While everyone comes to football in different ways, it is most often a family sport, passed down from one generation to the next. So it’s no surprise that famous footballers have kids who are just as passionate about the sport. These famous football sons proved to be better than their fathers.
Many famous soccer players have children who try to follow in their footsteps and most of them never pan out. The children of Pele, Diego Maradona, Johan Cruijff, Franz Beckenbauer and more never amounted to anything.
But these famous football sons didn’t just become successful players at the professional level — they surpassed their famous fathers in one way or another.
Famous Football Sons
Marcos Alonso x3
Marcos Alonso, the current Chelsea left back, had plenty of footballing pedigree to live up to. His grandfather, known as Marquitos, won five European Cups with Real Madrid, making 158 appearances with Los Blancos. Marquitos’ son, winger Marcos Alonso, became the most expensive transfer in Spanish league history when he moved from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona in 1982. The youngest Marcos Alonso (not pictured) is already more than halfway to equaling his father’s career goal-scoring mark despite playing in defense like his grandfather.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The elder Pierre was a defender who made more than 400 appearances over his career, most in France, and 80 with the Gabon national team. Pierre-Emerick is entering his prime and set the club record with his $78 million transfer to Arsenal in January 2018. The younger Aubameyang burst onto the scene with Borussia Dortmund, scoring 141 goals in 213 matches with the German club while scoring 23 times for the Gabon national team.
Daley Blind
Danny Blind won five Eredivisie titles to go along with a UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup with Ajax, a club for which he made 372 appearances. The elder Blind was also capped 42 times with the Netherlands. Daley Blind has already passed his father’s national-team appearances with 52 and he has four Eredivisie titles with Ajax. He also won a UEFA competition his dad actually didn’t: the Europa League. Daley gets the edge over his father for being a key part of the Netherlands team that finished third at the 2014 World Cup — Danny never got past the quarterfinals.
Youri Djorkaeff
Jean made more than 400 appearances as a defender in France with the likes of Lyon, Marseille and PSG. He appeared in one World Cup with France, which is where his son, a forward, easily surpasses him. Youri played in two World Cups, winning it all in 1998 (to go with a European Championship two years later). Youri scored more than 200 goals in his career, which included stints with Monaco, PSG, Inter Milan, Bolton, Blackburn and the Metrostars.
Eidur Gudjohnsen
Eiður had a lot to live up to in his father Arnór, a striker who scored 150 career goals across Iceland, Belgium, France and Sweden. But Eiður did just that. While Eiður scored nine fewer career goals, his came at some of the best clubs in the world, including 54 with Chelsea and 10 with Barcelona. He also won two Premier League titles, one LaLiga crown and a Champions League trophy. In a great footballing moment, Eiður played in the same match as Arnór for the Iceland national team in 1996, though they didn’t get to play with each other as the younger player replaced his father as a substitute.
Thiago and Rafinha
Mazinho was a World Cup winning defensive midfielder for Brazil in 1994, making 35 appearances for the Seleção and playing for nearly two decades with stints in Spain and Italy. His two sons came through the Barcelona academy, making a combined 116 appearances with the Blaugrana, a more prestigious club than any of the nine clubs for which Mazinho played. Neither son has won a World Cup but Thiago (now with Bayern Munich) won three youth European Championships with Spain and Rafinhia (on loan at Inter Milan) won an Olympic gold medal with Brazil in 2016.
Darlington Nagbe
Joe played professionally for 27 years, including a short stint with AS Monaco under Arsene Wenger. The midfielder scored 20 times for Liberia in 97 caps. Darlington, a USMNT midfielder, won an NCAA title with Akron and won an MLS Cup with Portland, for which he made more than 200 appearances before being traded to Atlanta ahead of the 2018 season. One thing the two have in common: inability to get their nation to a World Cup. Darlington is also the only player on this list whose first name has more than three times as many letters as that of his father.
Pepe Reina
Miguel Reina made more than 100 appearances as a goalkeeper with both Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in what was a long and productive career. However, he can’t compare to his son, Pepe, who has made more than 100 appearances in goal with three different clubs, including 285 at Liverpool. Both Pepe and Miguel lost European Cup/Champions League finals, but Pepe won a World Cup and two European Championships as a backup with Spain.
Kasper Schmeichel
Another goalkeeping duo, both Kasper and Peter led their respective teams to unlikely championships. Peter helped Denmark win the 1992 Euros while Kasper was in net as Leicester City won the most unlikely Premier League title ever. While Kasper has a ways to go to catch his father in Premier League titles (five) and Champions League trophies (one), his role in Leicester City’s title in 2016 earns him a spot on this list.
Bradley and Shaun Wright-Phillips
Ian Wright was a legendary striker for Arsenal, scoring 128 goals in 221 appearances. He finished with 239 goals in 501 appearances at the club level, adding nine goals in 33 caps with England. While Bradley and Shaun haven’t quite replicated those numbers, they have combined for 247 goals (and counting), so together they two have outdone their famous footballing father. Shaun and Bradley briefly played together with the New York Red Bulls and Shaun’s son, D’Margio (pictured lower right), is a youth player for Manchester City and England.
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