The film begins with the narrator, telling his son a story before going to sleep. In this story, Amadeo, the best foosball player in his town, is challenged by a boy called Grosso to a foosball game. Although Grosso initially wins, Amadeo ends up victorious, earning himself the wrath of Grosso, who swears he will get revenge for this defeat.
Years later, just after Laura (the girl Amadeo likes) tells him she is planning to go to Europe and study there, Grosso returns, having become the best football player in the world, and announces he has bought the entire town and plans to destroy it to build a gigantic football stadium in there, but his actual interest is to take the foosball table where he suffered his only defeat, to destroy the bar where the table is and to gain Laura's affection.
With his entire life destroyed in one night, Amadeo discovers that his tears have awakened the foosball players, and after Amadeo manages to rescue them, he challenges El Grosso to a rematch, but El Grosso changes it to a football game, and Laura raises the bet: if Amadeo's team wins, Grosso will give the town back to its people.
But, sometimes, football is no place for miracles...
The film was released in Argentina on July 18, 2013 via distribution from Universal Pictures. Vertigo Films distributed and released the film in the UK on August 15, 2014, with 363 Production handling its dubbing. The Weinstein Company distributed the film in North America on July 19, 2016.
The film also received a few spin-offs. Metegol El Comic Oficial *, a 2013 Comic-Book Adaptation by Dariío Timarchi released two months after the original movie; Foosball - Street Edition, a 2014 Licensed Game by Yuisy released for Windows, Mac, Linux and Steam; and Underdogs United, a 2022 2D-animated TV series for Discovery Kids Latin America, also produced by Mundoloco CGI.
Metegol has examples of:
- Abduction Is Love: After kidnapping Laura, El Grosso tries to invoke this by showing off his many fancy accessories at his house in an attempt to make Laura fall for him. At one point he flexes his biceps in front of her. Unsurprisingly, Laura is less than amused by his admiration.
- Accent Adaptation: Some of the foosball figures are given stereotypical accents in the American English dub, notably Loco (who speaks in hippie slang), Beto (Spanish accent), Liso (Australian accent), and Pulpo (New York accent).
- Accidental Public Confession: When Amadeo gets into El Grosso's house to free Laura, he impulsively reveals his feelings for her.
- Actor Allusion: In the American English dub, Young El Grosso/Ace is voiced by Brooklyn Beckham, son of former professional footballer/soccer player David Beckham.
- All-CGI Cartoon: Everything in this movie is done in 3D, from the characters to the overall environment.
- All for Nothing: El Grosso's revenge ultimately doesn't stick, as he also lost the love of his fans after winning the game
- Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The original Spanish version has Me Vieron Cruzar by Calle 13
, the British English dub has Ole Ole Ole Ole by Tika-Taka, and the American English dub has I Need You by Gary Barlow. - And Starring: The American English dub has an "And Introducing" credit for, of all actors, Mel Brooks as the manager.
- ...And That Little Girl Was Me: Amadeo is implied to be narrating the movie's story to his son. His face is never shown until the end, acknowledging that indeed he was the young man in the story.
- Babies Ever After: Strongly implied when the movie opens up with Amadeo and Laura's son.
- Big Bad: The main conflict of the movie centers around El Grosso's attempt to "renovate" the village by replacing it with an Egopolis, even if that ment eradicating a lot of the buildings from that village including the bar the foosball figures live on.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Amadeo and Laura both kiss after the football game ends.
- Big "NO!": Ermitaño lets out a loud, echoing "NO!" (complete with flies coming out of his mouth) after Amadeo, in an attempt to make him join his team, says that the bar where the booze is stored has been destroyed by Grosso.
- Bittersweet Ending: Amadeo's team loses the game, but not only does the crowd still cheer for our underdogs: even Laura emphatically lamp shades "It doesn't matter". Yes, this means they will lose the town, but it's later revealed in the ending they built a new town, meaning El Grosso's revenge ultimately doesn't stick, as he also lost the love of his fans after winning the game. Amadeo and Laura even married, started a new life and had a son there. Also, Amadeo's foosball players are on good terms with each other.
- Bland-Name Product: While the Deportivo Absoluto players are introduced before the game, the sponsors of the team are shown, clearly being parodies of famous companies (some obvious examples are Werner Sisters and Noentendo).
- Boob-Based Gag: Hormone Dominguez has a massive pair that practically hit her in the face at one point during the football match. And thank God the opposing team was quick to cover her up after she took her shirt off (which was cut in the English releases).
- Bowdlerise: The Weinstein dub cuts out a lot of the sexual humor, such as the scenes where Hormone bounces her breasts during the soccer match and later celebrates her team's "victory" by taking off her shirt, to which Grosso's team responds by telling her to stop; while other instances of sex jokes are rewritten entirely, such as when Jake holds a sign that reads "Uniforms by Laura #laurahotpizzazz".
- Chekhov's Gunman: Some of the characters that Amadeo summons for the final match previously had appeared as background characters until that moment.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: The Manager cares about the game only if it means he can make a profit out of it. One of the first things he does is encountering a young Grosso, asking him if he wants to turn his anger into a success to which the latter agrees.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The game's first half is this, with "Los Absolutos" scoring twice in the first few minutes. The rest of the first half, and part of the second, they take to humilliate their opponents by "dancing" around the field.
- Darkest Hour: Happens twice. The first time after the bar and the foosball table are destroyed, and the second time when Amadeo (and later, Laura) realizes that there is little to no chance of his Ragtag Bunch of Misfits team winning against "Los Absolutos".
- The Determinator: Amadeo spends the majority of the movie trying to get Laura, his foosball table, and his town back from Grosso.
- Disproportionate Retribution: El Grosso loses a foosball game and holds it as a motive to not only destroy the foosball table and the bar where the game took place but also his home town. Let's look at the scope of it all: it's one thing for El Grosso to narrow in on personally retaliating Amadeo by destroying all he held dear; it's another thing when he takes away the homes and livelihoods of many innocent strangers who had nothing to do with the foosball game.
- Down to the Last Play: Amadeo nearly scores a winning goal in the last minute, but it hits the crossbar and El Grosso manages to score in the last second.
- Dub Name Change:
- Everyone has their names changed in both English dubs, though the British dub leaves out some the original names. Notable examples include:
- Amadeo (original and British) to Jake Hoffer (American).
- Ezekial "El Grosso" Remancho to Ace (American) or Flash (British).
- Laura (original and American) to Lara (British).
- Capi to Captain Skip.
- Loco (original and British) to Ziggy (American).
- Beto to Rico.
- Capitán Liso to Rip (American) or Gregor (British).
- The Manager to Agent.
- Matías to Matty.
- In the Brazilian Portuguese dub, Ezekial Remancho El Grosso to Ezequiel Ribeiro o Colosso.
- The names for the two major foosball teams are different in each foreign dub. In the original Argentine dub, Capi's team is called the Rayados (meaning "stripes") while Liso's team is called the Granates (meaning "garnets"). The British English dub renames them respectively as the Stripes and the Rippers. The American English dub particularly changes Capi's team name to the Underdogs, which is also the title of the film in the dub.
- Everyone has their names changed in both English dubs, though the British dub leaves out some the original names. Notable examples include:
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Although Amadeo's team loses the game, the crowd still cheer for our underdogs: even Laura emphatically lamp shades "It doesn't matter". Amadeo and Laura even married, started a new life and had a son there. Also, Amadeo's foosball players are on good terms with each other.
- Enemy Mine: The two foosball teams, once enemies on the table, join forces to save their partners and then help the townspeople to get their town back.
- Five Stages of Grief: During Amadeo's Heroic BSoD, Capi tries to get his confidence back by mentioning the first and fourth stages (though in reverse order), then adding a more positive twist to it.Capi: "You're just going through the stages of grief! First there's depression, then denial, then something else. It doesn't matter! 'Cause I'm pretty sure the last stage is getting the team back together and saving the town!"
- Gag Dub: Like most of Weinstein's dubs, the film is heavily cut and is 20 minutes shorter, and Americanises the script to add pop culture references and ad-libs.
- Groin Attack: Happens twice. The first one is when Amadeo kicks El Grosso in the rods during his rescue of Laura. The second one is when El Grosso kicks the ball, during the big match, and it lands right between Dual Axis's legs, resulting in wince-worthy reactions from Capi, Beto, Loco, and Liso.
- Hate at First Sight: Downplayed as "Dislike at first sight". There's a lingering shot of young Laura glaring at young El Grosso, as though establishing she doesn't like him.
- In Love with Your Carnage: The Emo cracks a smile when Doble Eje skies a ball that causes a dirigible to explode.
- In Name Only: The film has very, very little in common with Roberto Fontanarrosa's memoir, even in name. The only similarities both works have is that they focus on Association Football.
- Interchangeable Asian Cultures: Played for laughs. One of the Foosball players is an Asian member, Only Known by Their Nickname of Chino (Chinese); after being called such, he angrily rebuts that he's Korean.
- It's All About Me:
- El Grosso, who buys an entire town and destroys it to put a large football stadium there, just because it was the scenario of his only defeat. During the game, he insults his team mates when they fail to act at their best. When the spectators begin to applaud Amadeo's team at the end of the game, he only wonders why they are not applauding him.
- Beto, one of the primary foosball players, is highly confident about his looks (especially his hair) and displays a somewhat condescending attitude when addressing himself as the best player of his team. After reuniting with Capi and Loco, he gloats to the former about how he's 'the star' of the Stripes, even though Capi insists that he's the leader. Despite this attitude, he truly cares for his allies and would put his pride aside when the situation calls for it.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Some of the foosball players are shown to be ultimately good people underneath their rough exteriors. Beto, one of the Stripes players, is highly full of himself to the point of being a nuisance, but is also a loyal companion who puts aside his pride when the situation calls for it, such as rescuing his other teammates in the dumpster. Liso, the leader of the Rippers, who is rough around the edges, prioritizes brute force over careful intellect, and gets into quarrels with the other players; but is allegiant to both his and his rival team, and even joins Capi - who up until this point was his rival - in saving the city from El Grosso.
- Karma Houdini: The Manager, as one of the driving forces behind El Grosso's actions, never faces any punishment for his actions.
- Laser-Guided Karma: El Grosso's egocentrism and inability to accept defeat end up costing him his fans and his manager.
- Living Toys: While not exactly toys, the Stripes and Rippers are foosball figures who come to life after Amadeo sheds his tear on one of them.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Is the manager just an ordinary man, or could he perhaps be the Devil? It may explain why he sadistically derides El Grosso about why the crowd isn't cheering for him.
- Mix-and-Match Critters: When El Grosso takes Laura to his lab, there are birds and ostriches with football appearance aspects (the ostriches having sneakers for snouts and the birds having streamers for feathery tails). They were cut from the US release of the film.
- Monumentally Important Founder: The new town has a statue that honors the full team, with Amadeo taking point. The old town had a statue to honor its founder before El Grosso destroyed it. The "Gratias Fundator" sign that used to be near the old statue was changed to "Gratias Fundatores", with the additional letters shaped in a way that makes it clear to anyone they weren't originally there, and placed next to the new statue.
- Nice, Mean, and In-Between: For the Stripes trio, Loco is a laid-back Mellow Fellow, Beto is a self-centered Jerk with a Heart of Gold to the point he refers to himself by name, and Capi is the Only Sane Man who can sometimes act annoyed at the others antics.
- No Name Given:
- The emo kid is simply called that.
- Grosso' manager (or agent in the American dub) is never referred to anything but his occupation.
- Not Allowed to Grow Old: Except for Amadeo, Laura, Grosso and Carminio, no other character aged after the jump in time of several years at the beginning of the film.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: El Grosso's real name (Ezekial Remancho) is only mentioned once.
- Only Sane Man: While not without his moments, especially when his competitive streak is in display, Capi is overall more rational and level-headed than the other foosball figures. Specifically Loco, Beto and Liso, who are respectively a New-Age Retro Hippie who talks in hippie slang, a Third-Person Person who loves himself too much, and a hot-headed Rival who often takes the first punch in arguments between him and his teammates.
- Opposing Sports Team: El Grosso's team, "Los Absolutos", are a group of tall, imposing man with muscular figures, who easily dwarf Amadeo's team during the final match.
- Punny Name: Some of the foosball figures have these. Capi, the Stripe's captain, is derived from the Spanish speaking word "capitan". Meanwhile, in the British English dub, Coreano is renamed Psy Kick — a play on "psychic" and fitting for his background as a psychologist.
- Pyrrhic Victory: El Grosso manages to take revenge years after being defeated at foosball, but he loses the respect of his fans, his manager drops him like a hot potato and his revenge doesn't even stick, as the townspeople simply rebuild their town elsewhere. Even after his manager tells him off that he showed everyone his true colors, Grosso can only watch in disbelief as everyone abandons him and a banner falls onto him.Grosso: But I’m the star…
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The townspeople's team. Formed by two old men, the town's priest, an emo kid, a thief, a policeman, the destroyed bar's owner, a hermit, a fat guy, an old woman and Amadeo.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: The Manager at El Grosso (aka Ace in the US version and Flash in the UK version) after the game, saying that stars fade away and that why everyone didn’t cheer for him despite winning was because he showed everyone his true colors (along with even saying he’s a "flash in the past" as El Grosso’s name in the UK version was Flash, before saying to him that he is "yesterday’s news" in said UK version). Afterwards, he gives him a sadistic Slasher Smile before leaving, much to El Grosso’s shock and defeat.Ace: Who are you applauding? The applause should be for me, didn’t you see me win? Are you people blind?! I WON!
The Manager: So happy for you, and speaking of being happy, I quit!
Ace: What are you talking about?! You’re just an agent! You do as I say! I’M THE STAR!
The Manager: Stars fade away, kid. I gotta tell ya… You’ve finally showed the world the real Ace… and they don’t like you. - Recursive Translation: The film was originally written in Spanish, and then dubbed to American English courtesy of The Weinstein Company. The American English dub was then translated back to Spanish and redubbed in Los Angeles for the North American DVD release.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Invoked with the Rippers. They are designed to be the antagonistic Rival team to the heroic Stripes, wearing appropriate red and black uniforms to boot. It's ultimately subverted when they come to life, as while they still butt heads with their rivals they are ultimately good people who even team up with the Stripes near the end. Played straighter with Big Bad El Grosso, who wears red and black clothing in both his youth and adult life.
- Related in the Adaptation: The narration in the British dub implies that Dual Axis and Amadeo are father and son.
- Revenge Before Reason: El Grosso is more concerned about his revenge over a foosball game he lost back when he was a kid than his career as a soccer player.
- Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor: El Grosso is a rich and famous soccer player, Amadeo isn't rich, and both love Laura; the difference is while Grosso sees her as a "prize", Amadeo's love for Laura is genuine.
- The Rival: El Grosso to Amadeo, who comes to the town to get revenge for his only defeat.
- Say My Name: Amadeo screams Laura's name when Grosso kidnaps the latter.
- Shout-Out: The opening of the movie has a group of primates playing soccer with an animal skull in a parody of the monolith scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Smug Snake: El Grosso. He starts the movie as a self-absorbed, petty bully who picks on others, and later trash talks and challenges Amadeo in a game of table foosball, hoping to beat him only to lose twice to Amadeo, causing him to angrily storming off from the bar. In his adulthood, he plans on 'renovating' Amadeo's hometown by turning it to his own Egopolis, which includes destroying the foosball table Amadeo created. During the final match, he even arrogantly glares at Amadeo when his team continuously fails at scoring the goal from Grosso's team. Ultimately though, despite winning in the end, Grosso ends up becoming the loser when the town cheers on Amadeo instead, thanks to his humility, gratitude, and determination.
- Slasher Smile: The Manager tends to make a sadistic grin occasionally throughout some parts of the film.
- Sore Loser: El Grosso never got over the fact he lost a foosball game back when he was a kid.
- Start My Own: Unable to prevent El Grosso from destroying their town, the townspeople merely start another town elsewhere.
- Stunned Silence: The entire stadium are left speechless after El Grosso scores a goal in the last second.
- Swiss-Army Tears: After the foosball table and the bar are destroyed, Amadeo's tears fall on Capi (the only foosball player he managed to save from being taken), giving him and his companions life.
- Teens Are Angsty: The appropriately named Emo Kid wears dark clothes, has an always moody attitude, almost never smiles, and listens to emo music. His bedroom is even molded to fit his attitude, with his bed being modeled like a coffin.
- Thinly-Veiled Dub Country Change: The Weinstein dub changes the setting from Argentina to the United States, but doesn't change the former's setting to fit the dub.
- Third-Person Person: Whenever Beto speaks, he refers to himself as "The Beto" (or "El Beto"), solidifying his It's All About Me personality.
- Underdogs Never Lose: Subverted. After letting in two goals, the townspeople (with a little aid from the foosball players) manage to tie the game and nearly win, but El Grosso manages to score the victory goal in the last second. However, the spectators applaud the townspeople for their spirit and unwillingness to give up, and "Los Absolutos" exchange T-shirts with them, considering them Worthy Opponents. Even more ironic in North America, where the team and film are literally called Underdogs.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating: El Grosso starts praising himself and taunting his opponents after scoring the victory goal. Unfortunately for him, the stadium has fallen into total silence and everyone hears him.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Some scenes seem to suggest that only Amadeo can see the foosball players. For example, at the fair, Capi climbs onto a child's balloon, causing it to float away from his hand. One would think the child would see Capi, but instead, he acts as if the balloon had suddenly floated away from his hand.
- V-Formation Team Shot: from the point of view of Amadeo and Capi. It is the moment from which the townspeople begin to play well enough to put "Los Absolutos" in a vice.
- Victorious Loser: Amadeo and his team barely lose the soccer game against Los Absolutos, but it's due to El Grosso's dirty playing and abusiveness towards his own teammates that cause him, the winner, to lose his popularity and to be dropped by his manager, while Amadeo and his team are celebrated and cheered for by the crowd, and even the respect of the rest of the opposing team. Amadeo's town got lost to El Grosso as were the stakes of the game, but the townspeople simply relocate and Amadeo happily lives in his new home and starts a family with Laura.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Capi and Beto spend the first half of the film arguing with each other, but it's clear that the two deeply care for one another. When Beto is seemingly taken away by the dumpsters rats, Capi is the only one who is devastated by his supposed loss, even evoking that Beto was his team's top scorer. Though it's later revealed that, much to Capi's chagrin, Beto wasn't really in danger after all, Liso notes that Capi deep down was still crying on the inside. Later on, Capi comforts a weeping Beto when his afro is reduced to ashes.
- When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Amadeo has put all of his free time into his foosball games and being the greatest foosball player in his hometown. But when Laura comes along and talks about her future enrolling in schools and traveling abroad, Amadeo finds himself with awkwardly little to talk of his future except maintaining the bar and playing foosball.
- When He Smiles: A rather... morbid example: the emo kid, who has been a Perpetual Frowner throughout the entire film, smiles for the first time... after seeing Doble Eje kick a ball so high that it causes the dirigible to catch on fire.
- You Need a Breath Mint: El Roña manages to win a header by blowing his bad breath on his opponent.
