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calciopics · 1 year

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14 famous footballers' sons looking to make it big

Want to feel old? The offspring of players that seemingly retired only yesterday are taking their first steps in the game

Poor Alfe-Inge Haaland. A competent Premier League player who won 34 caps for Norway is now most famous for being the dad of Erling.

The Manchester City striker has already had a better career than his dad, with all due respect to the former City, Leeds and Nottingham Forest midfielder. But what about other sons of famous footballers?

Here are 14 players aged 21 or under looking to follow in their fathers’ footsteps…

Etienne Eto'o

One of the greatest African footballers of all time, Samuel Eto'o enjoyed a magnificent career with the likes of Real Mallorca, Barcelona and Inter (Everton, less so).

Two of his brothers, David and Etienne, are also footballers, and Samuel has a son who is now taking his first steps in the game. Etienne Eto'o had a trial with Benfica in 2021, before signing his first professional deal with fellow Portuguese side Vitoria de Guimaraes this year.

Khephren Thuram

A World Cup, European Championship and UEFA Cup winner during his playing days, Lilian Thuram is France’s all-time record appearance maker with 142 caps. His first son Marcus clearly inherited dad’s talent: the Borussia Monchengladbach forward has an outside chance of being included in Didier Deschamps’ squad for Qatar.

Just over three years younger than Marcus, Khephren Thuram is a regular for France’s Under-21s. Born in Italy while Lilian was playing for Parma, Khephren is a key part of Lucien Favre’s Nice team.

Isaac Drogba

A Chelsea legend who won virtually everything there is to win at Stamford Bridge, Didier Drogba is widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history.

His son, Isaac, was part of Chelsea’s youth setup until 2018, when he joined French outfit Guingamp. The centre-forward spent a few months with Caratese in the Italian lower leagues last year, and is now turning out for Portuguese side Coimbra.

Harvey Neville

When Phil Neville joined Valencia as a coach in 2015, he brought his son Harvey with him. The youngster, who like his dad can play at full-back or in midfield, later spent three years on Manchester United’s books.

Neville Jr. again followed his dad to Inter Miami in 2021. After 18 appearances for the club’s second team, the 20-year-old was brought into the senior squad for the 2022 campaign.

Romeo Beckham

Playing his trade alongside Neville at Inter Miami is a man with an even more famous dad. Romeo, the second of David Beckham’s three sons, once spent a few months on the books of Arsenal, and he is now playing for the MLS club’s second team.

Inter Miami, of course, are part-owned by the former England captain. Romeo may one day feel the need to escape from his father’s considerable shadow.

Theo Zidane

One of the most significant figures in the history of Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane will always be associated with the Blancos more than any other club. And although he stepped down from his role as Madrid manager in 2021, the Zidane clan still has representation at the Bernabeu.

That is courtesy of Theo, a promising midfielder who plays for Real Madrid Castilla. His two older brothers are professional footballers too: fellow midfielder Enzo is at Fuenlabrada and Luca is a goalkeeper for Eibar.

Andri Gudjohnsen

Papa Eidur Gudjohnsen is familiar to football fans from his successful spells at Bolton, Chelsea and Barcelona, plus short stints at Tottenham, Stoke and Fulham. But he hails from proper football stock: his own dad was an Icelandic international, too – Eidur made his debut as a substitute for Arnor in 1996 – and his brother came up through Swansea’s youth system.

Now he has three sons in the sport as well. Eldest Sveinn Aron plays for IF Elfsborg, youngest Daniel Tristan is in Malmo’s academy, while middle child Andri Lucas is a striker currently plying his trade at IFK Norrkoping in Sweden. He spent time in both Barcelona and Real Madrid’s youth setups, even making the senior squad for Real Madrid’s Champions League campaign in 2021.

Aged 20, Andri has 12 caps for Iceland and two goals to his name.

James Carragher

A boyhood Everton fan, Jamie Carragher became a Liverpool legend during a one-club career which saw him play 737 times for the Reds. His son James spent six years in the club’s academy but was let go in 2017.

Picked up by Wigan, Carragher Jr. made his professional debut for the Latics in August 2021. A 6ft 4in centre-back, the 20-year-old is currently on loan at Oldham in the National League.

Gio Reyna

A United States international, Reyna was also eligible to represent England due to his birthplace of Sunderland. His dad Claudio was playing for the Black Cats at the time; the midfielder also turned out for Bayer Leverkusen, Rangers, Manchester City and New York Red Bulls during his career.

His son Giovanni came through the New York City academy before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2019. He has since made 86 appearances for the German giants and won 14 caps for his country.

Maurizio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino is known for his managerial exploits these days, but he had an excellent playing career with the likes of of Espanyol, PSG and the Argentina national team.

His son Maurizio spent time at the academies of Southampton and Tottenham while his dad was the first-team manager of both clubs. After spending last term at Watford, the 21-year-old joined Spanish side Gimnastic in the summer.

Maxim Gullit

Ruud Gullit was one of the best footballers of his generation. A title winner with three different clubs, the Dutchman also lifted two European Cups with AC Milan and Euro ‘88 with the Netherlands.

His son Maxim would do well to match his father’s achievements in the game, but the Cambuur defender comes from rich footballing stock: his mum Estelle is a niece of the late, great Johan Cruyff.

Daniel Maldini

When Daniel Maldini made his AC Milan debut in 2020, he was the third generation of his family to play for the Italian giants, after grandad Cesare and father Paolo. But unlike those two club greats, the youngest Maldini is not a defender but an attacking midfielder.

He has made 24 appearances for the Rossoneri in total but is spending the 2022/23 campaign on loan at Spezia.

Charlie Savage

Robbie Savage was on co-commentary duty for BT Sport when his son Charlie made his Manchester United debut in 2021. “What a proud day for my boy… what a day for me, his mother, his grandparents,” an emotional dad said as the young midfielder entered the Old Trafford pitch.

A Wales Under-21 international, Savage Jr. plays in the same midfield position as his dad - although the 19-year-old insists he’s less tenacious and more technically gifted than the old man.

Benjani Jr.

Benjani played for four Premier League clubs - Portsmouth, Manchester City, Blackburn and Sunderland - between 2006 and 2011. The striker went on to represent two clubs in South Africa, before hanging up his boots in 2014.

His son, known as Benjani Jr., signed a professional contract with Yeovil Town in October 2022, having previously been part of Portsmouth’s academy.

By Greg Lea - FourFourTwo

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calacuspr · 11 months

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Calacus Monthly Hit & Miss –Vinicius Jnr & Javier Tebas

Every month we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the last few weeks.

VINICIUS JNR & JAVIER TEBAS

Racism in football has existed for a long time.

The days of the National Front having a presence outside grounds and bananas thrown on the pitch may be behind us, but the experiences of England forward Raheem Sterling, for instance, suggest it still exists in pockets.

Twenty years ago, England players were subjected to racist abuse at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, prompting then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to intervene which was met with hollow statements of concern from Spain which have clearly had little effect.

The likes of Dani Alves, Marcelo, and Samuel Eto’o have all fallen victim to racist abuse in Spain in the past few years, underlining the societal ignorance and endemic problem professional players face in La Liga.

But the latest incident involving Real Madrid’s Brazilian star forward Vinicius Junior has highlighted the impotence and ignorance of the football authorities as well.

Just in the past year, Vinicius was racially abused a number of times, including Real's bitter rivals Atletico Madrid singing racist songs in September 2022; abuse at Real Valladolid LINK while he walked past fans after being substituted; an effigy of the Real Madrid winger was hung from a bridge near the club's training ground before a game against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey; and Mallorca fans were filmed allegedly racially abusing the Brazilian during a game against Real.

Late in May, hundreds of Valencia ‘fans’ sung "Vinicius is a monkey" as the Real Madrid bus arrived at the stadium before the match.

In a heated game, Vinicius was then sent off after calling out some of the ‘fans’ who were abusing him and clashing with Valencia players in an incident which felt like a watershed moment for football in Spain.

Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was keen to use his post-match press conference to speak about the treatment his striker endured.

He said: “La Liga has a problem" with racism. I don't want to talk about football. I want to talk about what happened here. It's more important than a defeat.

“What happened here today shouldn't happen. ... There's something bad happening in this league. For me, with these racist incidents, they have to stop the game. I told [the referee] that he should stop the game.

"[Vinicius] is very sad. It's sadness, not anger. The reaction [which saw Vinicius sent off] is quite normal. There are no buts. A stadium made racist insults. Let's see what happens. I'm curious to see. ... Nothing will happen. Usually, nothing happens.”

Who could blame Vinicius for speaking out after the match, using his platform to demand change and highlight the problem.

He tweeted: “It wasn't the first time, nor the second, nor the third. Racism is normal in La Liga. The competition thinks it's normal, the Federation does too and the opponents encourage it. I'm so sorry.

“The championship that once belonged to Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano and Messi today belongs to racists. A beautiful nation, which welcomed me and which I love, but which agreed to export the image of a racist country to the world. I'm sorry for the Spaniards who don't agree, but today, in Brazil, Spain is known as a country of racists. And unfortunately, for everything that happens each week, I have no defense. I agree. But I am strong and I will go to the end against racists. Even if far from here.”

He added: “Every round away from home is an unpleasant surprise. And there were many this season. Death wishes, hanged doll, many criminal screams... All registered. But the speech always falls on ‘isolated cases’, ‘a fan’.

“No, these are not isolated cases. They are continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain (and even in a television program). The evidence is there in the video.

“Now I ask: how many of these racists had names and photos exposed on websites? I answer to make it easier: zero. None to tell a sad story or make those fake public apologies. What is missing to criminalize these people? And punish clubs sportingly?

“Why don't sponsors charge La Liga? Don't televisions bother to broadcast this barbarity every weekend? The problem is very serious and communications no longer work. Not blaming me to justify criminal acts either. You are not football, you are inhuman.”

The statement gave La Liga president Javier Tebas a perfect opportunity to stand in solidarity with one of the Spanish league’s finest young players and vow to address the issues facing black players.

When a crisis occurs, it’s usually the reaction rather than the problem itself which sets the tone for how it is viewed.

Tebas, remember, has previous, having criticised Vinicius late in 2022 for his complaints after being subjected to abuse at the Jose Zorrilla stadium in Valladolid as he walked past fans after being substituted.

Instead of being conciliatory, Tebas came out fighting again this time and said: “We have tried to explain to you what LaLiga is and what it can do in cases of racism, but you have not shown up to either of the two agreed dates that you yourself requested. Before criticising and insulting LaLiga, you need to inform yourself properly Vinícius.”

Credit to Vinicius, he saw through the deflection and responded in kind: “Once again, instead of criticising the racists, the president of LaLiga takes to social media to attack me. No matter how much you talk and pretend not to read, it shows your competition in a bad light.

“Look at the responses to your posts and surprise yourself... Ignoring it only makes you the same as the racists. I am not your friend when it comes to racism. I want action and punishment. The hashtag doesn’t do it for me.”

Tebas continued with his denials, adding: ““Neither Spain nor LaLiga is racist. It is very unfair to say that. At LaLiga, we do everything we possibly can to report and tackle racism.

“This season, there have been 9 reports of racist insults (8 of them directed at Vinicius). We always identify the culprits and file a complaint with the disciplinary bodies. It doesn’t matter if they are just a few; we are relentless.

“We cannot allow the image of a competition that is, above all, a symbol of unity among all people to be tarnished. More than 200 black players at 42 clubs are shown respect and affection from the fans on every matchday, and racism is extremely rare (9 cases) and something that we are going to eradicate.”

Twice the governing body has run ‘La Liga against racism’ but it has had a limited impact and Tebas clearly hasn’t grasped quite how much these incidents have already tarnished La Liga –his denials suggesting that he does not grasp the seriousness of the problem both for players and the Spanish football brand.

Real Madrid made a statement, thanking fans around the world for their support. They said: “Attacks of hatred and racism must be eradicated from our society for good and this is what has been voiced by figures from all walks of life and from different national and international institutions after yesterday's events at the Mestalla stadium.

“The unfortunate events that have occurred have circled the globe and brought shame on our football…and …the image of our football is seriously damaged and marred in the eyes of the whole world.

“The referees, instead of acting with decisiveness and applying the regulatory protocols, have chosen in the majority of the cases to abstain and avoid taking the decisions that corresponded to them. Yesterday, the referee and those in charge of the VAR evaded their responsibilities and made unfair decisions based on incomplete images, which were not seen completely, which were biased and which resulted in the direct sending off of our player Vinicius Júnior.

“Unfortunately, what happened yesterday and the handling of it by the referees and the VAR is not perceived as an isolated incident, but as something that has been happening in many of our matches. The victim who experiences the crime can never be held responsible for the offence.

“For all these reasons, we are deeply concerned that no action has been taken by the Spanish Football Federation in this period of time, despite the clear and repeated warning signs that we have been denouncing through our club.

“In view of the seriousness of the current situation and the image that Spanish football is portraying to the world, Real Madrid hopes that there will be immediate and decisive action by all those with responsibility and competence to tackle the evils of racism, xenophobia and hatred. Our club will continue to strive to ensure that the values that have sustained our history continue to serve as a model of coexistence and exemplary behaviour.”

Valencia released a statement after the match which said: “Valencia CF wishes to publicly condemn any type of insult, attack or discrimination in soccer.

"The Club, in its commitment to the values of respect and sport, publicly reaffirms its position against physical and verbal violence in stadiums and regrets the events that occurred during the La Liga Matchday 35 game against Real Madrid.

"Although this is an isolated episode, insults to any player from the rival team have no place in football and do not fit in with the values and identity of Valencia CF. The Club is investigating what happened and will take the most severe measures. In the same way, Valencia CF condemns any offense and also requests the utmost respect for our fans.”

In a statement Puma, which has sponsorship deals with both Valencia and LaLiga, said: “At Puma, we do not tolerate racism, we condemn discrimination in any form and stand in solidarity with Vinicius Junior and the wider football community in condemning events yesterday.”

At a news conference after the weekend’s drama, Spanish FA chief Luis Rubiales acknowledged that Spanish football had a problem, at odds with his La Liga counterpart Tebas.

“The first thing is to recognise that we have a problem in our country," Rubiales said.

It is "a serious problem that also stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country,” adding that Tebas's comments, were "irresponsible behaviour. Probably Vinicius is more right than we think and we all need to do more about racism.”

The incident prompted diplomatic incidents, with its ministry calling in Spain's ambassador to explain the situation.

"Taking into account the seriousness of the facts and the occurrence of yet another inadmissible episode, the Brazilian government deeply regrets that, until now, effective measures have not been taken to prevent and avoid the repetition of these acts of racism," a statement said.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to call on FIFA and LaLiga to act to stop racism taking root in soccer stadiums while deputy Foreign Minister Maria Laura da Rocha said she was amazed by the repeated racist attacks on the player.

"Vinicius Jr received a red card for not enduring all that. The red card should have been given to racism.”

A number of Brazilians then protested outside the Spanish consulate two days later, with Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez saying: "Spain is fighting this behaviour. We condemn it and we are working to eradicate it."

Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer landmark had its lights switched off "as a symbol of the collective fight against racism and in solidarity with the player and all those who suffer prejudice around the world,” according to the Archdiocesan Sanctuary that manages the monument.

Three people have been arrested and it will be interesting to see if criminal charges are made but clearly more needs to be done to protect not only Vinicius but all the black players who face similar abuse in football in Spain and beyond.

Stricter penalties, education programs and awareness campaigns must be implemented to eliminate racial discrimination from Spanish football and foster a more inclusive and tolerant atmosphere.

The Spanish Football Federation, RFEF, saw sense and rescinded the red card Vinicius had received against Valencia but it’s hardly likely to address his concerns about these repeated racist incidents.

Granted, La Liga did make a statement calling for more sanctioning powers, with current rules making it feel “powerless” while Valencia were sanctioned with a partial ground closure and a small fine.

The size of the problem was illustrated, though, by Valencia’s initial, and somewhat lenient, punishment being cut on appeal from a partial stand closure for five games to three and a significant cut in the already low fine.

In their following match against Real Vallecano, which Vinicius Junior did not feature in due to injury, his team-mates all wore his named #20 shirt while his main sponsor Nike tweeted in solidarity with him.

In the 20th minute of Madrid’s 2-1 win, supporters chanted the 22-year-old's name while players from both clubs joined together holding a sign which read "Racists [get] out of football" and fans held a banner displayed in the stands which read: "We are all Vinicius. Enough is enough.”

Too little, too late given the global uproar, Tebas made a series of grovelling apologies, in stark contrast from his previous defensive approach.

He said: “I think that the message, and the intention I had, was not understood by a significant number [of people], especially in Brazil.

“I did not want to attack Vinícius, but if most people understood it that way, I need to apologise. It was not my intention, I expressed myself badly, at a bad time. But I had no intention of attacking Vinícius, but rather clarifying a situation, because Vinicius had recorded a video supporting La Liga’s actions.

“If I hurt someone, they thought I was racist, it’s far from reality. I feel sorry for what happened, and that’s why we denounced it. And we didn’t just denounce it, we took special actions at his games.

“We spoke to the clubs, so that they could provide more security, identify fans. La Liga takes care of Vinícius. And, if they misunderstood what happened I have to apologise.”

The back-tracking apology appeared as if Tebas was trying to save his own reputation rather than coming from a place of genuine understanding.

The fact that a day later he spoke again, voicing his concern for the long-term reputational damage done to La Liga by the week’s dramas, suggests self interest rather than doing the right thing was front of mind.

Tebas then said that La Liga could reduce racist incidents in six months, which begs the question about why this hadn’t happened already.

A week later, Brazilian clubs Cruzeiro and Vini’s former club Flamengo showed their support by sitting down for the first minute of their match, underlining the impact the continual racism in Spain has had on global sport.

The incident at Valencia should serve as a turning point, motivating La Liga and other stakeholders to do more to fight against racism.

Only through collective action can Spanish football truly be a beacon of diversity, where players of all backgrounds can thrive and feel safe on the pitch.

Until the likes of Tebas grasp the full seriousness of the problem, players will continue to see little progress.

#Real Madrid #Vinicius Junior #Vinicius Jr #Javier Tebas #Santiago Bernabeu #Samuel Eto'o #La Liga #Valencia #Brazil football #RFEF #Dani Alves #Marcelo #Tony Blair #Atletico Madrid #Flamengo #Cruzeiro #Vini #Vinicius

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