A new film is examining the career of Kenny Dalglish, a celebrated figure in English football.
Dalglish, now 75, had a 22-year playing career at Celtic and Liverpool FC. He later managed Liverpool through years of triumph and tragedy, including the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
A Director’s Devotion to Dalglish
Asif Kapadia, the director, is known for documentary films about famous figures, including Ayrton Senna, Amy Winehouse, and Diego Maradona.
Unlike those films, Dalglish is still alive. Kapadia’s latest film, narrated by Dalglish, uses only archive footage. Kapadia is a lifelong Liverpool fan and had a poster of Dalglish in his childhood bedroom. “Kenny, genuinely, is the reason why I’m a Liverpool fan all these years later, now in my mid-50s,” says Kapadia.
More Than Just Football
Kapadia wanted to remind his and his children’s generations of Dalglish’s brilliance.
Dalglish is heroised for his stance after the Hillsborough tragedy, standing up for the victims and the community. He confronted an ugly campaign by newspapers, politicians and authorities who blamed the disaster on fans.
According to Kapadia, the reason people still sing Dalglish’s name isn’t just about football. “It’s what he did to stand up for the fans after Hillsborough. It’s him taking on the government, it’s him taking on the police, it’s him taking on the law. It’s him taking on all of the establishment by just telling the truth, when everyone else tried to cover it up and lied.
An Ode to a Bygone Era
The film is also “an ode to an era that doesn’t exist any more”.
Kapadia notes that people who have seen the film are unaware of how good and modern Dalglish was as a player. He says Dalglish’s style of play included elements that contemporary coaches like Pep Guardiola or Jürgen Klopp would be talking about now.
Kapadia’s kids’ generation has never really understood the Hillsborough disaster or the miscarriage of justice that followed. He highlights that Dalglish remained strong throughout.