Goal! star Kuno Becker speaks to Ladbrokes before England v Mexico

I really think we did something historic with those movies, because there’s nothing else quite like them. I mean, nothing even close. Like, in the football world in the movies. It started off a moderate success. But with time, and word of mouth, it just grew and grew, and it’s still becoming bigger. It’s like a snowball effect, over decades. I guess people love it and then show it to someone else. Now, you’ve got people who watched it when they were younger, and they’re now showing their kids. It’s got this religious kind of feeling to it, and nobody could plan for that.

Spanish media thought I was an actual Madrid player they knew nothing about... 

I still have some film posters from Japan, in storage back home. And there were these Coca Cola cans with my face on, and the name of the movie. That was an example of just how surreal the whole thing was… I remember one of my friends bought them at a supermarket and realised my face was on their can!

You know, you’re told you’re going to be on here, and on there, but you don’t really think much of it or take any of it in until you actually see it in real life like that. It was just a real wow moment. Just insane. You know, we had something like fifty thousand people in stadiums in Japan for the premieres.

One of the craziest moments from the films though was just this weird crossover between the real world and the kind of Goal! universe. You know, so we’re travelling around the world, filming bits, and we’re in Spain this one time. We were filming some scenes celebrating with the Real Madrid squad at the Santiago Bernabeu, and I think they’d just won a cup, so we were shooting a scene where after the game they were all posing for a picture, and I had to run in there with them quickly, for some pictures. So because we’re over there, the next day I see in the papers that there’s a picture of the Madrid squad with a red circle around my face; the media were talking about who this new player was that the club had signed, that they knew nothing about! They didn’t know we were shooting a movie at the time, so everyone was confused. It was so surreal, honestly. You’ve got people freaking out about me, because it is me, pictured with the team, but I’m not in the team, but in this other universe I am in the team… it was all so weird, but so much fun.

Parents have named their babies Santiago, and players have signed for Newcastle because of that movie

If people do shout anything at me, it’s usually “my dad saw the game!” But honestly, usually it’s just people shouting “SANTIAGO” to me. These people just have that name tattooed on their souls and their minds. I know I’ve said it many times, but when movies become this successful, it’s just insane how deep they go in the hearts of people, and how fresh they are. You know, this isn’t just a movie you see once and love. People watch it over and over. People tell me almost every day, they’ve watched that film 20 times. That kind of thing blows my mind; the power of movies when they become this big.

I’ve seen many people that name their kids Santiago because of the movie. I’ve seen players that just go and sign for Newcastle because of the movie. That’s insane. That’s just never something you can expect when you’re shooting it.

Santiago Munoz signing for Newcastle in 2021 was like a glitch in the matrix...

And then we had that strange moment, just a few years ago, where a player called Santiago Munoz signed for Newcastle United. I mean, that was just so surreal. The Mexican player from Torreon, signed for Newcastle with almost the same name as my character, Santiago Munez. I mean that’s just insane. I didn’t know what to think when I saw that. I couldn’t believe that was actually real. Like, the guy’s name is almost the same as my character, and it’s in real life, but he’s signed for the same team as my character, and he’s also Mexican. Still to this day I don’t really know what or how that happened… like, was that a glitch in the matrix or something?

Newcastle is such a special place to me... 

Newcastle is still a special, special city for me, man. I just remember being so young and shooting that movie up there, and being out in these nightclubs at like one in the morning and these girls are in super short skirts. I just remember thinking they looked great, but they must have been so cold! But up there, everyone was just like, yeah, that’s just the way it is.

Honestly though, the people were incredible nice to me. I always grew up in a warm environment, but we had this idea that, say English and German people were cold and they don’t talk to you, and all that. But it’s not true. In Newcastle, everybody was incredibly warm and nice to us. Even though it was so cold, we had so much fun up there. The food wasn’t great, I mean, black pudding and all of that. But the people? They were amazing.

That was especially important for me back then because I was having such a hard time with the football. You know, I had so much pressure on my shoulders for those scenes. I loved the acting, but the football was so tough. Trying to look like a real footballer, even with the doubles I had, it was so hard. Everybody was like “is he gonna make it?”

All I was ever going to do was just try my best, man. I broke my ankles for that role. Nobody knew I had stress fractures; I had to hide it from everybody else because I didn’t want to lose the role. I broke my nose, too. I screwed up one of my knees because of the football scenes. It was so much pressure.

The first time I went to Newcastle, I got the train up from London and I had to train with Newcastle’s team. I was training there for weeks and then I went back to London for the auditions – the football auditions – and then I went back up there when I got the role, so we could shoot the scenes. Then again to promote the movie. I was probably up there on four or five different occasions, so that place means a lot to me.

It’s where I think about a lot of standout scenes, as well. Aside from the acting moments, away from the game, when I think about some of those training scenes, man, they were so tough. There were points where I was training in England where I couldn’t even feel my legs, it was so wet and cold. Like, I didn’t know how I was actually running, because it was freezing cold. There was a scene were I had to fall on my face many times, and that was so tough. Honestly, I’m proud of myself for getting through them. I’ve got to be honest, and I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I really did give my 200 percent in those scenes.

I'm still recognised as Santiago Munez EVERY DAY, but I was also Lighting McQueen in Spanish version of Cars

It’s weird to think that there are players in this England team who grew up watching me in the Goal! Movies. That’s such a weird thought.

I remember looking at the script in Los Angeles, and I liked it; it was OK. It needed to be changed a little. It was fan, and it was a football movie, which I loved the sound of, and so I just remember really hoping it all worked and we had some success. You know, as an actor, you make a lot of movies in the knowledge that they’re not really going to get anywhere. You just make them, you give them your everything, but at the end of the day, you know there’s only a few that cut through. Most of them aren’t really going to be successful. So with this one, I just remember thinking I was going to give it my all, and hope for the best.

Danny Cannon, who directed the first one, is really the main reason the movie was such a success. He was able to find the moments in there, and just transform it into what we know it as today. It’s a cult classic now. You know, even to this day, nearly 20 years later, I still get footballers following me on social media from all around the world. It’s just crazy how many people kind of live through that character.

I still speak to people now, and they’ll tell me they watched the movies, say a couple of weeks ago, for the 25th time. It’s still so fresh in their minds and their hearts.

I really, really believe that I’m one of the luckiest actors in the world. If you’re lucky, in this job, you might have two or three successful movies to your name at the end of your career. But to have something like this, where you’re the lead of the movie, a trilogy, which lives in the hearts of its fans for decades… when cinema reaches that level of success, it becomes magical. It’s just magical, yeah. In Mexico, just to become an actor that was successful on TV was hard enough, and I was blessed to do that. But to then come here, to Hollywood, make movies and be the leader of that movie… I’m so grateful and blessed.

I’ll be honest, it’s been years since I watched any of those movies. I don’t know what it is; I guess I just want it to live through what people tell me, instead of watching myself back after all these years. I know I’d have some kind of judgements on it, or opinions, but I love seeing how other people perceive it, and what they feel, you know.

I’ve got to say, I’m recognised for those movies almost every day. It depends on where I am, really. But yeah, I’m recognised every day. If not in person, then people will message me on social media. People also recognise me as the voice of Lighting McQueen [Rayo McQueen] in the Spanish version of Cars. People love that. That’s when they hear my voice; if they hear me, then they know me from Cars, and if they see me, it’s from Goal! That’s a really blessed position to be in.

I’m so bad at football... I needed FOUR stunt doubles when shooting Goal!

God, I’ve got to be honest. I couldn’t even tell you the last time I kicked a football. Man. I don’t even remember. I truly don’t know. I’m so, so, so bad at football. Like, so bad. I felt embarrassed so many times while we were making those movies, just because I didn’t play a lot when I was younger. I was one of those kids in school in Mexico City that was picked at the very, very end. I really was. I’m 99% sure I was the worst player in my school.

It’s funny, Alessandro [Nivola], who played Gavin Harris… he was actually great at soccer. He really was. That made everything way worse, because I told Danny Cannon [director] that I could play football. You know, I guess he just thought because I was Mexican, I could play. And I told him I could play! When in reality, it was a huge challenge for me. So bad, that I actually had stress fractures in both of my ankles from training so hard, because I really wanted to get the part. It was so tough for me… the toughest work I’ve had to do as an actor.

But yeah, all that time, Alessandro – who was American, and so should have been the guy who couldn’t play, was actually really good, while I couldn’t play at all.

Yeah, even when I think back now, I’m so embarrassed, because I was struggling to run a certain way, and hit the ball right. Things were desperate at times, honestly. There were a couple of times where I was filming with David Beckham – who was the nicest guy ever – and even he was getting tired by it all! The director yelled at me a lot too, because I was so bad.

I said to them at the time, though, as long as this wasn’t some kind of documentary-style thing about a footballer, then I’d be fine. You know, if this is a fiction, I can do it. Just don’t ask me to be a good football player. I needed something like four or five doubles for everything. One for running, one for doing the tricks, one for hitting the ball, one for running faster… I had so many doubles! I struggled a lot; it was really tough.

David Beckham is who I was most starstruck by...

I have to say David Beckham is the player I was most starstruck by. You know, that guy is just another level of famous; he’s a superstar. It goes beyond football with him; he’s just someone who everyone recognises, even if you’re not a football fan, you still know who David Beckham is. Of course, there were players like Zinedine Zidane as well, but Beckham was the one who I was really starstruck by, for sure.

Mexico v England prediction

I love that this World Cup is so open. You know, like we’ve already seen some upsets in the Round of 32, and it means there’s a chance for a smaller nation to win the whole thing, which would just be great. It makes the whole thing a lot more exciting, and I love that about the World Cup. You know, I want to root for the smaller teams. Paraguay beating Germany… that’s just insane. I couldn’t believe that was happening. Holland losing to Morocco… it’s crazy. I would love someone like Morocco to go and win the whole thing. Could you imagine?

As for England v Mexico – I have to say I want Mexico to win, obviously. I would love for Mexico to win that game. But there’s so much emotional attachment for me when it comes to England. You know, the fact we spent so much time there, I got to learn about the culture, and what football means to those people. I have to root for them also, just because of the movies. That country is so close to my heart. This game is a really tough one for me to pick a winner for. To be honest, it almost didn’t happen… I couldn’t believe how much England struggled to get past DR Congo.

I think Mexico are going to fight until the death. You know, I think it’s going to be 1-1, it’ll go to penalties, and the tension is going to go through the roof. It’s at Estadio Azteca, and the energy there is going to be insane. This is a historic moment for the people of Mexico. I also think the altitude is going to play a part in the game, and it’s going to be another challenge for England. So England obviously have the better team, but when you throw in the atmosphere inside that stadium, and the altitude, I think that levels things out a little. Both countries need this win. Mexico has gone through so much, as has England, and we need that escape. It’s going to be a great game. Every Mexican player is going to be giving 500%, they’re going to go out there and give everything, for every second. The crowd are going to make it so difficult for England. Every time they get the ball, they’re going to boo. I would love to see us win. I would love it.

In terms of advice I’d give to Mexico – one thing I’ve learned in life is that we forget to live in the moment. I know it sounds a little cliché, but I truly believe we have to enjoy the moment. We don’t know how long we’ve got, and I’m in a place now where I look back at some of the things I’ve done, like these movies [Goal!], and I should have enjoyed the moments more. I did enjoy it, of course, but I was too busy thinking about the challenges. If I could go back, I would be focused on enjoying those amazing moments, so in the case of these players, I would advise them to actually enjoy the moment a little bit. It’s the World Cup, it’s once in a lifetime. Give your thousand percent, of course. But enjoy the moment, too.

If England beat Mexico, I'll be cheering them on to go all the way

If England do beat Mexico, I would absolutely be supporting them, and wanting them to go all the way and win the World Cup. You know, this country is so close to my heart. When I think about England, I think about Newcastle, and that place was such a big part of my life, my development as an actor and as a person. I’m so grateful. You know, I haven’t been back in a long time, and I would love to go back and see Newcastle now. I’d love to just come back and see what’s going on

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