FLASH INFORMATIVO-KUNO NEWS

'Goal' movie stars Kuno Becker and Alessandro Nivola have revealed that they had to join real Newcastle players on the pitch during filming to make the football flick look realistic.

The pair, who feature in part one of a trilogy which follows a young Mexican footballer who rises from the streets to play for the The Magpies, told Soccer AM they shook hands with the likes of Steven Gerrard and Celestine Babayaro when the final whistle went after a live match.

"The first time we filmed with the Newcastle team they kitted me up and I had to crouch down behind the advertising boards for the whole match. At the final whistle we came popping up from behind these boards prancing gingerly out to the middle of the pitch," Nivola said.

"We'd been told by the producers that everyone knew the score. I think I came running up to Babayaro and put him in a headlock and he just sort of looked at me. There we were with 65,000 Geordie fans and us going: "C'mon!".

The movie, which features cameos from David Beckham and Alan Shearer, also saw the pair undergo vigorous training.

Becker added: "I really didn't play a lot of football when I started this so I really had to train my butt off to play the part. I was training for a lot of months, a lot of hours a day."

David Beckham suffered from nerves while making his movie debut on the set of Goal!

Kuno Becker, who plays footballer Santiago Munez in the film, has revealed that the Real Madrid star was determined to be perfect.

"David cracked a lot of jokes when we met, but he was nervous," Becker told the Sunday Mirror.

"He was asking me for tips and advice beforehand. He told me his role meant a lot to him and he wanted to be perfect."

After three goals at Blackburn Rovers, the stars of Newcastle United were out in force for the Newcastle premiere of new movie GOAL! on Sunday night.

Graeme Souness and his squad dashed back from Ewood Park to attend the special screening at the Odeon in Newcastle's Gate entertainment complex, and were cheered by happy Geordie fans as they received the red carpet treatment.

Joining the Magpies were the stars of the movie, including Kuno Becker, who plays lead character Santiago Munez, and Alessandro Nivola, who takes the part of team-mate Gavin Harris.

Newcastle World TV caught up with both men PLUS Graeme Souness and Lee Clark.

GOAL! is directed by British born Danny Cannon and follows a young Mexican illegal immigrant in the USA (Kuno Becker) through his youthful dreams of being a professional footballer through to him signing to Newcastle United and encountering the new challenges of a life of fame and possible fortune in the Premiership.

With an all star cast including Alessandro Nivola and Brit stars Sean Pertwee, Kieran O'Brien and Stephen Dillane and with guest appearances from the most famous footballers in the world including French World Cup winning captain Zinedine Zidane, current England captain David Beckham and Spanish captain Raul as well as Shearer and Owen, GOAL! is already commanding column inches and TV air time.

The screenplay is based on a story by Mike Jefferies and Adrian Butchart and was written by EMMY & BAFTA award winners Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (The Commitments, Never Say Never Again, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, The Likely Lads, Porridge.)

GOAL! is produced by Mike Jefferies and Matt Barrelle of milkshakefilms. The film is distributed in the UK by Buena Vista International (UK) and is on general release from Friday, September 30.

The stars of new football movie GOAL! are confident it will prove a big hit with Newcastle United fans after attending the Tyneside premiere.

Kuno Becker, who plays lead character Santiago Munez, joined fellow cast members to receive the red carpet treatment outside the Odeon at Newcastle's Gate complex.

He said: "People are really responding well to the film which is great. "It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work for me because I had to train really hard for the football scenes.

"We wanted the football scenes to be realistic and exciting. People are saying big things about the film and people of all ages are liking it.

"St. James' Park is a really beautiful stadium and just to run out on that pitch and meet the likes of Graeme Souness and the players and hear 50,000 people cheering was amazing."

Alessandro Nivola, who plays team-mate Gavin Harris, added: "I accepted this job because it meant training with Alan Shearer - I hadn't even read the script!

"It was a schoolboy fantasy come true in many ways, but it was also exhausting."