Here is a respectful profile of Manchester United forward Dennis Viollet, who had an eventful enough life in the English game: he was part of the original Busby Babes, survived the Munich air crash, claimed United’s record for most league goals in a season (32, it still stands), before being shipped out by Busby to Stoke after developing a reputation as a bit of a party animal.
Even with United’s sizeable fanbase, it’s hard to see how any of this is worthy of wider interest than a slot on MUTV – until it becomes apparent that Viollet’s career had an interesting second act: he moved to the US in 1969 and helped set up professional soccer there. It seems that Viollet took readily to life in the US, attempting to nurture homegrown talent alongside the starry imports, and he is spoken extremely fondly of by some of the former players whom he coached. The film is directed by Viollet’s daughter Rachel, which makes it very much a family affair.
