Santiago Munez
Santiago Muñez is a fictional character in the Goal! film series. He is the main character of Goal! and Goal! 2: Living the Dream, and a supporting character in Goal! 3. He is a fictional footballer who played for Tottenham Hotspur, FK Rostov, Al Fateh F.C and for Real Madrid, after beginning his career at Newcastle United. Muñez is portrayed by actor Kuno Becker.
Muñez grew up as a football high fan living in poverty in Mexico. His family escaped to Los Angeles in United States as illegal immigrants. As Santiago became older, he became a busboy at a Chinese restaurant, while also working part-time with his father in a gardening business. He lived with his father, a younger brother, and his grandmother — his mother left shortly after his younger brother was born. Glen Foy, a former Scottish footballer and scout, spotted Santiago playing for an amateur club in Los Angeles, before offering him a tryout for Newcastle United. A notable aspect of Munez' career progression was his versatility and willingness to play where ever his manager saw best for the team. grrrr. Despite his talent and Foy's praises, Santiago's father did not approve of accepting the offer, claiming that the family business is more important than sports. He later stole Santiago's hidden money to buy a used pickup truck, to begin his own gardening business. Without the money to travel, he nearly lost all hope of travelling to England for the tryout; however, his grandmother, with her own secret money, purchased Santiago a plane ticket to Newcastle, which he reluctantly accepted.
Santiago finishes his career at Al-Fateh F.C in Saudi Arabia, however due to political reasons, the team relocate to Damascus, Syria. During an evening meal at a restaurant, there is a bomb blast, that kills the whole team instantly apart from Santi. Santi dies in hospital just after he sees a vision of Roz who died in Goal 5: Revenge of the Goalkeeper...
Santi in his Newcastle United kit
Club Career[]
Newcastle United[]
Santiago arrived in Newcastle and was introduced to the manager of Newcastle United, Erik Dornhelm. Despite a slow start after being bullied by Hughie McGowan, he finds his feet and fights his way to the first team where he becomes a regular alongside Gavin Harris.
His good form helps Newcastle United to do well in the Premier League, helping them qualify for the UEFA Champions League with an important in over Fulham. This attracts attention from a certain European superclub - Real Madrid...
Before he left he was joined by Turkish player and Fenerbahce supporter Emre Belözoglu and played together in pre-season matches.
(See Goal! page for full synposis)
Real Madrid[]
After finally letting him go, Newcastle United let Santiago join Real Madrid.. He joins the likes of Gavin Harris, Ronaldo, Raul, Guti, Casillas, Zidane, etc. After a tough season, Santi plays an integral part in winning the UEFA Champions League.
(See Goal II page for full synopsis)
Tottenham Hotspur[]
In an attempt to revitalize his career and gain more minutes, Santiago joins Tottenham Hotspur on loan. He opens up about his issues with depression and alcohol abuse. He has a solid campaign, scoring 8 goals and assisting 7 in 29 premier league appearances.
(See Goal III page for full synopsis)
Real Madrid (Second Term)[]
Santi breifly returns to Real Madrid, however he has no success. The team end up coming sixth in the league, ending up in the UEFA Europa League but they get knocked out after two draws at Dinamo Zagreb, and a humiliating 6-2 loss to FC Banants of Armenia.
Newcastle United[]
In order to jump-start his career again, Santiago returns to Newcastle. This makes his partner Roz happy as she is originally from the area, as seen in the first movie. They have a child here. He finds his form again and scored 18 goals in the 2009/2010 season.
Real Madrid (Third Term)[]
Santi links up with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlo Costly, managed by KBU, at Real Madrid. He wins the 2013/2014 UEFA Champions League. One notable match from this season was a 7-0 aggreate win over rivals Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League semi-final. The fifth goal was a spectacular overhead kick by Santi, which was later awarded goal of the season by UEFA. Due to this, Santi then wins the Ballon D'Or award.
FK Rostov[]
Santi joins Russian Premier League side FK Rostov. Here they manage to win the Russian Premier League going unbeaten all season, capping a memorable season off with a 3-0 away win at FC Zenit. He joins Hong-Yong-Jo at the club as well as Stipe Pletikosa. Santi scores against Pletikosa at the FIFA World Cup, triggering troubles...
(See Goal 5: Revenge of the Goalkeeper for full synopsis)
Al-Fateh F.C[]
Santiago finishes his career at Al-Fateh F.C in Saudi Arabia, however due to political reasons, the team relocate to Damascus, Syria. During an evening meal at a restaurant, there is a bomb blast, that kills the whole team instantly apart from Santi. Santi later dies in hospital, bringing the dream to an end.
International Career[]
Mexico []
Santiago was named in the Mexican team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but after being involved in a car accident during a pre-tournament trip to Romania, he suffers serious injuries and is unable to play. He does, however, still go to the World Cup to cheer on team-mates, and good friends, Charlie Braithwaite and Liam Adams, who are chosen in the England squad.
(See Goal III for a full synopsis)
Spain[]
Santiago changes nationality in Goal!: Glory Days, instead linking up with the likes of David Villa and Fernando Torres in the Spanish National Football Team. He wins FIFA World Cup 2010 with Spain.
He then links up with the Spanish squad for FIFA World Cup 2014, but they are eliminated in the group stages of the tournament.