Robert De Niro to play football coach in next

The 66-year-old actor has taken on real-life boxer Jake LaMotta in the past and will now play Lombardi who coached the Greenbay Packers to five NFL championships.

Veteran actor Robert De Niro is set to portray legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi in a bio-pic.

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The 66-year-old actor has taken on real-life boxer Jake LaMotta in the past and will now play Lombardi who coached the 'Greenbay Packers' to five NFL championships,

Variety

reported online.

Titled

Lombardi

the film will be scripted by Eric Roth of

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

fame.

He will chronicle the coach's career during the years he transformed the Green Bay Packers from the worst team in the NFL into five-time champions during the 1960's.

"We've had an extraordinary relationship with ESPN for five years through the Tribeca Film Festival, and now we're able to extend that association into production," said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Gotham fest who is producing the movie alongside Chris Olsen, Tribeca Prods and De Niro.

"There are few actors who could accurately portray the fire, passion and grit of Lombardi, and we're thrilled to have Robert De Niro on our team," Charles Coplin, NFL's Vice-President of programming told The Hollywood reporter.

The movie bosses are planning to release the film in 2012.