Where Is Soccer's Version Of Ken Burns?

Tonight, Ken Burns debuts his new documentary on PBS stations around the United States on the topic of baseball. The new documentary, “The Tenth Inning,” examines the tumultuous story of the national pastime from the 1990s to the present day.

But my question is, where is soccer version’s of Ken Burns?

As far as I know, there isn’t one. There are a few historians of the game such as Simon Inglis, an accomplished author, David France, a historian and philanthropist, Peter Lupson, an author, and Dave Twydell, who specializes in writing about the history of the game that is sometimes forgotten, whether that’s non-league or lower league clubs or old football grounds. But none of them are filmmakers. But just as Burns dissected the history of baseball in his award-winning 1994 documentary entitled simply Baseball, there exists a gigantic opportunity for a similar filmmaker to capture the history of soccer of the 20th century.

For a country such as the United Kingdom that is filled with so much history, I’ve often wondered why there are few new articles and books about soccer that come out of that country. I’m sure there are so many mysteries that have yet to be solved, or stories that have been untold. And the shame of the matter is that some of the legends of the game who lived during the historic times of the 20th century are dying. As each year passes, another chapter of living history perishes.

If you’re familiar with any filmmakers that specialize in documenting the history of soccer that I’m not aware of, please post your suggestions in the comments section below. It’s exciting times experiencing the day-to-day of modern football, but there is so much history that precedes this that in my opinion is even more exciting, if it can only be told.