When Football Meets Film: 6 Memorable Cameos

Gone are the days when a retired footballer would merely retreat into anonymity.

The worlds of coaching, business and media are wide open to a recently unemployed ex-player, and some have even given it a go as actors.

Not just trying to sell boots, aftershave or crisps, either. The film industry is right there and the football world is starting to take notice.

While most wait until their playing days are over before dabbling in acting, some of the world's more popular players have gracefully blended the sporting and entertainment world while still on the books at a club.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the latest. The Portugal and Real Madrid superstar's premiere of the film Ronaldo in London on Monday night got us thinking about some of the more famous faces who have made the switch from pitch to big screen.

Here are some of the highlights of football's fleeting instances of overlap with Hollywood.

Allan Simonsen

He's definitely not the most famous footballer on this list, but the 1977 European Footballer of the Year deserves a nod purely because he is (probably) the only one to have played dead on the big screen.

While most players will limit themselves to a feel-good cameo, the former Denmark, Borussia Monchengladbach and Barcelona striker actually allowed himself (well, his character) to be shot dead on the field by a sniper in the 1977 Danish film, The Marksman.

Judge his acting for yourself, but Simonsen's technique seems to have caught on, with players voluntarily throwing themselves to the ground in opposition penalty areas the world over ever since.

Eric Cantona

In classic Cantona fashion, his film appearances have been limited to the occasional artistic French flick.

Judging from his playing career, you might have expected the eccentric Frenchman to have starred in the odd martial arts movie, but subtlety has apparently been Cantona's friend post-retirement.

Not one for the Hollywood blockbuster, the former Manchester United man is best known in the movie world for his portrayal of himself in Looking for Eric.

David Beckham

Becks has appeared in countless ads in his time and has recently announced his ambitions to star as an actor.

He has so far been limited to cameos, despite lending a fair portion of his image to Bend It Like Beckham in 2002.

He's come a long way since these awkward few lines in Goal.

Ally McCoist

Somewhat outdone by Bend It Like Beckham in the 2002 feel-good football category is A Shot at Glory.

Ally McCoist plays "Scotland's most notorious star soccer player" Jackie McQuillan as he tries to save the football club from the small town of Kilnockie.

What's surprising about his character is the former Rangers man plays a role so heavily linked with Celtic.

But it should come as no real surprise, after reading the plot and watching the above trailer, that the film was far from a box-office hit.

Pele

The Brazilian legend is undoubtedly the biggest name to feature in the 1981 film Escape to Victory.

Alongside Bobby Moore and more than a dozen other faces from the world of football, Pele is credited as the playmaker in the exhibition match between allied prisoners of war and a German team during World War Two.

He plays Corporal Luis Fernandez, who scores an outrageous overhead kick and shows off his blatant disregard for his coach's tactics in the clip above.

Oh well, arguably the best footballer ever can probably get away with it.

Vinnie Jones

How could we forget Vinnie Jones?

Perhaps the most unlikely of film stars to emerge from the footballing world, Vinnie Jones has become perfectly typecast in a number of flicks post-retirement.

The ex-Wimbledon defender carries his hardman reputation on to the big screen, starring in Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

But it's when Jones strays back into the realm of football that he's at his best, his self-parodying performance as a hardcore Manchester United fan in Eurotrip a definite highlight.