The ManicaPost
THEY won’t be able to sing ‘There’s Only One Zidane’ on Real Madrid’s pre-season tour of North America because there are three – the legendary Zinedine, now manager, and sons, Luca and Enzo who are both part of the squad to face PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the International Champions Cup.
And the Zidane offspring aren’t the only famous names to be emerging in the game.
Patrick Kluivert’s boy Justin is tipped for great things at Ajax while the sons of national legends Paolo Maldini and Gheorghe Hagi are also embarking on their football careers.
ZINEDINE ZIDANE AND SONS ENZO AND LUCA
Zizou needs little introduction. Regarded as arguably the greatest European player of all-time, he won the World Cup with France and Champions League with Real Madrid, scoring in both finals.
Even his most infamous act, headbutting Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup Final, hasn’t diminished his popularity and the success gene has also translated to management, leading to Madrid to the Champions League last season.
Zidane Sr has four sons and two of them are in the 25-man Real Madrid squad currently on tour of North America in the International Champions Cup.
Luca, 17, is a goalkeeper who played for the Under-19s in the Uefa Youth League – their equivalent of the Champions League – last season.
Enzo, 21, is more a chip off the old block, a midfielder with all the skills. Sir Alex Ferguson offered him the chance to train at Manchester United but he decided to follow his dad at Real and was made captain of their B team Castilla by Rafa Benitez.
‘I’m hard on him because I’m picky,’ says Zidane of his son, who has chosen to represent France rather than Spain.
PATRICK KLUIVERT AND SON JUSTIN
Patrick became famous overnight when he scored the winning goal in a Champions League final for Ajax at the age of 18 when Louis van Gaal was his manager.
He went on to have an illustrious career with Barcelona and Holland and played for a season in the Premier League at Newcastle United with Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy.
Justin, 17, is a striker like his dad and also earning rave reviews in the youth set-up at Ajax. A superb individual goal he scored against Feyenoord Under-16s went viral and some of Europe’s biggest clubs are taking note.
Paris St Germain might be favourites to eventually sign him – Patrick has just been appointed their director of football. Just in embraces rather than fears the comparisons. ‘I have to keep the name big,’ he says.
GHEORGHE HAGI AND SON IANIS
Hagi had the wonderful nickname ‘Maradona of the Carpathians’ when he lit up the game in the late 1980s and 1990s.
He became the first superstar of Romanian football, the highlight coming at the 1994 World Cup when he produced a series of stunning goals as his country reached the quarter-finals in America, knocking out Colombia and Argentina along the way.
Seventeen-year-old son Ianis also looks destined for a glittering career. He’s already had a season’s experience of first-team football under his dad with Viitorul in the Romanian League and will be in Serie A this season having been snapped up by Fiorentina.
‘He plays with emotion,’ says Hagi Sr who was with his final club Galatasaray when Ianis was born in Istanbul.
DIEGO SIMEONE AND SON GIOVANNI
Diego was a tough-tackling midfielder for Argentina who won 105 caps for his country but is best remembered in England for his role in getting David Beckham sent off at the 1998 World Cup.
As a manager, he has earned a legion of new fans with his achievements at Atletico Madrid who have challenged the Barcelona-Real Madrid duopoly in Spain.
Giovanni, 21, is a striker on River Plate’s books and came to attention in 2015 when he was the leading scorer at the South American Under-20s championship. Overall, he scored 10 goals in 12 appearances for the Argentine team and tries to model his free-kicks on Cristiano Ronaldo’s technique.
HENRIK LARSSON AND SON JORDAN
Henrik was starting his career in Holland with Feyenoord when his baby boy was born and named after basketball great Michael Jordan.
Fast forward 19 years and there are obvious similarities between Jordan and his father in the way they play, particularly the movement inside the penalty area to find space and score goals.
Henrik of course became a legend at Celtic and Barcelona, and the Swedish national team. Jordan is already scoring goals for Helsingborgs in the Swedish League – he has played nearly 40 first-team games – and has represented his country at Under-19s level.
‘He is one who is on the rise,’ says Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who doesn’t give out praise lightly to anyone other than himself.
PAOLO MALDINI AND SON CHRISTIAN
Paolo followed in the footsteps of his father Cesare to become an AC Milan legend, winning the European Cup five times and collecting seven Serie A titles before ending a 25-year career with a record 902 appearances.
Now a third generation has emerged. Christian, 20, is a centre-back and has already captained the Milan Under-19s team. If his career turns out to be half as successful as dad and granddad, he’ll have done well.
BEBETO AND SON MATTHEUS OLIVEIRA
Remember Bebeto doing his cradle celebration as Brazil won the World Cup in 1994? It became one of the most popular and copied goal celebrations ever so it was inevitable the new-born baby it honoured would go on to be a footballer.
Mattheus Oliveira started his career in Brazil with Flamengo and is now in Europe with Portuguese club Estoril. ‘I have the video of dad’s celebration on my phone,’ reveals Mattheus, who was named in tribute to another star of the time, Germany’s Lothar Matthaus.
DAVID HIRST AND SON GEORGE
David was rated in the same league as Alan Shearer when they emerged together in the early 1990s but injury prevented a move to Manchester United from Sheffield Wednesday and his tally of three England caps was far less than it should have been.
Maybe George will have the career that David deserved. The 17-year-old signed his first professional contract at Sheffield Wednesday earlier this year and scored twice for England under-17s against Germany. — Dailymail Sport
