With the football season now back underway and untold dramas set to unfold over the next few months, it is a good moment to look back at some football films from over the years that have been so bad they’ve been good.

1: Escape to Victory

Set in a Nazi prisoner-of-war camp, ‘Escape To Victory’ sees a band of soldiers in a classic prisoners against guards football game. The plot sees Michael Caine play the role of a British POW and former professional footballer, recruited to lead the prisoners in a match against their German captors. The group, containing the likes of Pele, Bobby Moore and Osvaldo Ardiles not only overcome the odds on the field to gain the respect of their opponents, but also manage to escape at the end of the film after the grand finale. But for all the emotion and drama that goes on in the film, the high point for many will be with watching Sylvester Stallone do his best to resemble someone who has played football once in his life before.

2: Shaolin Soccer

With its tongue very firmly in its own cheek, Shaolin Soccer is a brilliant movie that combines kung-fu and football better than any film before – possibly because there are no other films of that genre. Written, directed and starring Stephen Chow, it is a tale of a young and eccentric Shaolin’s battle to reunite his family of highly skilled yet troubled siblings in order to assemble a football team capable of beating their evil opposition. You certainly don’t have to be a fan of foreign films to be able to enjoy this future classic.

3: Mike Bassett: England Manager

When the England manager suffers a heart-attack and is forced to step down from his position, it comes down to Mike Bassett to take up the reins and try lead the team into the World Cup. While the film may have dated somewhat (it is from the beginning of the 2000s), Tomlinson still provides a good few laughs as the bumbling and out-of-his depth England manager, the team-talks alone are worth the watch. England fans will certainly get more enjoyment from this 90 minutes than they have from watching their team at recent World Cups.