Every Real Footballer in Escape to Victory: Players and Roles

The identifiable real footballers named in the credits and film-archive listing for Escape to Victory include Pelé, Bobby Moore, Osvaldo Ardiles, Paul Van Himst, Kazimierz Deyna, Hallvar Thoresen, Mike Summerbee, Co Prins, Russell Osman, John Wark, Søren Lindsted, Kevin O’Callaghan and Werner Roth. The sources do not identify every player said to have taken part, so this is a roster of named footballers—not a claim that only these 13 appeared.

Named footballers and their roles

The American release title was Victory; Escape to Victory is an alternate title. The American Film Institute (AFI) lists the player cast, while the Cinémathèque française supplies character names for the identifiable footballers.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		Escape to Victory [DVD] [1981]	$15.91	Buy on Amazon
2		Escape to Victory [DVD]	$8.90	Buy on Amazon
3		Escape to Victory - World Cup Edition [DVD]	$32.44	Buy on Amazon
4		Escape to Victory [DVD] [1981]	$43.63	Buy on Amazon

AFI lists Roth separately under the German team as Baumann, its captain. The other listed footballers are associated with the film’s player cast.

Why the names and spellings vary

The source listings are not fully consistent in their spellings. AFI uses “Thorensen” for Hallvar Thoresen and “Soren Linsted” for Søren Lindsted; the Cinémathèque française spells those names “Thorensen” and “Linsted,” respectively. AFI’s cast transcription gives Kevin O’Callaghan’s surname as “O’Calloghan,” while the French film archive uses “O’Callaghan.” These are spelling variants in the listings, not evidence of additional people.

#1 Best Overall

Escape to Victory [DVD] [1981]

$15.91

Buy on Amazon

The table uses the commonly rendered names Hallvar Thoresen and Søren Lindsted while preserving the character names as listed by the Cinémathèque française. AFI’s catalog identifies the film as Victory, released in the United States on 31 July 1981, and records Escape to Victory as an alternate title. The French archive lists it as À nous la victoire.

Does this name every real footballer in the film?

No complete list of everyone who appeared is established by these named credits and role listings. AFI’s catalog says production notes reported Pelé, Bobby Moore and 18 other world-class soccer players were cast, but the passage does not name those 18. The roster above therefore covers identifiable named footballers in the accessible listings, not every possible on-screen or background player.

Rank #2

Escape to Victory [DVD]

$8.90

Buy on Amazon

The list is also about footballers who performed in the film, rather than historical figures portrayed as fictional players. Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone, for example, are actors in the team’s story, not part of this real-footballer roster. AFI’s production-history notes also credit Pelé with designing the film’s soccer action.

Sources: AFI Catalog, Victory; Cinémathèque française, À nous la victoire.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1

Escape to Victory [DVD] [1981]

$15.91

Bestseller No. 2

Escape to Victory [DVD]

$8.90

Bestseller No. 3

Escape to Victory - World Cup Edition [DVD]

$32.44

Bestseller No. 4

Escape to Victory [DVD] [1981]

$43.63

Rank #4

Escape to Victory [DVD] [1981]

$43.63

Buy on Amazon

Rank #3

Escape to Victory - World Cup Edition [DVD]

$32.44

Buy on Amazon

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.