Most European based males, like myself, tend to have a (misplaced) arrogance when it comes to knowledge surrounding the continents most played sport: Football/Soccer. With in mind that Club de Cuervos/Club of Crows (2015) is a Netflix-production from Mexico, I didn't know what to expect when getting this series recommended to me.
Club de Cuervos (CDC) revolves around two siblings who inherit a Mexican First-division Soccer club based in the small town of Nuevo Toledo when their father and nationwide-loved owner of the team dies. Siblings being Siblings, from day one the co-ownership turns into a power struggle between the two protagonists who couldn't be more different from one another even if they tried. Younger brother Chava Iglesias is a brass, party-loving socialite without a sense of responsibility while his sister Isabel Iglesias-Reina is more mature and focused despite having the tendency of being a bit naive.
The contradiction between them makes this a little gem from the get go. The ongoing power struggle makes for great enjoyment and instant comedic situations. The on-screen chemistry between Chava (Luiz Gerardo Mendez) and Isabel (Mariana Trevino) is spot on and close to subliminal.
Although most of the show is centered around Chava and Isabel there are some notable characters who make up for interesting side-stories. "Best of the rest" is without doubt Chava's asistent Hugo Sanchez (Jesus Zavala), every time this character graces the screen I'll immediately get a grin on my face at worst, at best he makes sure I'll end up on the floor laughing. The stunning Mary Luz (Stephanie Cayo) will keep all male (and probably a decent amount of females) eyes glued to the screen, her role as femme fatale and antagonist to Isabel gets bigger in season two but is pivotal to the first installment.
We also get to know some of the actual Soccer playing squad members, their roles not to in-depth. Still the likes of Potro (Joaquin Fereira) and Tony (Juan Pablo de Santiago) are portrayed in a way resembling a big percentage of modern day soccer athletes (not to bright, vain and egocentric).
With decent enough plot-twists, moments of full-out laughter and a stable and definitely very able cast you would be forgiven for binging the 3 season show in a weekend. Yes, sometimes CDC comes across as a "Telenovela" but it definitely will keep you entertained
If you are a diehard soccer fan and have reasonable knowledge of the sport then some of the inaccuracies may put you off. But then again this just isn't a show centered around the actual sport itself but much more then that.
Writing credits go to Alesia Constantini (Scrubs) and Jay Dyer (Californication) who do an excellent job as this is their first time doing a non American gig.
Enjoyment: 8/10 Entertaining, comedic, plot-twists.
Writing: 8/10 American based writers but very little gets lost in translation.
Cast: 9/10 Main characters are superbly cast. Recurring characters can be a bit flat, whe never really get to know their background.
Total 8/10
I'm out, enjoy, peace!
