大象传媒

Back when Roman Abramovich's piggy bank would have struggled to secure a Subbutio set, an ambitious US media tycoon set out to build the world's most famous and successful soccer team. Set against a backdrop of 70s excess and civil unrest, Once In A Lifetime tells the remarkable story of the New York Cosmos and how the likes of 笔别濒茅, Franz Beckenbauer, Carlos Alberto and Giorgio Chinaglia were briefly united by one man's dream.

Warner Communications boss Steve Ross set out on a doomed mission to make soccer the number one sport in the US, after witnessing the fanatical crowds at the 1970 World Cup finals. But America didn't have time for the beautiful game, preferring the stop-start razzmatazz of baseball, basketball and American Football. They had, however, heard of Pele and when he signed a three-year contract to lead the no-hopers (who were more likely to show their tackle in Playgirl than on the field) the media frenzy went into overdrive. It wasn't long before the celebrities began to turn out in force and the players became Studio 54 regulars.

"PREMIER LEAGUE PEDIGREE"

From the makers of One Day In September and Dogtown And Z-Boys, Once In A Lifetime has a premier league pedigree. The story of the Cosmos' rise from zeroes to heroes and back again, is told through hilariously intercut who-said-what-to-whom anecdotes with the players and businessmen who made it happen. Such a heady combination of greed, girls and goals, all set to a pulsating funk background, should provide even a hardened football refusenik with 90 minutes (plus stoppage time) of entertainment.