*Originally posted on FathersofMultiples.com
Are you ready for some ... futball?
Soccer, as we know it, is the biggest, most popular sport in the world. 4 billion fans can't be wrong. Naturally, there are soccer movies that bring this sport to the screen. While some aren't so family friendly, like Mean Machine (with Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham), there are others that are good fun for the whole family. My boys play soccer, so we watch these soccer movies together to get pumped and ready to hit the field.
Ladybugs
The late, great Rodney Dangerfield puts in one of his funniest comedies with Ladybugs. Coaching his company's all-girl soccer team to get ahead with his boss doesn't work out as planned. The team is not good. Rodney's fiance's son is. Rodney dresses the kid as a girl and has him join the team!
*Older Kids and Teens
Bend it Like Beckham
An east Indian family living in London want their daughter to grow up following their Sikh traditions. However, that's the furthest thing from her mind. What does she want to do with her life? She wants to play professional women's soccer. What her family doesn't want to see is that she is really good!
*Older Kids and Up
Kicking and Screaming
Will Ferrell plays a guy who is no good at sports. His son is cut from the good soccer team and stuck on a losing team, Will decides to coach them. Unfortunately, the coach of the good team is Will's dad, played by Robert Duvall. Things get super competitive between Duvall, who has always won and Ferrell, who has always lost.
*All ages
The Big Green
A foreign exchange teacher from England lands in Texas and is saddled with a group of misfit kids. She decides to teach them soccer to help build their self-esteem. This is essentially the soccer answer to The Sandlot. A lot of the same thoughts and lessons as The Sandlot are seen, and it even has some of the same cast.
*All Ages
Underdogs
A town bully leaves town to become a soccer star and comes back to destroy his hometown in order to build a soccer academy. Local Foosball champion, Amadeo, doesn't have much chance to stop it all...until the soccer players from his beloved Foosball table come to life and help him challenge the bully to a winner-takes-all soccer game.
*All Ages
The Game of Their Lives
Gerard Butler stars in this true story of the 1950 US soccer team and its game against England. The US team was the underdog in the match. The odds were stacked against them, as England was rated the much better team. Ignoring the odds, they played their best in an all out battle to pull out a win.
*Older Kids and Up
Her Best Move
A young soccer star is on her way to joining the US National Team. She is also the youngest girl to ever do so. Her story falters as she goes through the struggles that most teens face, having to delicately balance her soccer career, high school studies, and having a boyfriend.
*All Ages
She's the Man
Loosely based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, this movie follows a girl whose school cuts her soccer team. She's not allowed to join the boys' team and dresses up as a boy to be able to play. Everyone likes someone else, but no one seems to like the one that likes them. Amanda Bynes stars...and her love interest is a young Channing Tatum.
*Older Kids and Up
Gracie
Gracie comes from a soccer family. Just like her 3 brothers and father, as well, she's really good. No matter how good, she's not allowed to play for the boys' team though. When her older brother, Johnny, dies in a car crash, Gracie pushes to prove herself and be allowed to replace him on the boys' team.
*Older Kids and Up
Air Bud: World Pup
If you're even a little familiar with Air Bud, you'll probably know that this is the 3rd movie in the Air Bud series. This time, Bud takes on, what else? Soccer. Playing more sports than Michael Jordan, there's just no stopping this dog! Get ready for some hilarious canine antics on and off of the field.
*All Ages
Did these movies get you excited and ready to scream "gooooaaaaaallllll?"
Kick back, relax, and hit play on the soccer movies from this list to get you ready for the World Cup starting this week! Let us know if we missed one of your favorite soccer movies, and the check out these other great movies we know you'll enjoy!