Goal!: According to Variety, Michael Winterbottom has come aboard to direct Goal!, the first film in a trilogy about the rise of a Latino soccer star.

The lead will be played by Diego Luna (Y tu mama tambien), with Stellan Skarsgard as the coach of Newcastle United, the English team he joins in the first movie. Principal photography will start in April.

Trilogy is an underdog tale about a young Hispanic soccer player from Los Angeles pursuing a dream of global soccer stardom.

In the first movie, he breaks through with English Premier League club Newcastle. In the second, a couple of years later, he gets transferred to Euro champs Real Madrid in Spain. Trilogy climaxes with his appearance for his country (either Argentina or Spain) at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Under the innovative partnership deals struck by Milkshake with soccer governing body Fifa and sponsors such as Adidas, the final part of the trilogy is scheduled for release in June 2006 to coincide with the World Cup.