A British sports documentary; A story about an English football club's extraordinary 1979 European Cup triumph and colourful exploits of its team manager, Brian Clough. This film was a long time coming for British football enthusiasts for the scale of the achievement is often forgotten a generation later yet remains unequalled. The main theme is how success sometimes emerges from burgeoning talent however unproven. It features a bombastic personality, one who was ridiculed for his abrasive and forthright opinions, but underestimated by national media. Through news clips and interviews with the team manager and his assistant, Peter Taylor, the narrative has force and panache. The film also analyses how psychology methods have been used in sport and the skill of man-management. It touches on the courage and self-belief of footballers to make their dreams come true. A wealth of amusing anecdotes humorously subverts the rhetoric and football club corporate culture of today with its strict management of player reputation. The message of the film seems to be that the answer to team success has always been there all along: team spirit. Where most football club documentaries appeal to their own supporters, this one will have wider appeal.
Review of I Believe in Miracles
