The Damned United is probably the best football movie I’ve seen. (Actually, I don’t think I’ve seen too many football movies, but I digress…)
It is a 2009 adaptation of a controversial book by David Peace which is an imagined account of the eccentric Brian Clough’s short-lived but controversial reign as manager of Leeds United back in 1974. With all the real player names, beautiful 70s sets & locations and some clever use of archived footage, you may be lulled into thinking this is some semi-autobiographical story – which is what it really felt like, though this is a fictional movie, not a documentary (which might not have been terribly entertaining).
For the real story of Clough’s 44 days, you’d probably be better off picking up the non-fiction book, We Are the Damned United: The Real Story of Brian Clough at Leeds United.