Father and son footballers

For all kids, fathers are like a hero and all over the world, there are kids that dream to follow their fathers’ footsteps and career when they grow up. Almost every kid dreams to be an athlete and especially a footballer.

Across the world, there are new batches of players, fathered by some of football’s greatest, who are trying to make their name in the football world while enduring the pressure of their father’s brilliant playing career.

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In the following list, we will walk you through father and son footballers in the history:

While some of the following footballer sons are performing better than their fathers, others still have a long way to go in their careers.

Peter Schmeichel and his son, Kasper

When we talk about

famous football’s father and sons

these days, the first name that crosses our minds is Schmeichel family. The former

goalkeeper, Danish Peter Schmeichel had a very great era with Manchester United in

.

Peter Bolesław Schmeichel, MBE, born 18 November 1963, is best remembered for his most successful years at English club Manchester United, whom he captained to victory in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final to complete the Treble, and for winning UEFA Euro 1992 with Denmark.

Schmeichel was famous for his intimidating physique – at 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) tall and weighing close to 100 kg (15 st 10 lb) during his playing days. He wore specially made size XXXL football shirts!

Schmeichel won the 1999 UEFA champions league as a captain at Manchester United. And today, his son, Kasper, has been totally competent to cherish his fathers’ name and legacy.

Kasper Peter Schmeichel, born 5 November 1986, is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club

and the

. He won the Premier League title as Leicester city captain in 2016.

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Kluiverts, another father and son footballer

But famous football’s father and sons are not going to stop here. A Father and son footballer is a combination of starting a new era and a nostology. Justin, Patrick Kluivert son, is just another pair on our

dad and son footballer

list.

Patrick Stephan Kluivert, born 1 July 1976, is a Dutch former football player and coach who is the academy director of

. He is the former director of football for

in France. Kluivert was the assistant manager of

. He played as a striker, most notably for

, FC Barcelona, and the

.

Justin Dean Kluivert, born 5 May 1999, is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for

, on loan from

, and the Netherlands national team.

Kluivert was a great striker who played at different clubs. However, Justin is not at the same level as his father was in the past but it seems that he used his father’s name well to represent himself and his own talent to the world. Justin found a place in his youth as a 21-year footballer in the Netherlands squad in 2018.

The French legend Thuram and his son

The next

father and son football players

on our list are the former French footballer, Lilian Thuram and his son Marcus Thuram.

Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien, born 1 January 1972, is a French retired professional football defender and the most capped player in the history of the

with 142 appearances between 1994 and 2008.

Lilian’s son, Marcus, is currently playing in

with

as a striker. He also had scored a brace against

in their clash in the Champions League. But unlucky he has not been invited to the national team yet.

The 22-year Marcus has scored more than 10 goals till his first season in Bundesliga. The French legend Lilian Thuram is the most capped player in the history of the France national team. He also had won the 1998 world cup with France too.

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Guingamp, the Drogbas

Another

father and son footballers

are Drogba family. Didier Yves Drogba Tébily, born 11 March 1978, is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the

.

Didier Drogba is one of the best strikers in the two last decades. He won the majority of his trophies with

, including four Premier Leagues, four FA Cups, three league Cups, and also the Champions League, in which he scored at the final match against

.

Isaac Drogba is the son of Didier Drogba and the nephew of Joël Drogba (Retired) and Freddy Drogba (Retired).

Isaac started his career right in the place where his father started his shining career. He signed his first contract in 2018 with

.

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Zinedine Zidane and his sons

Among

famous father and son football players

are Zinedine Zidane and his sons. Zinedine Yazid Zidane, born 23 June 1972, popularly known as Zizou, is a French former professional football player who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the current manager of

club Real Madrid and is one of the most successful managers in the world.

Enzo Fernandez one of four sons of the retired Zinedine Zidane; in fact, they all followed their father’s career. Enzo is the eldest son who attained Spanish citizenship in 2006. He tried to make a name for himself away from Real Madrid and his father.

He started his career at Real Madrid but wasn’t good enough to find a place so he signed with Alaves and started his journey through teams. The other three sons are all on books at Real Madrid. Luca, who is currently on loan, seems to have the brightest future as a goalkeeper.

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El Cholo and El Cholito

Giovanni Pablo Simeone Baldini, born 5 July 1995, also known as El Cholito, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for

club

and the

. He is the eldest among three sons of former footballer and current

manager Diego Simeone.

He showed a great performance in

lately, that he could be top flight striker in Serie A. He also had been linked to Atletico Madrid, who are managed by his father. But his father doesn’t seem interested to sign his son. “My son has everything to play under me, but I will never sign him,” Diego said back in 2018.

Diego Pablo Simeone González, born 28 April 1970, nicknamed El Cholo, is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder; he has been the manager of Atletico Madrid since December 2011.

Simeone is often considered to be a legendary figure in the history of Atletico Madrid, due to his achievements as a player and manager with them.

Simeone is the highest paid coach in world football, according to reports. He earns a whopping €43.6m per year, €20m more than any other sports manager.

Hagi senior and Hagi Jr.

, born 22 October 1998, is a Romanian professional footballer who plays mainly as an attacking midfielder for the

and the

.

Ianis started his professional career at Romanian side FC Viitorul, managed and owned by his father Gheorghe Hagi just before his move to

in 2019 and his short journey at Fiorentina.

Gheorghe Hagi, born 5 February 1965, is a Romanian football manager and former professional player, who played as an attacking midfielder. He is currently the owner of the Romanian club Viitorul Constanța. Hagi was considered one of the best players in the world during the 1980s and '90s.

The Romanian legend spent times at Real Madrid and Barcelona. He also won a lot of titles with

and Steaua Bucharest. On the international level, Hagi senior won 125 caps and scored 35 goals.

Henrik and Jordan Larsson

Edward Henrik Larsson, born 20 September 1971, is a Swedish professional football manager and former player, who currently serves as an assistant manager at Barcelona.

Henrik scored 133 goals, winning 15 trophies, including UEFA Champions League with Barcelona. It seems his son has a long way to reach his dad’s level and popularity in Sweden.

Carl Henrik Jordan Larsson, born 20 June 1997, is a Swedish footballer who plays for Russian club

as a forward.

Another famous footballer’s son, Jordan started his career at

, managed by dad. However, he wasn’t lucky and his career at Helsingborg did not go well and in November 2016; so, he moved to

to play at NEC.

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Enrico and Fede Chiesa

, born 25 October 1997, is an Italian professional footballer who plays for Serie A club

, on loan from Fiorentina, and the Italy national team. He can play both as a winger and as a forward.

Like some other footballers’ son, Federico followed his father’s path, starting his career with Fiorentina. The son of Italian great Enrico had his first debut in a friendly against Argentina 2018 and has picked more than 15 caps till now.

And nowadays his shining performance next to the great

at Juventus is remarkable. He also scored two goals and assisted three times for Juventus.

Enrico Chiesa, born 29 December 1970, is an Italian football coach and former striker. He was considered as one of the great strikers in Italy during the mid-90s.

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Jonathan and Jürgen Klinsmann

The next name on the list of dad and sons playing football are Jonathan and Jürgen Klinsmann. Jonathan spent a lot of his youth in the United States where his dad Jürgen was the manager of the national team.

Jürgen Klinsmann, born 30 July 1964, is a German professional football manager and former player. He has been regarded as one of the best strikers during the 1990s. He also managed the German national team to the third place in the 2006 World Cup.

Jonathan Lee Klinsmann, born April 8, 1997, is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for MLS side

. After spells at different American clubs and adventures across Europe, Klinsmann earned a professional contract at

,

. But he couldn’t play for the first team.

In 2019, he moved to Swiss side

and featured in just two matches in the Swiss cup. It seems that Jonathan won’t come close to his father’s achievement, who has won a world cup and European championship with Germany making, 108 caps altogether.

Giovanni and Claudio Reyna

, born November 13, 2002, is an American soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder for Bundesliga club

and the United States national team.

Giovanni Reyna began his football journey at

, where his father Claudio Reyna served as sporting director.

The American teenager Giovanni made 18 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, scoring one goal. He hasn’t been lucky to be invited to the national team but his performance and his progress say that he would be picked up in the near future.

Claudio Reyna, born July 20, 1973, is an American retired soccer player and current Sporting Director of Austin FC.

As a former midfielder, he was the captain of the United States men's national team before retiring from international soccer following the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Claudio Reyna claimed 112 caps for the United States and it seems that Giovanni is not even close to that number yet. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of the United States ever.

Maldini dynasty

The

father and son footballers

list definitely includes Maldini family.

, born 11 October 2001, is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club

.

As the Maldini successor, Daniel Maldini made his AC Milan debut from the bench against Hellas Verona.

Unlike his father who is one of the best defenders of all time, Daniel plays as an attacking midfielder at Ac Milan. He has scored 37 goals in 62 matches at Ac Milan at the youth level.

Paolo Cesare Maldini, born 26 June 1968, is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a left back and central defender for A.C. Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever defenders.

Paolo won seven titles in Serie A and five Champions leagues during his career at Ac Milan. The first Maldini who played at AC Milan was Cesare who was an outstanding midfielder loved by Milan stands. He played 347 matches for Rossoneri and managed Ac Milan and Italy national team in his coaching career.

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Andy and Devante Cole

Devante Lavon Andrew Cole, born 10 May 1995, is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Scottish Premiership club

.

Devante Cole was a member of Manchester city’s academy, despite his father who played for the rivals, Manchester United. Devante spent last season with league one Doncaster rovers and moved to Motherwell in Scottish premiership.

Andrew Alexander Cole, born 15 October 1971, is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. His professional career lasted from 1988 to 2008, and is mostly remembered for his time with Manchester United, who paid a British record transfer fee to sign him from

.

Cole spent six years with Manchester United and won eight major trophies. As one of the best England strikers, Cole scored 231 club career goals during his seven years spell with Manchester United. He also won the Premier League five times and a champion’s league in 1999.

George and Timothy Weah

, born February 22, 2000, is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for French Ligue 1 club Lille and the United States national team.

He is the son of the former professional soccer player, Ballon d'Or winner, and President of Liberia, George Weah. In March 2018, he made his senior debut for Paris Saint-Germain and earned his first senior international cap for the United States.

Having grown up in the United States, Timothy moved to France in 2014, playing for Paris Saint-Germain youth. He made his first debut as a 20 years old striker in 2018 when he scored a goal and in the same month, he received his first call up to the United States national team.

He spent the second half of 2018 on a loan with Celtic where he scored four goals in seventeen matches but wasn’t enough for PSG to keep faith in his talent, selling him to other

team

George Manneh Oppong Weah, born 1 October 1966, is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who is currently serving as the 25th President of Liberia, in office since 2018.

During his football career, he played as a striker. He is the first African former professional footballer to become head of state.

Kevin and Tyrese Campbell

As another father and son football players, Kevin Campbell son, Tyrese follows his dad’s path to glory.

, born 28 December 1999, is an English football forward who plays for

.

He made his first debut in 2018 for stoke city, hoping to have a great career as his father’s. He scored six times and assisted five times in his sixteen matches in the championship last season.

Kevin Joseph Campbell, born 4 February 1970, is an English former professional footballer. Campbell, who played as a striker, featured in the Premier League for Arsenal, Nottingham Forest,

, and West Bromwich Albion.

He played 325 games for

,

, Everton, and West Bromwich Albion scoring 82 goals but wasn’t lucky enough to win the Premier League title.

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Dutch legend Johan Cruyff and his son Johan

Johan Jordi Cruijff, born 9 February 1974, is a Dutch football coach and former player. Cruyff is the son of former player and manager Johan Cruyff. He is currently the head coach of the Chinese Super League club

.

Jordi played for Barcelona and Manchester United starting his youth career at Ajax Amsterdam where he was born. He also had spells at Alaves,

, and

.

Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and coach. The Dutch legend, Johan Cruyff won the Ballon d’Or three times in his career.

He was the genius and the developer of total football philosophy. He spent most of his career at Ajax before moving to Barcelona in 1973. Cruyff family are among well-known father and son footballers.

Carlos and Sergio Busquets

Carles Busquets Barroso, born 19 July 1967, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, mostly for Barcelona.

Carlos was an eternal substitute for legendary Zubizarreta and Portugal’s Vitor Baia. He hadn’t much chance at Barcelona and the national team.

Burgos, born 16 July 1988, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Barcelona and the Spain national team.

Unlike his father, Sergio Busquets played a key role in Guardiola’s show. He also has been in the starting XI at Barcelona and the national team.

The Spanish midfielder is the third captain at Barcelona. The one-club man is considered to be a great playmaker capable of directing the game play through short passes. Busquets family are among well-known father and son footballers.

Periko and Xabi Alonso

Miguel Ángel 'Periko' Alonso Oyarbide, born 1 February 1953, is a Spanish former football midfielder and manager.

Periko played at

and Barcelona throughout his career and scored 30 goals. He also played for the national team.

The famous father has two sons who play football professionally. Mikel Alonso spent most of his career playing at Real Sociedad where his father started his journey. Playing over 200 games and scoring 10 goals as a midfielder for Sociedad.

The other son who reached the top flight in Europa is Xabi Alonso. Talented Xabi Alonso, the midfield leader started his career just like his father and brother. But the progress he had and his talent was much further.

Xabi moved to Liverpool in 2004 playing 143 matches scoring 15 goals for the reds. In 2009, he moved to Real Madrid and then in 2014, he moved to Bayern Munich where he retired. He had 114 caps for Spain. He won the Champions League title in his professional career.

The Spanish Reina family

Miguel Reina Santos, born 21 January 1946, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played 312 La Liga matches over 16 seasons, mainly featuring Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, winning six major titles combined.

Miguel Reina is a former Spanish keeper who played for Cordoba, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid. He also won the Zamora trophy two times in his career.

José Manuel "Pepe" Reina Páez, born 31 August 1982, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Italian club Lazio.

His son, well-known Pepe Reina the eternal substitute in the national team played at Barcelona,

,

,

, Ac Milan,

, and now at

. He also played 36 matches for Spain national team.

Niguez family

José Antonio Ñíguez Vicente, born 30 September 1962, known as Boria, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker.

He spent most of his senior career with

, with which he appeared in all three major levels of Spanish football for a total of ten seasons.

The Argentine family has other footballers too. Jose Antonio spent nearly ten years of his career playing at Elche.

The elder son, Aaron, wasn’t lucky enough in his career as his brother. He played in several teams but he couldn’t make his point to reach the top-light in European football.

The most successful Niguez, Saul, started in Real Madrid’s academy and played more than 300 games for Atletico Madrid; he also made 19 caps for Spain national team.

Alcantaras family

Among father and son footballers are the Alcantaras family. Iomar do Nascimento, born 8 April 1966, known as Mazinho, is a Brazilian football manager and former player, as well as the former head coach of Greek club Aris.

The former midfielder had a long journey through the Spanish football teams like

, Celta de Vigo, and Elche. He made 35 caps for Brazil and won a world cup and a Copa America.

Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento, born 11 April 1991, also known simply as Thiago is a Brazilian-Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Spain national team.

The elder son spent his golden years at Barcelona and Bayern Munich and made himself through euro top-flight midfielders and he lately moved to Liverpool, Premier League champions. He made 39 caps for Spain and won several youth championships.

Rafinha, Mazinho’s other son, played as an attacking midfielder at Barcelona,

, and Paris Saint-Germain. He spent his youth national career playing in Spain but at senior level, he made only 2 caps for Brazil.

Cundi and Ruben Suarez

Secundino Suárez Vázquez, born 13 April 1955, known as Cundi, is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left back.

The retired Spanish footballer spent most of his career at

and he earned himself 9 appearances with Spain national team.

Rubén Suárez Estrada, born 19 February 1979, is a Spanish attacking midfielder; he can also play as a second striker.

Ruben followed the father’s footsteps at Sporting Gijon and then moved to Elche and

and a bunch of other teams.

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Alfing and Erling Haaland

Last but not least on our list of

father and son footballers

is the shining name of the latest golden boy in 2020,

.

Erling Braut Haaland, born 21 July 2000, is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the

.

His rare performance at Salzburg in 219 and his brilliant show at Bundesliga, Dortmund was enough to make him the best European talent in 2020.

All the famous clubs are interested in recruiting him and they predict a great and unseen future for him who even may win several Ballon d’Ors. Maybe this is the only case on our dad and son footballers list, where the son is so much better than the father.

Alfing Haaland spent his career as a defender and midfielder at

, Nottingham Forest, and

till the wild tackle of Roy Kean that effectively ended his career in 2001.

Father and son footballers playing together

The only

father and son footballers playing together

are

and Eidur Gudjohnson. The son came as a substitute for his father against

in 1996.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s son also insists that his father shouldn’t retire unless they play a season together and maybe in the future we can see the first father and son playing on the pitch. Also, we may see the greatest football legend’s sons, Cristiano and

.

Cristiano junior showed great talent and performance at the youth level and it seems that he would make a great and shining career. Maybe not as great as the father but he will probably have a brilliant professional career in the near future.

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