On this day in 2006, Real Madrid striker Santiago Munez scored a Puskas award contender on his Los Blancos debut, just weeks after arriving from Newcastle United in one of the most talked about transfers in film history.
Munez's journey to the Bernabeu was like no other.
In the early days of his career, he worked in a Chinese restaurant after his father smuggled family over the US border to seek a better life in Los Angeles.
After working hard on the pitch to realise his dream of playing professional football, he impressed Glen Foy, a former Scottish footballer and scout, who spotted Santiago playing for an amateur side in L.A.
In the coming months, he would score in front of thousands at St. James park alongside that really annoying bloke, Gavin Harris, and became a vital member of the squad.
He eventually earned a move to Real Madrid and on his debut against Olympiacos in the Champions League, he pounced on a defensive clearance to score a wonderful volley from outside the box.
Can we just talk about that corner from David Beckham?
GOAL has become a cult film in the industry and for many reading this, the fictional tale of this talented Mexican is up there with the very best.
To put the public's adoration for the film into perspective, GOAL was voted the greatest football-related film of all time by fans.
Over 28,000 votes were cast to decide the eventual winner with the likes of Bend It Like Beckham, Green Street, The Football Factory and Mike Bassett: England Manager in the running.
GOAL came out on top with 6,136 votes, while GOAL 2 and Green Street made up the top three. Lovers of the film Mean Machine and Escape To Victory might be disappointing to learn that they fall into the bottom three alongside Fever Pitch.
Here are the results in full:
1) GOAL - 6136 votes
2) GOAL 2 - 5488 votes
3) Green Street - 2887 votes
4) The Damned United - 2912 votes
5) The Football Factory - 2080 votes
6) Bend It Like Beckham - 2014 votes
7) Mike Bassett - 1768 votes
8) Jimmy Grimble - 1456 votes
9) She's The Man - 1344 votes
10) Mean Machine - 1007 votes
11) Escape to Victory - 805 votes
12) Fever Pitch - 416 votes
Happy 14th debut day, Santiago!
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Film, Football, Goal
