Take the Ball, Pass the Ball

Take the Ball, Pass the Ball (2018) is the documentary about Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, and you can watch it online on iFILM. For four seasons between 2008 and 2012, this side played a brand of football that won over fans even in places that had no love for Barça.

What makes it work is who's talking. Not pundits — the players: Xavi, Iniesta, Piqué, Busquets, Puyol, Eto'o, Henry, with Guardiola from the touchline. They get into how a 13-year-old Messi was nearly turned away by the academy, what really fueled the Guardiola–Mourinho feud, and how Eric Abidal fought back from cancer to lift Europe's biggest club trophy.

Director Duncan McMath pulls tiki-taka apart to show how it actually worked — why moving the ball mattered more than shooting it. It lands for anyone who loves football as an idea, not just a scoreline. Stream Take the Ball, Pass the Ball (2018) online on iFILM.