ESPN+ Adds 30 for 30: Soccer Stories, “Hillsborough” Doc Noticeably Missing

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UPDATE (6/20/18): Either they had it planned or this article did its job, but Hillsborough is now available on ESPN+. A new soccer documentary, I Scored a Goal, is also available on the service.

In the middle of my World Cup frenzy two nights ago, I flipped on the television at Slackie Brown HQ and pulled up ESPN+. What I was looking for was the series of soccer documentaries ESPN produced back in 2014, titled 30 for 30: Soccer Stories. Unfortunately, they weren’t there. And since I barely have a blu-ray player anymore, the locker full of every 30 for 30 ever made on my bookshelf was pretty much useless. So I went without and put on The Two Escobars, a great soccer documentary but one I’ve seen before. The Soccer Stories? Maybe I’ve seen two of the right films.

Today, however, I went back onto ESPN+ and found the series I was looking for. You see, ESPN put all the docs on ESPN+ because, well, people like me (and probably you) have World Cup fever. So now, if you’re interested, you can watch nine different soccer documentaries on ESPN’s new $4.99/mo service — as well as their Last Train To Russia docuseries which is mostly in Spanish. Below are all nine titles along with the filmmaker who put it together. One, The Opposition, was co-directed by Ezra Edelman. In 2016, Edelman famously produced and directed the Emmy Award-winning ESPN series OJ: Made in America.

Nine Soccer Documentaries on ESPN+

ESPN 30 for 30’s:

  • June 17th, 1994 — Brett Morgen
  • The Two Escobars — Jeff and Michael Zimbalist
  • George Best: All By Himself — Daniel Gordon

30 for 30: Soccer Stories:

  • Barbosa: The Man Who Made All of Brazil Cry — Loch Phillipps
  • The Myth of Garrincha — Marcos Horacio Azevedo
  • White, Blue and White — Camilo Antolini
  • Ceasefire Massacre — Alex Gibney and Trevor Birney
  • The Opposition — Ezra Edelman and Jeffrey Plunkett
  • Mysteries of the Rimet Trophy — Brett Ratner

For the record, June 17th, 1994 is a pseudo soccer film, focusing on several sporting events on, you guessed it, June 17th, 1994. Also, in 2017 Alex Gibney released a more advanced, in-depth version of Ceasefire Massacre, titled No Stone Unturned. The 2017 film can be seen by Amazon Prime subscribers, holds a 77-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and will keep your eyes glued to the TV for all 110 minutes.

So as I mentioned earlier, there were eight films in the 30 for 30: Soccer Stories series. As you see above, there are only six available on the monthly service. The two that are absent: Hillsborough (directed by Daniel Gordon) and Maradona ’86 (directed by Sam Blair).

Sadly, Hillsborough is one of the best films that ESPN has ever produced. In fact, of the eight documentaries in the series, it was the only one to get more than a few thousand viewers. Per The Futon Critic, Hillsborough was watched by 527,000 people. You can watch it here on YouTube for $1.99.

You can check out ESPN+ here. It’s definitely worth the monthly $5-dollar subscription, especially for American soccer fans. Pretty much any Major League Soccer or United Soccer League game is streamed on the service.

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