Though this story is based on real events, its characters are fictionalized
and not intended to resemble or discredit any actual persons.
The World Cup in Spain
will be the event that reaffirms our might.
Long live football.
Long live football!
Long…
As the new FIFA president,
I renew my commitment
to the tradition of football
that has led us to this point.
Please don't think I wanted Adi to come to such a tragic end.
However, now the dreams of FIFA will start to emerge for Havelange.
Even if your father's not around,
I'm sure you'll prove what you're capable of soon.
Please accept this brotherly embrace from the whole of Latin America to this…
beautiful family.
The World Cup in Argentina is unfeasible.
Underdevelopment combined with their armed forces
is a literal time bomb.
Well, who would have thought it?
My faithful old sidekick Helmut talking like a president.
Well, we'll see about that.
I saw you chatting with Käser and the UEFA guys earlier.
What was that about?
Nothing. Just man talk.
Things that might interest your boss.
Let's hope things settle down in Argentina.
But if it keeps going downhill, Spain will be ready to host.
Don't be shocked,
but political bargaining around a corpse is as old as the hills.
Here, for example,
is Mr. Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State,
who came to say goodbye to his friend Adi.
HENRY KISSINGER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE
I can't live solely on my income as a narrator.
Too many trips, too many problems. And the fuckers refuse to negotiate.
So, for now,
I'll have to have side hustles
to make some money.
Since Käser had no connections in the Argentine military,
he wanted to change the host.
But João saw an opportunity to seize power.
Whoever runs the World Cup, runs FIFA.
What's the matter? Why are you here?
I've heard the Swiss bastard
is trying to take the World Cup from us and give it to Europe.
It's madness.
Nobody could organize it in two years.
When a president doesn't know how to make decisions,
best thing to do is kick him out of office.
Even if it's a "she," as in our case.
We have the same issue. Do you want the same outcome?
No, right?
You'll have to fight for this World Cup to be held in Argentina.
Because if you move it to Spain or wherever,
you will be ejected from FIFA.
And speaking about changing venues,
someone else was doing the same.
...to welcome you aboard the plane 737.
This is the flight 8J8497 to the city of Rio de Janeiro.
EL PRESIDENTE: CORRUPTION GAME
ADIDAS HEADQUARTERS GERMANY
"And from them I request, do not repeat the history of hatred and greed
"that estranged me from my brother Rudolf.
"I leave the company's marketing department to my children Horst and Lena."
The marketing department is peanuts.
Even dead he won't trust me.
Fuck this company.
We are made for bigger things.
TAXI
So while João was risking his neck in Europe,
Isabel returned to Rio to reconnect with herself or whatever.
No, I...
No.
As the wise Juárez once said, "War is war."
And Havelange needed to know which soldiers were on his side.
I do understand what you're saying,
and I am on your side, but at the end of the day Käser pays my salary.
And has for the last eight years.
What do you want, Faye?
I want to get ahead. I want to make decisions.
I want a higher position. I want a bigger salary. I want…
Okay.
As soon as I put Käser out,
the position is yours.
But keep in mind, you'll have to work 24 hours.
-Forget holidays, weekends. -I don't even know what a holiday is.
There he is, my General Havelange
deploying one of his favorite weapons. Promises.
And a new member was added to the Havelange family.
I'm sorry.
My daughter has just given birth.
Congratulations.
So you're a grandpa now.
What's wrong?
I'm not sure that Argentina's gross domestic income
-can afford new stadiums. -Yeah.
Faye, we need to find investments to help Argentina finance the Cup.
And talk to my friend Juárez.
We need to make them a visit.
There's another issue that I need to address.
What about insurance?
World Cups are always insured by the Rohr company.
With the political instability in Argentina,
it will be difficult for them to insure it.
Faye, I told you that board is mine. I need it to practice my calligraphy.
Meanwhile, Castor, with the help of the military,
managed to get into the CBD…
…creating an innovative commission.
In Argentina, the armed forces have taken control of the government.
Käser was doing everything he could to prevent Rohr from insuring the Cup.
I understand if you don't want to guarantee the Cup in Argentina
with all this insecurity caused by the coup and the military.
Considering the situation in Latin America…
Well…
Don't count on us to insure the World Cup.
Faye.
So horrible.
I can imagine how you must feel.
Such a shame about Argentina.
A shame?
Well, I get along well with the military.
I just got a call from the Rohr company.
There is no way they can insure the World Cup.
There will have to be a change of host.
I regret to inform you that will never happen.
We will have a South American World Cup and it's going to be huge.
Damn old house. It's always freezing in here.
Nothing works here!
I swear on my own name, I'll bring this fucking house down.
Faye, come here.
I need you to contact every insurance company.
Get all the World Cup projects together, and send it to them.
You need to convince at least one.
Otherwise, Faye, we're fucked.
We got lucky. This World Cup will be ours again.
That's wonderful!
I'll be expecting you in my country for the World Cup,
while tasting jamón and tortillas!
After Adi's death,
the husbands of the other four sisters took control of Adidas.
This is a unique opportunity.
It's not only about increasing your sales.
The World Cup is the window to the world,
leading to opening up new markets.
I see you're looking to the future, Mr. Havelange.
But the present tells us that the World Cup
is set to be held in Argentina, where a military coup has just taken place.
No brand would want to be linked to an authoritarian government.
Politics is politics, and football is football.
It's a different kind of problem.
When I was young, I had a small local business.
And one day I realized that I outgrew it. I wanted more.
And I believe we can all do that. We just need to be more brave.
And ambitious.
The room of rejected ideas.
Throw everything out.
Let's burn it and go for drinks.
Let me see it.
This folder here.
Shoes with lights.
They never got to shine.
Your time will come soon.
We'll always be the owners of Adidas.
What good is that if I can't make decisions at my own company?
The Adidas stadium project.
I used to love that one.
We would have managed the best stadiums in the world.
What if we present that to Havelange?
We could purchase the rights to all World Cup stadiums.
Tickets, food stalls, parking lots, our own stores inside the stadiums.
And we can do all that from the marketing department.
We don't need our idiotic sisters for that.
Leasing stadium rights?
I'm sure 15 years ago that would've been profitable,
but think of it.
Nowadays, many more people see images of stadiums on TV
than are actually in stadiums.
So, for example,
in Argentina, the largest stadium has 70,000 seats.
That means 70,000 tickets.
Why sell gold nuggets
when you can have the whole mine?
Let me see if I got this straight.
So it's not worth it to manage a stadium
if I manage what the stadium shows the world.
Exactly.
You could market the billboards in the stadium.
Lower cost, larger reach.
For that we'll need support from the Argentinian government.
My friend,
that is guaranteed.
The moment is now.
Are you in… or are you out?
Now give me the good news.
Hüssbent Insurance and Asseguranza Schuber
stepped away before even negotiating.
Thank you.
Havelange, some are talking about a possible change of host country
due to the military coup in Argentina.
Well, the '78 World Cup is a global event.
Argentina is the right place to do it.
Thank you.
The insurance companies disagree. How will you insure it?
We're working on that.
We will not be responding to ill-founded, ill-intended hearsay. Thanks.
Thanks. You heard it yourselves. They will continue working on the issue.
We will follow up.
From FIFA's headquarters in Switzerland, this is Sergio Jadue.
Mr. Havelange,
I just got a call from Argentina.
Your friend Juárez was pulled down the ladder.
And Mr. Actis will replace him
as the one in charge of the agency organizing the World Cup.
A very reasonable man.
He assured me there wouldn't be any new stadiums, let alone investments.
How can I calm down?
The deal was a huge World Cup. You don't want to spend a dime!
What do you expect? After the coup, this is above me.
I'll solve it. Don't worry.
DIVORCE AND RIGHTS FOR WOMEN
These were times of transformation in Brazil.
The military government began to lose some of its power,
and women began to discuss their right to divorce.
Meanwhile, things were also changing at FIFA.
What are you doing here?
You know it's forbidden to come up here!
This is an invasion of privacy!
This is the FIFA headquarters, and I'm the president, right?
I don't know… Well, I can move freely around here. Or not?
-What's in here? -Yeah?
Oh, look. This is the stairs. Let's see.
Where do you want to go? To the attic?
Go. There are only bats up there.
-Yeah? We'll see it. -And you'll be one bat more.
And you, Faye, I'll remember that.
Yeah.
Can't believe it.
Havelange was starting a new era for FIFA.
As my grandma used to say,
if you want something done right, do it yourself.
If I help them out, I'll make some extra cash.
These Swiss are really weird.
In Chile, we would grill the sheep.
Bad news.
We have been rejected by DMB and the Gunart Insurance.
We're quickly running out of options.
We'll find one.
There has to be one.
"European boycott. European national teams declare
"their rejection to play in Argentina
"and demand FIFA to change the host."
This is clearly a declaration of war.
With this low blow,
the Europeans began to put their master plan in motion.
They wanted one thing. Send the Brazilian back to Brazil.
Now it seems that he fucked us.
No European teams means it's not a World Cup.
It's a Copa América! Fuck!
Calm down, Salinas.
They can do whatever they want. I'm not afraid of them.
This is what we'll do.
Europe only has ten teams. Africa has way more.
So, we're going to do a World Cup without the Europeans.
Call Tessema and tell him we're gonna do what we promised him four years earlier.
Leave the traitor with me.
The one who wants to host the World Cup.
Book me a flight to Madrid.
Leaving today.
This is the way we're going to have the World Cup in Spain.
The World Cup will be back in Europe, and not in South America.
We're going to send him home, the Brazilian.
The World Cup will be Spanish.
Gentlemen.
-We're going to have more than that… -Guys!
I'm out.
What's wrong with you, Paco?
Nobody knew that João had paid a visit to his friend Paco.
Going straight to the point,
if you insist on hosting it in Spain,
my brother is ready to tell everyone what happened between you.
Is your family ready to know about this?
I'm thinking about my life.
I'm about to turn 50.
What are you talking about, Paco?
I have neither the energy, nor the resources
to host a World Cup in just two years.
Have you lost your mind?
We have a plan.
You can't walk away from it just like that.
Spain is out.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're about to land in the city of Buenos Aires.
We have to put some pressure on them for these stadiums.
The schedule's a mess. There aren't enough seats.
A bloody dictatorship,
people disappearing,
the kidnapping of babies, repression and torture.
Well, this isn't finished yet.
This is a mess.
What we see, this only has 20,000 seats.
That's right.
We will add 10,000 seats.
Thirty thousand in total.
It's what we can afford.
OMAR ACTIS - NEW MILITARY MAN IN CHARGE OF THE WORLD CUP
Unfortunately, we can't appreciate it right now,
but it will be a very modern stadium.
There's no place for us to set up the cameras.
That decision is outside our jurisdiction.
This is disrespectful.
I've never seen so much improvisation.
That decision is outside our jurisdiction.
Mexico and Germany were broadcast in color.
It can't go backwards.
That decision is outside our jurisdiction.
Promise them, you wuss.
You've always been a wuss.
And you've always had problems with authority.
But I am the authority now.
I don't know if you're aware,
the whole world wants to be a part of this.
Gillette, Canon, KLM…
The presence of brands will bring prestige.
There's an opportunity here.
The one to decide what is and what is not an opportunity
is Commander General Videla.
You said you had it all arranged.
Do you think we can work with a TV station that doesn't even have cameras yet?
Well, we only need some funding and a little injection of capital.
That's it.
A minor detail.
And insurance. Another detail.
What do we tell the brands?
To wait? To trust that the broadcasters and the stadiums
will be ready in record time?
The military forces are crude but good at following orders,
doing what they're told.
They need this World Cup.
They said it will be done, so we'll make sure it's done.
Come on! Unless we finish this TV station, there's no World Cup.
Do you want a FIFA from the future, or not?
Do we have to call João and have him build it?
Do we have to do everything around here?
It's ridiculous.
I'll have a water, please.
No, two whiskies, please.
We could do with relaxing a little bit, right?
It's impossible.
There isn't one insurer in the world willing to insure the World Cup.
After all, it could be good business, right?
Or the worst.
The other day, I was speaking to my attorney, and he said that in '72,
the insurance company, the German state itself,
had to pay three million dollars to each of the victims' families.
Come on, João.
Wait a minute…
The insurance company was the German state itself.
So the Argentinian state could do the same, right?
Havelange,
you finally decided to see the best of our country.
Argentinian meat.
Export quality.
Go on.
If you want the Cup to happen, you'll have to insure it yourselves.
Some Olympic Games venues have done it.
Tell that to that asshole Actis.
It's impossible to have a World Cup on these terms. I got you everything…
Sponsors, the solution to the insurance,
and I've just realized you are a nobody in this game. Nobody.
You know what?
Go fuck yourself, asshole!
All of you fuckers!
Fuck you!
-I'll take the World Cup somewhere else. -Sit the fuck down!
We'll make things move.
I know how to make Actis understand.
In the meantime, enjoy the show.
I believe we need a whisky.
Yeah…
Does it hurt?
It hurts.
But don't stop it.
U.S. EMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
Mr. Kissinger is ready to see you.
Okay.
Havelange went to see a powerful football fan
to ask for some advice that would help him to put the Cup back on track.
What do you want?
I want to organize the best World Cup in history.
I need financial help.
I like you, Havelange.
You strike me as a modern man, and intelligent.
But you know it's impossible. What else do you need?
I need a sponsor.
A very big one.
Well…
I think that will be easy for a man like you.
The World Cup is a very commercially appealing event.
I should imagine it would be easy
for you to get sponsored by a commercially famous brand.
I don't mean to take advantage of your trust,
but at Adi Dassler's funeral, I saw you speaking to the mayor of Zurich.
Do you know him well?
Sure.
He also grew up in Fürth, where I was born.
We played football together on the street when we were kids.
Well, I need to ask him a favor.
I want to build a new headquarters for FIFA.
That would mean a lot to me,
and I would be in debt to you forever.
Good old Kissinger helped João kill several birds with one stone.
He knew how to ask for advice.
Favors come, favors go.
Favors here, favors there.
FERNANDO ALBUQUERQUE CONGRESSMAN AGAINST DIVORCE
The decision has already been made. And it's above your rank.
The country won't insure the Cup. We can't afford it.
Understood?
Understood.
UN UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION
It's our duty to watch out for human rights in every country.
It's our priority in disturbed times like these.
It's not our role to interfere in countries' domestic politics.
I'm sorry to disagree, but this goes beyond domestic politics.
Argentina is now ruled by a government that threatens its own citizens
and those who travel into the country.
It wouldn't make any sense to insure the exact thing they're putting at risk.
It's like being judge and jury at the same time.
When everything was falling into place
and the future FIFA was ready to shine,
the shitty Europeans came again to put obstacles in the path.
ARGENTINA CANNOT INSURE ITS OWN WORLD CUP
Motherfucker! I can't believe this!
Motherfucker!
Unbelievable.
I can't get anything right unless I do it myself.
And João was up against the ropes.
But he was willing to risk it all to win this battle.
These sinners come to the Lord's house to atone for their sins,
so I hope you're not offended.
I'm very glad to have you all here on this important day.
It's an honor to confirm something that was never,
at least from our perspective, in doubt.
The 1978 World Cup will be held in Argentina.
We will have a World Cup unlike anything seen before.
Insured for 10 million dollars,
and my European friends,
who realized they couldn't be left out of the greatest World Cup in history.
I'm also pleased to announce that
FIFA is entering the future.
We will leave our limitations behind and build a new headquarters
up to the standards…
not of what football is, but…
what it could become.
Argentina fulfilled each and every single requirement
and has the opportunity to prove as a country
committed to human rights.
And of course to amaze the world with this unforgettable show.
We will build the best World Cup in history.
Based on peace…
and liberty.
João, what are you getting yourself into?
Let's enjoy the greatest sporting event in the whole world.
Long live football.