David Beckham in a film about the history of the legendary football

The premiere of the film “The Great United” with David Beckham took place. This curious documentary is a retrospective study of the success of the legendary Manchester United team.

The director, through the reflections of eminent football players and stars of the old and new schools, including Brian Kidd, Mark Hughes, Sammy McIlroy, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Ole Gunnar, Andrew Burnham, Sean Ryder, Peter Hook, offers to reflect not on the present day of the legendary club, but to look into its history, to understand the origins of victories. This story convincingly proves that patience and work necessarily lead to success.

It is difficult to say when the history of football as a whole began, but from the film it becomes clear that the Manchester United star lit up brightly in 1952. At the end of the war in 1945, Matt Busby came to the team as a coach, who focused on the rejuvenation of the players.

Spectators become eyewitnesses of events related to the tragedy that befell the team: during one of the tournaments, the plane crashed during the flight and eight football players died. This event symbolically reflects the entire history of the club, which, from the pinnacle of success, fell to the very bottom of the standings more than once, but then, in some unthinkable way, again found itself at its peak.

The documentary film “Great United” is of interest to us not so much by the history of overseas football as by the demonstration of the entire sports system as a whole. The viewer sees how seriously the standards of training have changed. After all, six decades ago, football players were allowed not only to take a bottle of alcohol, but also not to follow any diet. We also see on the screen how the coaches bet on high-paid stars, but personal disputes between them often led the team to defeat in the tournament.

In the picture, the main guide to the club’s history was its striker Eric Cantona. Football fans remember him well for the scandal that happened 27 years ago. Then, angry at the red card, Eric hit one of the rude fans with two legs in a jump. The creators of the picture talk in detail about other scandals, of which a lot broke out among the fans of the club. They also explain the reason why for half a century the team was a favorite among the working people of the country, and also illustrate what fights led to during and after matches. But there are touching stories in the film about how big football gave people the meaning of life.

If you missed the film’s premiere, don’t be discouraged: it can be seen starting this week at the KION online cinema.

Elena Bulova.

Photo courtesy of the painting’s PR service