Ronaldo, Neymar, Mourinho line up for DAZN original series
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 01 August 2019

Global sports streaming service DAZN has announced what it calls its next step in its content strategy with what it calls a 'landmark' interview series with the world’s leading football managers and players.

To be screened in all of DAZN’s markets, a first for the company, The Making Of will tell the stories of the career-defining matches, as chosen by global footballing superstars including galático players Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr, as well as iconic and controversial manager José Mourinho.

The 9 x 25’ series takes an immersive, in-depth look into their career-defining games. Each superstar re-tells three meaningful matches, revealing the insights of the whole occasion, the emotion of the night and the impact it had on their careers – and their lives. The interviews are accompanied by testimony from other players who took to the pitch that night journalists who covered the game and fans who were in the stadium to bear witness.

Among the nine celebrated fixtures explored, the series will see Ronaldo relive his famous appearance for Sporting Lisbon against Manchester United in 2003, which charted his rise to becoming one of football’s greatest stars, while Mourinho looks back on his legendary Champions League victory over Manchester United with Porto in 2004, that saw him famously sprint down the touchline at Old Trafford in celebration. Neymar Jr also recounts his performance for Santos against Flamengo in 2011, when he scored that year’s Puskas award-winning goal.

Each episode features exclusive interviews, combining archive footage and user-generated content to bring the event to life. During filming, the players come face-to-face with full size projections of these significant games, producing powerful and compelling imagery that explores the chosen games from the perspective of the athlete.

The Making Of is a DAZN Originals production in association with Archer’s Mark, a UK-based creative production company, executive produced by Grant Best, SVP original programming and content development, DAZN, with Toby Burnett as executive creative director, DAZN Creative. The series is directed by Dan Riley and produced by Ian Henderson.

The Making Of is the first global series produced by DAZN, following MotoGP documentary series In Our Blood, the documentary film Being Mario Götze, three-part documentary series Canelo vs. Rocky and most recently, 40 Days and ABOUT: The story behind the upset of the era, a behind the scenes look at the historic Anthony Joshua vs Ruiz Jr heavyweight title fight.

“Football is a sport full of inspiring stories, powered by super-human emotion, sacrifice and ecstasy,” Best remarked. “Our access to these global football icons enabled us to intimately spend time re-living what they feel are some of the greatest moments in their football history, from their perspective, which is incredibly powerful, moving and enlightening. Our original content aims to engage fans and bring them closer to the sports they love, which The Making Of captures beautifully.”