5 active footballers who can surpass their father's legacy
As a budding footballer it is essential that one gets ample support from their families to pursue the sport as a profession. There's no guarantee that you'll make it to the top. It requires immense hard work and patience but the journey becomes that much easier with your loved ones by your side.
In fact, when you choose to walk down the same road as others in your family, there is always some backing from the more experienced customers. What then could be more delightful for a young football player than to find his idol in his own father.
Over the years we have seen various footballers live iconic careers and their sons have proudly inherited the legacy and kept it going in the family. In such families where football runs through the veins and is passed down from one generation to another, comparisons between fathers and sons are natural.
No son really goes out on the field with the intention of overtaking his father's name, but sometimes it happens while delivering high-quality performances. It is no doubt a big personal feat nonetheless, to not be seen as a shadow of your father as a footballer anymore.
Today, some footballers have shown that they indeed have a lot going for themselves. They can overtake their father's legacy as successful professionals. Here are five active players who can surpass their father's legacy:
#5 Marcus Thuram
Thuram is a difficult last name to carry. It signifies France's most capped international player, a woke man with a strong stance on social issues, a World Cup winner and a rock-solid defender. All of that is one man, named Lilian Thuram. Marcus Thuram was only a year-old when his father won the World Cup in 1998.
He was never in doubt that to be seen in isolation from his father's persona and success was going to take something special. To carve out his own identity, to be known as Marcus and not son of Lilian was going to be a constant battle. Gladly, his decision to function as a forward rather than a defender like his father will help him in the task.
The game of football has always been kind to goalscorers and there is always a bias towards those who can put the ball in the back of the net. Thuram Jr. will have to score a handsome number of goals and the bias will probably elevate him. On that front, this particular moment in time is a bad one to talk about Marcus and goals.
He suffered a knee injury before towards the end of last season. This has seen his game time reduced this season in the Bundesliga and his form is nowhere to be seen. In the 10 games he has played this season, the forward has had no assists or goals, albeit playing only 427 minutes in those.
Lilian Thuram was a beast of a defender! https://t.co/4Ww8N0zMKK
However, last season the Borussia Monchengladbach player was linked with Liverpool and continues to be linked with Inter Milan. An upgrade at the club would be deserved given how much he has really matured in the last couple of years. Last season, Thuram made 23 goal contributions in 40 games. In the 2019-20 campaign he recorded the same aggregate tally in the same number of games.
Clearly the winger is prolific when he gets going and has what it takes to perform with consistency. Thuram Jr. is fast, but also uses his physicality to bully defenders, which sets him apart from other speed merchants.
At club level, Lilian has only won two significant titles: Serie A twice with Juventus and the UEFA Cup with Pama. Marcus has been quick to raise his stock with his highest market value recorded at €40 million by Transfermarkt. Europe's biggest clubs have already started enquiring about his signature.
With a huge chunk of his career still to come, Thuram Jr. has a lot going for him to surpass Thuram Sr.'s legacy.
#4 Marcos Alonso
Football flows through the veins of many families in Spain who have produced professional footballers in multiple generations. One such family is the Alonsos and the current flagbearer of that name is Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso Mendoza. It becomes important to mention his full name because both his grandfather and father went by the same first two names.
In terms of achieving silverware, Alonso is already ahead of his father. Marcos Sr. won La Liga, Copa del Rey and Copa de la Liga all for once in his career. The Chelsea left-back has one each of the Champions League and Europa League medals to boast about. Alonso Jr. is nearing his father's goal tally of 53, having contributed 38 goals so far in his senior club career.
As a left-back if he manages to surpass that tally, he'll really have eclipsed his father's achievement as an attacking midfielder/winger. But what the Chelsea man is really eyeing is catching up to his grandfather, popularly known as Marquitos, who was a Real Madrid legend.
Congratulations Marcos Alonso on his Spain debut 👏🏼
following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps! Meaning he becomes the seventh third generation international footballer in history. https://t.co/RF653Es7sc
Marquitos played as a right-back and on many occasions in his career filled in as a centre-half. Despite making fewer appearances than both his son and grandson, he was a bigger winner. His five La Liga titles and five European Cup victories are a milestone that theoretically can't be matched by the youngest Alonso.
However, the Chelsea left-back is part of a team that are top contenders for both the Premier League and Champions League this season. Those two trophies at club level and major silverware with the Spanish national team, given that the World Cup is approaching, will see Alonso carve his own legacy.