Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend
Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend
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Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend

"The epic journey to the ultimate prize."

7.5
Yr 2024
Status Ended
Documentary
Your Verdict
Unrated

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Series Brief

Overview

Follow the legend's epic journey through five World Cups, culminating in 2022's triumph. As the championship run unfolds, Messi shares some of his most personal reflections—on his national team career and the challenges he's faced.

Critical Reception

What critics are saying

Score 82 /100

Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend received generally warm praise from critics, who found the Apple TV+ docuseries to be an inspiring and compelling chronicle of Lionel Messi's international football career. Reviewers highlighted the intimate look into his journey through five World Cups, culminating in Argentina's dramatic 2022 triumph.

Critics commended the series' pacing and narrative structure, noting that it focuses on high-stakes drama rather than dwelling on routine matches. The docuseries is further praised for its first-rate cinematography, personal insights straight from Messi, and a thoughtful reflection on his past tournament setbacks that make his ultimate triumph feel even more exciting.

Overall, commentators viewed the docuseries as a classic sports tale that succeeds both as an engrossing celebration of a football icon and as a humanizing look at his national team career.

“The series is elevated by its first-rate cinematography, lending a human touch to the narrative and making it an engrossing watch”

“The voyeuristic and compelling series offers football/soccer) fans an inside look into what it was like for Lionel Messi and the Argentinian national team to play in, and win, the 2022 World Cup”

“sets the stage perfectly, spending very little time on the games with no drama, and just enough on the drama”

Transmission Paths

Where to Watch

Apple TV
US • CA • UK
Apple TV Amazon Channel
US • CA • UK
Why fans love it

Most sports documentaries settle for highlight reels, but this miniseries grounds itself in the long, often agonizing arc of international football. The focus stays trained on Lionel Messi across five different World Cup tournaments, tracing the years of pressure and setbacks that preceded the 2022 triumph. Having Messi provide his own personal reflections on the hurdles of his national team career turns familiar tournament history into a focused biographical study.

Supporters of the sport appreciate the documentary because it avoids treating the journey as an easy victory lap. By examining the doubt and difficulties that shadowed each previous campaign, the eventual championship run feels genuinely earned rather than guaranteed. It captures the reality of high-stakes soccer through the quiet perspective of the player who carried that relentless pressure for decades.

Production Board

Crew

Director of Photography
Alfredo de Juan Alastair McKevitt Max Preiss Alejandro Giuliani
Editor
Chris Perez Carlos David Rivera Alex Durham Curtis McConnell Christine Khalafian
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Mike Suarez
Producer
Juanma Martínez Medina Juan Baldana
Additional Editor
Ryan Theisen Michael Oliver Gregers Sall
Music Supervisor
Aaron Mercer
Sound Assistant
Samantha Doyle
Additional Music
Lucas Starbuck
Production Supervisor
Sam Correia
Executive Producer
Juan Camilo Cruz Patrick Milling-Smith Brian Carmody Alfonso Alberto Aguilera
Post Production Supervisor
Michael McHalffey Audrey Schuberg
Post Production Coordinator
Gema Gallegos
Dialogue Editor
Kristin Catuogno
Line Producer
Cecilia Salguero
Consulting Producer
David Teague
Supervising Producer
Chris James
Signal Match

Similarity

Where Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend overlaps with other shows, and exactly what they have in common.

Keyword Cloud

Keywords

world cup biography sports miniseries football (soccer) sports documentary
Technical Sheet

Details

First Aired
February 20, 2024
Status
Ended
Origin
US
TMDB Votes
81