Summaries

Synopsis

There is heightened tension as a crucial La Liga match between Atletico De Madrid and Real Sociedad takes place and a penalty kick is awarded to Atletico. The team's up-and-coming young prodigy, Diego (Swit Eme), steps up to take the kick, and he is expected to score with ease, considering that he is the current top scorer. Diego is a homegrown talent who was spotted by the scouts during his youth career in some small Spanish town, and big opportunities have come his way ever since then. At the very young age of just 18, Diego earned his first professional contract with his childhood dream club, Atletico De Madrid, and his very first season was going great. It was both because of his talents and the constant support and push by his father, Tito Gonzalez (Pablo Chiapella), that the boy had reached this far, already showing promise of being an important Spanish footballer in the years to come.

Therefore, Diego is expected to score the penalty and win the game for his team. But it all goes wrong when the pressure gets to him, and he fails to hit the target. Diego freezes for a moment, for this is a rare instance of failure in his short career, before he lunges for a tackle on the goalkeeper as the play is still on. The referee has to intervene and show the youngster a red card, forcing him to march off the pitch immediately. The match does not end well for Atletico, and things get worse when a scuffle breaks out between the team's players in the tunnel. Diego launches a furious headbutt against his own captain, Adan (Pedro Romero), and the fight is captured on camera by the media as well. Very soon, the club has to publish an official statement, and together with the league, a two-match ban is imposed on Diego, with the chance of it being extended to the third and last match-day of the week. With Atletico De Madrid very close to winning the league, losing their best goal scorer is very difficult, but the team president is also very stern against the footballer for the very public fiasco.

As a result, Diego is forced to stay away from the football pitch for two weeks and is made to attend therapy sessions with an expert. It is his agent, Juanma (Luis Fernandez), who selects the expert for the sessions, and it is the man's very own brother, Alejandro Castro (Dani Rovira), who is chosen for the role. But neither Alejandro nor Diego is ready to give each other any space or consideration, and yet they must work together because of the circumstances.

Alejandro Castro, better known to his friends and family as Alex, is an introvert who hates and fears socializing, and he absolutely avoids any confrontation. Alex is, in a way, a social pariah, or at least he wants to live his life like that, despite being a professor and researcher of psychology. The man is free of inhibitions and does not get nervous while giving his lectures. His unusual nature is probably why he likes the lecture room to be kept dark at most times, with some presentations put up on the screen. But whenever there is any situation where Alex is surrounded by a lot of people, his fears take control, threatening to cause a panic attack. He does not have the best of relationships with his brother Juanma either, and instead prefers living his life all alone. Therefore, when Juanma approaches him after seemingly quite a few months, Alex is hesitant to follow his brother to whatever conference session he wants to take him to.

Alex has no idea that he is being appointed to the role of the therapist for Diego, and he is shocked when the club president reads out his name during the press conference. In fact, Alex does not even know who Diego is or why he is being hired for the position, as he is extremely distant from the world of football. This is actually because of a specific incident from his childhood days, for Alex and Juanma used to share the same level of enthusiasm for the sport at one point in time. The boys often went to watch Atletico De Madrid matches with their father at the Metropolitano stadium, as the man was a dedicated fan of the club. Like every boy of his age, Alex also had a favorite player on the team, whom he idolized through a poster of the athlete stuck on the wall of his room.

Back in 1992, when Alex was still a child, he and Juanma were taken by their father to watch the Spanish domestic cup final between Atletico and fierce rivals Real Madrid. Alex was a fan of the prolific winger Paulo Futre, and he was delighted when he scored a goal for the club, eventually leading to Atletico winning the tournament final. Among all the joy and celebrations, Alex wanted to express his feelings to his father, but it was then that he realized that their father had abandoned his kids at the stadium in an effort to leave the family altogether, as he had only left some cash in Alex's pocket and a letter addressed to his wife, the boys' mother. This traumatic experience was enough to spoil the sport of football completely in young Alex's mind, for he blamed himself for his father leaving them. His untimely breakup with football was marked by him tearing up the poster of Futre in his room, and this is why he still hates the sport and wants no association with it.

In fact, Alex's fear of crowded places and his ensuing nervousness also stemmed from this experience, for the boy had to handle himself and his younger brother at the stadium after being abandoned. It was truly a traumatic life for him, and the effect of it still lives on, which is why he has no intention of helping out his brother by conducting sessions with Diego. However, Alex is also in a difficult situation financially, because of which he will have to sell off his childhood home to make ends meet. The house once belonged to his parents, and so it has a lot of emotional value for Alex, for which he understandably wants to avoid selling it. Knowing this situation well, Juanma targets the house as leverage; the money (50,000 Euroes) that he and the club will pay Alex would be enough for him to avoid selling the house. Thus, despite having extreme emotions against football and also regarding facing too many people, Alex takes Juanma's offer and agrees to coach Diego.

As Alex conducts his sessions with Diego, he realizes that the star athlete's biggest, and perhaps only, drawback is his inflated ego and terrible attitude towards others. Having already achieved a fair amount of success at such a young age, Diego acts exactly like a spoiled brat, with apparently no consideration for others or seriousness in life. His girlfriend, Ceci (Cintia García), is frustrated at the sudden change in him, for Diego now prefers splashing around his money and wasting time with his slacker friends. Even though Ceci does not particularly like the friends because of their lazy nature, the group keeps spending days at the house, essentially living off Diego's money. Despite her complaints, he does not take her seriously, for Diego only knows to listen to the advice and suggestions of his father, Tito.

Tito had been the boy's agent throughout his youth career days, and it is only now, after having turned professional, that a star agent like Juanma has been brought on board. However, Tito still takes most of the decisions for his son, despite Diego having turned an adult, and in reality, the footballer's wishes and desires are never really taken into consideration.It gradually becomes evident that Tito has always been busy earning money for the family through Diego and has failed to be a good father in the process. Within the first two short sessions, Alex figures out that the boy suffers from dyslexia, but the shortcoming was never discussed or dealt with because Tito wanted to keep it hidden. Back in school, Diego was made fun of and ridiculed by his classmates for his inability to read, and then Tito also did not want to deal with it as mention of dyslexia could have reduced his son's monetary worth in the competitive world of football.

Tito's attitude towards Diego is more like that of a controlling agent who wants to eke out every money-making opportunity through media appearances than that of a loving and caring father. When the footballer is asked by his uncle, Israel (Rafa De Vera), to visit their native town and flag off some festivities, Diego is evidently very interested in returning to his childhood home. But Tito sees it only as a waste of time that could be better utilized through brand shoots and promotions, and so he tells Diego not to go. Alex very easily understands this growing conflict between the father and son, and he gets Ceci on his side too. Perhaps like anyone else, Ceci also realized how the extreme pressure that Tito was putting on Diego was causing the youngster to act in such a haughty and brash manner. Therefore, when Alex gives Diego and Ceci the chance to visit Uncle Israel, the football star agrees without any hesitation.Alex teaches Diego to stand up for himself.

Unfortunately, though, Tito also figures out that the mentor, Alex, is helping Diego form his own opinions and value life beyond the yardsticks of professional and monetary success. He fears that his son will get too influenced by Alex, to the point of disregarding his suggestions, and so Tito sacks the mentor.

Alex tries to meet Diego but is stopped by Juanma.Following his great performance throughout his debut season with Atletico De Madrid, Diego was actually being scouted by other bigger clubs too, and his father and agent were already in talks with Manchester City for a transfer deal. The public scandal caused by Diego after his red card would have obviously caused problems for this deal, and this was why Tito and Juanma hired Alex, only to publicly show how the player was receiving treatment for his anger issues. As the end of the season approaches, Juanma confirms that Manchester City have agreed to buy Diego, offering him a great contract too.Alex knows that he has been used and tears up the check given by Juanma.

A strong bond had already developed between Diego and Alex, and the footballer is even more frustrated to hear that the mentor will no longer coach him. He angrily kicks the tire of a car, leading to a foot sprain and the possibility of him not being able to play on the final match-day, despite his suspension being over.Alex decides to attend the match, when Diego sends him a ticket via Ceci.

Therefore, Tito wants Diego to sit out the last game of the season so that he remains fit until the deal is confirmed. However, playing for Atletico has always been a childhood dream for Diego, and he does not want to lose the opportunity of helping the club win the league title. He starts the game on the bench, but then is encouraged by the chants of the fans and also by the presence of Alex at the stadium to take an injection for his pain and join the action on the pitch. When Tito tries to get in his way and stop Diego, the young man finally stands up to his father as well and makes his own decisions.

Diego scores a goal and then sets another up, which ensures that Atletico has drawn level in the match. The team is then awarded a penalty, and Diego steps up to take it, this time with much more calmness and composure than at the beginning of the film. However, it ends with a close-up of Diego's face. It is most likely that he scores and helps his team win the league.