“Together: Manchester City’s Treble”, Netflix
Some necessary definitions for those who are not in the world of football: treble – winning three titles in the same season, for example championship, cup and European cup (or any other continent) for champions. Manchester City – a soccer team that was founded about 140 years ago, plays in the city of Manchester in England, which during the long time it existed went down to the minor leagues, returned to the top league, won cups and championships here and there, and won the same coveted treble twice. In 2008 Manchester City was bought by a group of investors from Abu Dhabi with deep pockets, becoming the richest group in the world. Following the leap in budgetary capabilities, the City developed a simple method for reaching achievements: it buys the best that can be obtained in the market. It has the best coach in the world – Pep Guardiola, the best striker in the world – Erling Haaland, the great playmaker – Kevin de Brauna and so on, throughout the entire squad and the substitutes’ bench.
In the 2022/2023 season, a camera crew joined City’s games, training sessions and locker rooms with the desire to document one year in the life of a team. This – it should be noted – is a rare matter. Groups are not keen on revealing their private lives for a variety of generally understandable reasons. The series, by the way, does not indicate whether the group was given any veto power over the sharing of certain segments. In any case, City wanted and fate wanted and the Gulf money wanted, and the team won this season the big treble – and somehow, with all the joy and achievement, they got a platonic, distant, and in many parts uninteresting TV series.
Maybe because the cameras were ordered to stay away. that they were forbidden to make a real connection with the characters – not to enter their house, not to talk to their wives, not to accompany the actors in moments of frustration, in moments of joy, in their thoughts. A typical episode in the series is almost the same as the one before it and the one that follows it – the team prepares for the game, the coach Guardiola encourages (“You are big”, “You can do more”, “Believe in yourself”, etc.), the team usually wins, and it is time for the next game.
“Together: Manchester City’s Treble” is a series for passionate fans only. For Hapoel Tel Aviv fans, who are not satisfied with their team’s boring games – but also come to training sessions to watch the Reds perform release training or strength exercises. Those who do not hold Manchester City dear to their hearts will find it difficult to finish the six episodes of the series. How many times can you go back and see a fantastic coach and fantastic players that an unsuccessful series takes the juice out of them?
