Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Christian is an extremely talented as well as unpredictable football player. After his latest screw-up, the president of his team decides to assign him a personal tutor, to help him in controlling his temper. Valerio is a shy and solitary professor, the exact opposite of the champion. Sparks will fly between the two at first, but soon their relationship will change both for the better.
The Champion is a competent Italian odd-couple comedy-drama that follows a well-worn formula: the undisciplined sports star paired with a strait-laced intellectual who transforms each other. The performances are charming and hold the film together, but the story beats are largely predictable. Cinematography is functional without distinction. Novelty is low given the heavily recycled premise, though the Italian football context gives it mild local color. The ending delivers satisfying emotional resolution without surprises.