PLAYER. LEADER. LEGEND.

Asif Kapadia follows up on a previous documentary about Diego Maradona with a closer look on the life and career of Sir Kenny Dalglish, successful striker for Liverpool who became one of few player-managers, and witnessed some of football’s darkest moments: the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters.

As always in Kapadia’s documentaries, it is all based on archival footage, but Dalglish lends his voice to the material, sharing memories and insights. The strongest part of the film is the depiction of the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy that claimed 97 lives and deeply affected Dalglish.

The impact would perhaps have been even more powerful had Kapadia broken with his formula for just a little bit and had Dalglish on camera in Liverpool today.

2025-U.K. 104 min. Color-B/W. Directed by Asif Kapadia. 

Trivia: Co-produced by Kapadia.