Sons of 5 famous footballers hoping to make it big
For a young boy with dreams of being a professional footballer while watching his father accomplish and realise the dream, the pressure is enormous. The weight of expectation, to emulate their dads and mentors could creep up into young players’ head, ultimately discouraging one from playing the game.
However unfair, it’s the way this game sadly works, although a certain few put in the effort week on in to realise their dreams and follow in the footsteps, by creating a name and legacy of their own.
Kasper Schmeichel, son of great Dane Peter Schmeichel, spoke up on the issue of external pressure because of the image surrounding his father, claiming it affected his son’s career although he needed to continue working to shut the critics up. Indeed he did, the younger Dane, Kasper managed to do so as he went on to guide Leicester City to their maiden and historical Premier League triumph last season.
Here we take a look at five young boys, whose father’s preceded them in the beautiful game, bagging a tonne of honours earning themselves recognition, glory, respect and followers around the world, as they hope to do the same one day and maybe even emulate them.
#5 Mitchel Bergkamp
The first match to be played at the Emirates Stadium, in 2006, saw a young Mitchel Bergkamp kick the game off in what was his father Dennis Bergkamp’s Arsenal testimonial, signalling the end of the career of one of the greatest footballers of all time.
The son of Dennis Bergkamp is a talented player himself but seems to be taking a slightly different route into the game than his father, who signed with Ajax at the age of 12. At the beginning of the 2012/13 season, aged 14, Mitchel joined the under-15 ranks at Almere City, a club currently in the second tier of Dutch football.
Mitchell, now 18, is on the verge of breaking into the ranks of the first team of the club. Founded in 2001, the club currently sits in fourth place in tier 2 with Mitchel Bergkamp and co eager to earn their promotion and a spot in next season's Eredivisie.