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Messi seated on the grass, seen from behind and turning his head, in Argentina's 10 shirt, against plain green. Argentina v Egypt, 7 July 2026.
Photo: Bryan Berlin / WikiPortraits / CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Bryan Berlin / WikiPortraits / CC BY-SA 4.0

What the highlights leave out.

Football documentaries, with a new film every Sunday.

Sunday’s film

A highlight shows you what happened.

It can’t tell you why a player mattered

A huge street crowd from above at night, red flares and smoke between apartment blocks.

or why a rivalry never cooled.

A lone player in pale blue and white stripes walking towards a distant goal and a huddled team, on a blue-lit pitch at night.

Talisman makes the films that can, with a new one every Sunday.

Messi Lost His Last World Cup Final.

This Is His Whole Story

A napkin contract, four lost finals, a World Cup, and one last World Cup final in tears.

Sunday’s film
Photo: TitiNicola / CC BY-SA 4.0
Iron gate and painted post with a hand-painted 10, in the Rosario neighbourhood where Messi grew up.
Photo: TitiNicola / CC BY-SA 4.0

Nothing on this street would make a highlight.

A gate in the Rosario neighbourhood where Messi grew up.

All 19:07, with every chapter at its true length.

  1. An old, worn football at rest against a kerb on an empty street at low sun.0:00 Intro
  2. Six boys in red and black kit, seen from behind, walking across a dusty floodlit pitch behind a ball.1:03 Rosario
  3. A handwritten paper napkin, pen and coffee cups on a restaurant table, by a window at dusk.2:11 The Napkin
  4. An athletics stadium at night from high above, floodlights in haze and a city behind.3:36 The Breakthrough
  5. Figures silhouetted walking towards a glowing gold-roofed stadium among palm trees, under a dark blue sky with a crescent moon.5:06 The Peak
  6. A pale blue and white striped shirt on a hook in an empty wood-panelled dressing room.7:08 The Weight of the Shirt
  7. Messi seen from behind in a Barcelona shirt with a yellow 10, stands and a linesman ahead. Sponsor blurred in the film.Photo: Hugo Pérez Marsol / CC BY 2.09:02 Goodbye, Barcelona
  8. Aerial view of Lusail Stadium, Qatar, in daylight haze: a gold bowl in flat land, with towers on the horizon.Photo: Djawed_vlog / CC BY 3.010:22 Champion of the World
  9. Top-down aerial view of a marina (the stock page tags it Miami): rows of moored boats and sun on the water.Video: Vroyx / Pixabay12:30 Miami
  10. Fireworks and white smoke above the dark rim of a stadium.14:40 One Last Dance
  11. The Monumento a la Bandera, Rosario, at dawn, with its reflecting pool and an orange sky over the Parana.Photo: Scarabinol / CC BY-SA 4.017:10 Legacy
  12. Every source, listed18:25 Credits

The films, and what goes around them. All at 3 PM UK.

  1. SundayThe film
  2. WednesdayA football quiz
  3. FridayA countdown
  4. Every dayNew Shorts: face and kit puzzles, and clips from the films

The documentaries are the heart of this channel.

They cover players and rivalries. Each one is researched, and the sources are listed in the description.

Two more films are made.

Liverpool and Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo

Neither has a release date.

The Monumento a la Bandera, Rosario, at dawn, with its reflecting pool and an orange sky over the Parana.
Photo: Scarabinol / CC BY-SA 4.0

Sunday’s film, by email.