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The sons of 1990s footballers: Eleven players who have followed in their fathers' footsteps

For any football fans with a pretty clear memory of the 1990s, the news that Patrick Kluivert's s...



The sons of 1990s footballers:...
Soccer

The sons of 1990s footballers: Eleven players who have followed in their fathers' footsteps

For any football fans with a pretty clear memory of the 1990s, the news that Patrick Kluivert's son Justin has made his senior debut for Ajax makes one feel decidedly old. 

After all, it was only in 1995 that Kluivert senior scored the winner in a Champions League final before he had even turned 20. 

But one begins feeling even older when for example, a player born on June 30th 1998 - the same day David Beckham was sent off for kicking Diego Simeone (more on El Cholo and his son later) - is scoring for Everton against Manchester City.

But back to Justin Kluivert. He came on as a first half sub for Ajax against PEC Zwolle on Sunday and if he achieves even half of what his father Patrick did in the game, he'll have had a fine career.

But he isn't the only son of a '90s footballer plying their trade across Europe. Prepare to feel older... 

Kasper Schmeichel

An obvious one. The Dane is the son of Manchester United goalkeeping great Peter Schmeichel and like his father, the 30 year old knows what it's like to win the Premier League, having done so in fairytale fashion with Leicester City in 2016.

He was born in 1986, while his father was still playing in Denmark and would come through Manchester City's academy.

Anton Hysen

At the start of January, Newstalk's Team 33 interviewed the Swedish player who was only the second ever professional footballer to come out as gay.

The 26 year old also happens to be the son of former Liverpool and Fiorentina defender Glenn Hysen. Indeed he was born while his father was still playing at Anfield and as Anton told us, Liverpool is still is first love.

Like his father, Hysen is also a defender and has played for the likes of Utsiktens BK in the Swedish lower divisions.

While much of his career ran during the 1980s, Hysen senior qualifies as a '90s footballer, having only left Liverpool in 1992 and retired from the game in his homeland two years later.

Hysen's other sons are also footballers, with Tobias having played for Sweden at international level.

Alex Bruce

Steve Bruce is currently managing Aston Villa but as a player, he was part of Manchester United squads that won the Premier League in 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1995-96 as a tough centre-back, as well as three FA Cups during the '90s.

His son Alex was born in 1984, three years before Steve signed for Man United and has been playing professionally for over a decade and is currently a centre back at Hull City.

Capped at underage level for the Republic of Ireland, Bruce junior then switched international allegiances to Northern Ireland and has twice been capped. 

Daley Blind

Danny Blind is currently manager of the Netherlands national football team, but back in the 1990s, the former defender was a team-mate of Patrick Kluivert's as Ajax won the 1995 Champions League, captaining the Amsterdam giants in the final.

The 55 year old was part of two Netherlands World Cup squads as a player.

Fast forward almost two decades and his son Daley Blind has forged a decent career in the game. Part of the Dutch squad that made an excellent run to the semi finals of the 2014 World Cup at left back, he has become a versatile member of Manchester United's first team squad as a full back, midfielder and centre back.

Diego Poyet

Gustavo Poyet became a fan favourite in a cosmopolitan 1990s era for Chelsea and the former Uruguay international's son Diego Poyet (21) has been playing in the English lower leagues and has been capped for both England and Uruguay at underage international level.

However, at present, the young midfielder is currently without a club after leaving West Ham in 2016. 

Thiago Alcantara

The Spain international (25) came through Barcelona's famed academy and is now an established first teamer at Bayern Munich.

But football is in his blood as his father Mazinho was part of the Brazil squad that won the 1994 World Cup, starting the final. Mazinho also played in Spain in the 1990s with Valencia and Celta Vigo. 

Rafinha

The Barcelona midfielder is the younger brother of Thiago Alcantara but like their father, has opted to represent Brazil at full international level.

Tom Ince

Back in the 1990s, Paul Ince had a strong career with the likes of England, Manchester United, Liverpool and Inter Milan at club and international level, playing in a World Cup and captaining his country.

Tom Ince hasn't been quite at that level since first emerging from the Liverpool academy in 2010 but has had a decent career below the Premier League.

Currently, he is at Derby County and has also played for the likes of Hull City and Blackpool.

Born in January 1992, Tom Ince was born the season before his father would win his first league winner's medal.

Thomas Ince, Crystal Palace. Picture by Daniel Hambury EMPICS Sport

Franck Songo'o

From Thomas N'Kono of Italia 90 fame to La Liga keeper Carlos Kameni, Cameroon have had a decent record of producing goalkeepers. At the 1998 World Cup, their No 1 keeper was Jacques Songo'o who also played for La Liga side Deportivo de la Coruna from 1996 until 2001 (he would later return for a second spell).

His son Franck Songo'o has also played in Spanish football, most notably with Real Zaragoza and Real Sociedad. He even had a brief spell at Portsmouth between 2005 and 2008, spending much of that time on loan with the likes of Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.

His father retired in 2004, just before Songo'o junior began playing for Barcelona C.

Giovanni Simeone

This season, young Genoa striker Giovanni Simeone is the club's top scorer in Serie A. The 21 year old Argentina youth international was born in Madrid back in 1995, as his combative midfielder of a father Diego Simeone was helping Atletico Madrid en route to a La Liga and Copa del Rey double by the next summer.

Unlike his father, who has won acclaim as manager of Atletico Madrid, Giovanni plays further forward and has shown a nose for goal ever since he emerged from the River Plate academy. 

Jordan Larsson 

A Celtic fan favourite, the prolific Henrik Larsson was managing Helsingborgs in his native Sweden until quite recently. Unfortunately things took an ugly turn recently and his son Jordan Larsson, who was playing up front for the club, was caught up in an incident at the end of a 2016 league match.

After Helsingborgs' relegation from the Swedish top flight was confirmed, Jordan was mobbed and confronted by masked fans and had to be escorted off the pitch.

He has since left for NEC Nijmegen in the Netherlands. 

They are only the tip of the iceberg, so if you have any more suggestions, tweet them to @raftastico or @newstalksport 

 

 

 

 

 

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