Plot Synopsis

In anticipation of the 2014 World Cup, ESPN broadcast 30 FOR 30: SOCCER STORIES, a mixture of feature-length and 30-minute documentaries that focus on The Beautiful Game. This spinoff of 30 FOR 30 will include two feature-length films: "Hillsborough" (directed by Daniel Gordon), documenting the worst disaster in British football history, which occurred in an overcrowded stadium in Sheffield, England on April 15, 1989; and "White, Blue and White" (directed by Camilo Antolini), chronicling the English-league career of Argentinian Ossie Ardiles, whose career path changed when Argentinian troops descended on the British-ruled Falkland Islands, asserting rightful sovereignty. The six 30-minute films include: "Garrincha: Crippled Angel" (directed by Marcos Horacio Azeved), which highlights the career of Mane Garrincha, a teammate of Pele, who was an entertainer amusing crowds; "Barbosa: The Man Who Made All of Brazil Cry" (directed by Loch Phillipps), which showcases Brazilian Goalkeeper Moacir Barbosa, who is blamed for allowing a goal that is still considered to be the greatest sporting tragedy to befall Brazil; "Ceasefire Massacre" (directed by Alex Gibney & Trevor Bunim), which documents how the jubilation felt inside Giants Stadium during a match between Ireland and Italy on June 18, 1994 is juxtaposed against the horrors of what happened in the Heights Bar in Northern Ireland; "The Opposition" (directed by Ezra Edelman), which chronicles a decisive World Cup qualifier between Chile and the Soviet Union scheduled for a stadium that was used as a concentration camp and where the Chilean team scored a goal against no one, because the Soviets boycotted; "Mysteries of The Jules Rimet Trophy" (directed by Brett Ratner), which chronicles the Nazi plan to steal the trophy from Italy during World War II and how a mild-mannered Italian soccer official protected the trophy; and "Maradona '86" (directed by Sam Blair), which delivers an operatic portrait of Maradona, revealing his inner complexity and contradictions while basking in the joy and passion of his performance on the pitch. This series premiered on the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, as ESPN broadcast the two-hour "Hillsborough" episode of 30 FOR 30: SOCCER STORIES on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 8pm ET/5pm PT.