First Teaser for Irish Football Rivalry Film ‘Saipan’ with Steve Coogan
by Alex Billington
June 24, 2025
Source: YouTube
“What makes him a great player on the pitch, makes him a pain in the ass off it.” Vertigo Releasing in the UK has revealed a first look teaser trailer for a film titled Saipan, set to open later this year sometime. This Irish film made by filmmakers Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn tells a very Irish story about an epic sports rivalry back in 2002. Not everyone will be so familiar this story over the in US, but it still looks like it’ll be compelling to watch anyway. On the eve of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the Irish soccer/football team captain Roy Keane forfeits his place in the squad at the team’s base in Saipan, after a heated disagreement with the Irish manager Mick McCarthy. This is the thrilling story of their infamous confrontation and what happened next. The upcoming film stars Éanna Hardwicke as Roy and Steve Coogan as Mick, with Alice Lowe, Jamie Beamish, Alex Murphy, and Harriet Cains. So far so good with this intriguing teaser. It has a few eye-catching shots that put this on the map right away. Hopefully we’ll have more info on a release soon.
Here’s the teaser trailer for Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn’s film Saipan, from Vertigo’s YouTube:
“Choose your side.” 🇮🇪 The thrilling story of the infamous confrontation between iconic Republic of Ireland football captain Roy Keane (Éanna Hardwicke) and his national team manager Mick McCarthy (Steve Coogan) during the Irish team’s preparations for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The intense rivalry between these two personalities transcended the game, gripping an entire nation in addition to the sporting world as a whole. On the surface, the feud was all about standards, but deep down it was an incredible story of two men whose rivalry and contempt surpassed the sport they loved. This is the definitive account of one of the most fractious falling-outs in the history of sport. Saipan is co-directed by Irish filmmaking duo Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn, directors of the films Cherrybomb, Good Vibrations, and Ordinary Love previously, plus episodes of the series “Obsession”. The screenplay is written by Paul Fraser. Produced by Trevor Birney, Oliver Butler, Macdara Kelleher, John Keville. Vertigo Releasing will debut Saipan in UK + Irish cinemas sometime soon this year – stay tuned for an exact release date. First impression? Look good?
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