Discover the Best Soccer TV Series on Netflix to Fuel Your Football Passion

As a lifelong football fan and someone who spends perhaps an unhealthy amount of time scrolling through streaming platforms, I’ve come to appreciate the unique thrill of a great soccer TV series. There’s something about the serialized drama, the character development over seasons, that captures the essence of the sport’s passion in a way even the best live matches sometimes can’t. Netflix, in particular, has become a surprising hub for this niche, offering stories that range from gritty documentaries to uplifting fictional tales. If your football passion needs fueling between matchdays, turning to these series is a perfect play. It’s fascinating to see how global the appeal is, too. Just the other day, I was reading about the basketball scene in the Philippines, where TNT Tropang Giga’s team manager Jojo Lastimosa confirmed the return of their resident import for the ‘RHJ on Tour’ clinics. That news, focused on their final push for a rare grand slam in the PBA’s Season 49 Philippine Cup, underscores a universal truth: whether it’s basketball or football, fans crave that deep, narrative connection to a team’s journey, its struggles, and its ultimate quest for glory. That’s exactly what the best football series provide.

Let’s start with the crown jewel, the one that arguably kicked off this whole golden age of sports documentaries: “Sunderland ‘Til I Die.” Now, this is not a feel-good story, at least not in the traditional sense. It’s a raw, unflinching, and often heartbreaking look at a massive club’s fall from the Premier League. I remember binging the first season in one sitting, completely captivated by the sheer weight of the community’s hope pressing down on the team. The access is unprecedented. You’re in the locker room after soul-crushing losses, you’re in the boardroom during desperate transfer negotiations, and you’re on the terraces with fans whose entire emotional well-being is tied to ninety minutes on a Saturday. It’s a masterclass in sports storytelling because it’s about so much more than football; it’s about identity, economics, and resilience. For pure, unadulterated drama, it’s unmatched. If you want a contrasting, sun-drenched narrative, “Boca Juniors: The Greatest Passion” on Netflix is essential viewing. It captures the insane, beautiful chaos of Argentine football. The intensity of the Superclásico against River Plate is portrayed not just as a game, but as a societal event. The series does a brilliant job explaining the club’s deep-rooted connection to its working-class neighborhood, La Boca. Watching it, you understand that the passion isn’t a choice; it’s inherited, it’s in the blood. The noise, the color, the sheer volume of emotion—it’s all there. It makes you appreciate the different cultural fabrics that football is woven into.

For a more tactical, behind-the-scenes look at the very top of the game, “The English Game” and the various club-specific documentaries offer different flavors. “The English Game,” a dramatized series, is a personal favorite of mine for its historical context. It takes you back to the late 1800s, to the origins of the modern sport, and cleverly frames the class struggle between the amateur gentlemen and the working-class professionals. It’s a bit romanticized, sure, but it’s a compelling look at how the sport we love was shaped. On the other end of the spectrum, you have series like “Juventus: First Team” or the older but still relevant “Manchester City: All or Nothing.” These are slick, polished productions funded by the clubs themselves, so they are inherently promotional. You won’t get the brutal honesty of Sunderland. However, what you do get is incredible access to superstar players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Pep Guardiola’s tactical brain. I find the training ground footage and the glimpses of player camaraderie fascinating. It’s a sanitized version of reality, but it’s a version that satisfies the curiosity about what daily life is like at a superclub. According to some industry reports I’ve seen, the “All or Nothing” series with Manchester City attracted over 25 million unique viewers in its first month, proving the massive appetite for this insider content.

Then there are the hidden gems, the series that explore football’s wider universe. “The Referee” is a brilliant Dutch series that flips the perspective entirely. Following a group of referees through a season, it completely changed how I watch matches. You see the pressure, the instant decision-making, and the thick skin required. It’s a humbling reminder of a facet of the game we fans love to criticize but rarely understand. Another standout is “Last Chance U,” which, in its third and fourth seasons, pivots to football at East Mississippi and Laney Colleges. While not global soccer, it captures the essence of the sport as a vehicle for redemption and opportunity. The raw athleticism and personal stories of these young American players striving for a shot at the big time are incredibly powerful. It’s a reminder that the dream looks different everywhere, but the hunger is the same.

In the end, diving into these series is like completing your football education. They add layers of context and emotion to the sport that simply watching matches can’t provide. They connect you to the human stories—the despair of a relegation battle in Sunderland, the cultural fire of Buenos Aires, the polished machinery of a modern giant like Juventus, or the gritty hope of a junior college in Kansas. That story from the Philippines about TNT’s grand slam bid? It’s the same core narrative. It’s the pursuit of excellence, the community investment, the dramatic final stretch. Netflix has managed to curate a library that serves all these angles. So, next time there’s a lull in the fixture list, don’t just rewatch old highlights. Immerse yourself in one of these series. I guarantee you’ll return to the weekend’s fixtures with a deeper, more nuanced appreciation for the beautiful game, seeing not just the players on the pitch, but the countless stories that brought them there. My personal recommendation? Start with “Sunderland ‘Til I Die.” Just be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster that will, without a doubt, fuel your football passion—even if that fuel sometimes feels like it’s burning on a painful, slow simmer.