The Substitute

It’s about Dhorasoo, a soccer player who was supposed to be a big part of France’s World Cup run in Germany but ended up spending a majority of his time on the bench.  Seems like a very interesting film, less about the play on the field but more in the mind of the player, a new look at the game, along the lines of the one about Zidane.

Dhorasoo is of Indo-Mauritian origin and played for PSG in France.

From the Independent:

Try as he might, Dhorasoo simply couldn’t get used to life as a substitute. “No one can take away my good fortune. I am in this team to the end. I belong to the 23 players. I am in this team till the end, even if I don’t play,” he says early on, as the French team arrives in Germany, but a few weeks later, confined to his hotel, his remarks grow ever more pessimistic. “I’m getting fed up here in Germany. I wonder what I came here for, except for a film, because my World Cup went wrong,” he says. “Three days ago against Spain, I felt like crying. I’m not a supporter, I’m not a spectator, I’m a football player and I’m not playing football.”

Highlights of Dhorasoo from the World Cup: