A new movie about Brazilian soccer great Pelé is the latest in a series of documentaries in what has been described as a golden age of sports film.

Documentaries about American basketball player Michael Jordan, Argentine footballer Diego Maradona and Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna have transfixed fans with their insider look at the performance and personality of the biggest global sports stars.

Whether it’s Kicking & Screaming, Ted Lasso or my personal favorite Pups United, Hollywood is genuinely obsessed with “running plays” when attempting to dramatize the game of soccer. 

Without a quarterback, point guard, catcher, timeouts or commercial breaks to dream up some sort of grand vision that topples the antagonist, screenwriters freak the hell out when confronted by the flowing, off the cuff ingenuity that defines the beautiful game. 

Soccer has had plenty of TV and movie adaptations in recent years. Filmmakers have produced everything from historic fiction (The English Game), thrilling documentaries (Diego Maradona, Sunderland ’Til I Die and Amazon’s All Or Nothing series) and even heartfelt comedies (Ted Lasso).

Almost 365 days later and we’re still in quarantine — oh, the look on your face if I could’ve told you this last March. But don’t fear, good TV is still here! The best soccer movies and TV shows promised in 2021 are compiled below. We’ll update this list when we hear of more.

Best Soccer Movies 2021

Sonsational

Growing up in the shadow of big brother Dominik, who starred in ice hockey from an early age, footballer Martin Hasek travelled a bumpier road to sporting success but one that nevertheless took him to the Champions League and Czech Republic side.

His journey is the subject of a documentary "Hasan: The Coach" premiering on Thursday, which spans his youth competing at home with the future Olympic and Stanley Cup champion goaltender to coaching his two sons in the Czech top-flight.