The movie is all wrapped up. It's been screened, promoted and reviewed. The man this is all about has seen it himself, too. The rest of the world will get to watch on Friday, when Next Goal Wins finally premieres to a worldwide audience.
Yet, despite all of the above, Thomas Rongen still talks like a man that cannot believe this is happening. He's played alongside and against legends like Pele and Johan Cruyff in the NASL, but they were always the stars, not him. He's coached at a pretty high level, too, in MLS and the U.S. youth national team system, but those aren't the type of people that usually end up on the big screen.
So, how did he get here, to a point where Michael Fassbender is portraying him in a Taika Waititi film? How did Waititi, of Thor and Jojo Rabbit fame, hear his story and decide it was worthy of Hollywood? Rongen himself is still stunned by it all.
Next Goal Wins offers a glimpse into such a brief period of his life, one that lasted only a matter of weeks. However, if there's anything he's learned from all of this, it's that it doesn't take long for someone to make a difference.
Next Goal Wins tells the story of Rongen's time as coach of American Samoa. At the time, American Samoa was the worst national team in the world. A few years prior, they'd lost 31-0 to Australia - an international record. At the time of Rongen's arrival, they hadn't won in years.
But, with Rongen at the helm, magic happened. They defeated Tonga on November 23, 2011 to win just their second ever match. The win was historic, but it's only one small part of what Rongen found during his time on that Island.
Ahead of the movie's release, GOAL sat down with Rongen to discuss seeing himself in a film, what he learned about himself and others during his time with American Samoa and what he hopes people take away from Next Goal Wins.