland… Nikolai Trusevich was shot in the Syretsky concentration camp…
“The premature death at the hands of the Gestapo, along with that of other Dynamo Kyiv players, did not allow his talent to develop to its full potential. But the name of Trusevich, as a citizen and an excellent goalkeeper, will remain in the memory of all who know and love our Soviet football,” wrote Nikolai Starostin about Trusevich in his book “Stars of Great Football.”
Photo: Still from the film “Match” / “Kinopoisk”
“Lev Yashin. Goalkeeper of my dreams” (2019)
Gender: biography, drama
Director: Vasili Chiginski
Main actors: Alexander Fokin, Yulia Khlynina, Alexey Guskov
Age restrictions: 6+
The biographical film tells the story of the life and career of the greatest goalkeeper of the 20th century. He became the first and only goalkeeper to receive the Ballon d’Or. Lev Ivanovich had phenomenal intuition: he clearly foresaw the intentions of not only his opponents, but also his teammates. Experts noted that Yashin always did not aim at the moment of impact, but read the actions of the attackers. This unique feature made him a legend of world football. No one has ever been able to repeat Lev Yashin’s success. At the same time, Lev Ivanovich remained a very sociable person; there was no talk of star fever. Yashin was self-critical, carefully studied his mistakes and trained a lot. And he was not at all afraid of competition.
Photo: Still from the film “Lev Yashin. Goalkeeper of my dreams / Kinopoisk
“Wild League” (2019)
Gender: drama
Directors: Andrei Bogatyrev, Art Camacho
Main actors: Vladimir Yaglich, Adelina Gizatullina, Ivan Okhlobystin
Age restrictions: 12+
The action takes place at the beginning of the 20th century. Burlak Varlam, in search of a better life, runs away with his girlfriend Malika to Moscow. In order to get money for food, the man agrees to take part in a fistfight against the British. In a fight, Varlam surprises his opponents with his power and strength. With one kick, he sends a heavy cast-iron cauldron into the enemy camp and knocks out his opponents. Parker, the leader of the British and owner of the football club, is impressed by Varlam’s physical characteristics. He invites the hero to create the first Russian national football team and become its captain. By the way, three players of the Russian national football team took part in the filming: Artyom Dzyuba, Roman Zobnin and Anton Miranchuk.
Photo: Still from the series “Wild League” / “Afisha-Kino”
“Box” (2015)
Gender: drama
Director: Eduard Bordukov
Main actors: Sergei Romanovich, Sergei Podolny, Kirill Degtyar
Age restrictions: 12+
Four best friends share a common passion for street football. They spend all their time in the so-called “box”, which is located in every yard. But one of their comrades, Kostya, is stronger than his friends and could very well succeed in professional sport. His girlfriend, Nastya, convinces him to try to attend a training of a local football club. But here the guys meet football player Damir, the altercation turns into a fight and their friends are thrown out of the stadium. To their surprise, in the evening the guys discover that their “box” is occupied by Damir himself and his comrades. The guys challenge each other and organize a tournament: the one who loses leaves the “box” forever.
Photo: Still from the film “The Box” / “Kinopoisk”
“No football” (2021)
Gender: comedy
Director: Maxim Sveshnikov
Main actors: Lyubov Aksenova, Egor Koreshkov, Yulia Topolnitskaya
Age restrictions: 12+
Dana Belykh is the captain of a women’s football team that is going through difficult times. The club is about to close down and only victory can save it. Dana comes up with a brilliant idea: to reunite ex-girlfriends who once shone on the field. But now the once professional footballers are mired in family problems and in their personal lives. The girls will have to get back into shape in no time. True, even the new coach, an arrogant ex-champion who believes that football is not a woman’s business, does not believe in the athletes’ victory.
By the way, all the actresses received special training. Ksenia Kovalenko, a player of CSKA and the Russian women’s national team, trained personally with Lyubov Aksenova.
Photo: Frame from the film “Non-football” / “Kinopoisk”
“Home Field” (2022)
Gender: drama series
Director: Felix Umarov
Main actors: Svetlana Ustinova, Maxim Matveev, Igor Vernik, Ivan Yankovsky
Age restrictions: 18+
The management of the Red Hawk Club loses its head coach literally on the eve of the start of the season. Unexpectedly, Elena Volkova, the coach of the women’s team who led it to the Champions League, is hired for this position. Elena becomes the first female coach of men’s football. And this causes irritation and ridicule from the players themselves, sponsors and fans.
Photo: Still from the film “Home Field” / “Kinopoisk”
“Pure football” (2016)
Gender: drama series
Director: Vitaly Babenkov
Main actors: Yuri Deinekin, Vladimir Vinogradov, Ivan Agapov
Age restrictions: 18+
Kolya Shiryaev is happy to be among the players of the youth football team. The dreams of the beginner come true, the young athlete dreams of a championship and a brilliant career. Kolya comes from a difficult family: his father is in prison, his mother tries to feed her children. For Shiryaev, football is the only way to get his family out of poverty. To impress the scouts who select players for the Premier League club, Kolya gives in to persuasion and agrees to dope. This decision has tragic and unpredictable consequences.
Photo: Frame from the miniseries “Fútbol Limpio”
Here is another selection from the link:
10 Best Movies About Love and Sports Worth Watching With Your Partner
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