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Maendeleo Vijijini
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By Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport
Keen European football geeks will be thinking that things
are looking a lot like a 25-season Championship Manager save right now…
That's because the sons of legends are making their way into
the game.
Here are some of the most famous names.
Daniel Maldini - 17,
AC Milan
Daniel Maldini has joined Luca Zidane and a number of young
footballers following their father's footsteps.
Daniel became the youngest AC Milan outfield player to start
a match in International Champions Cup on his debut.
Dad famous for:
Paolo Maldini is an AC Milan legend and was the definition of 'one club man'.
The defender played 902 games - including a record 647 times in Serie A -
winning five European Cups and seven league titles for the Italian giants in a
career spanning nearly a quarter of a century.
By playing for the Rossoneri, Daniel also follows in the
footsteps of his grandfather, Cesare, who played more than 300 times for Milan
in the 1950s and 1960s and went on to manage the club. Quite the dynasty then.
Daniel's career so
far: He made his debut for AC Milan this week in a
friendly against Bayern Munich.
Interesting fact:
The number three shirt made famous by Paolo was retired with him but the Milan
legend has given permission for the club to reissue it should either of his
sons play for the club.
Justin Kluivert - 20,
Roma
Dad famous for:
Patrick Kluivert played for the likes of Ajax, AC Milan and Barcelona during
his career where he scored 205 times. In 79 appearances for the Netherlands he
scored 40 goals and helped them to the World Cup semi-finals in 1998.
He won a few trophies too, including the Eredivisie twice,
La Liga and the Champions League where he scored the winner against Milan when
he was just 18.
Justin's career so
far: He too started at Ajax and fittingly scored his
first senior goal 10 years and one day after his father's last career goal. He
also came away with a Europa League runners-up medal in the 16/17 campaign.
Like his dad, he moved to Italy after signing for Roma in
2018. Although still trying to cement his place in the side, he did become
Roma's youngest ever Champions League scorer last season after scoring against
Viktoria Plzen, his first goal for the club.
Interesting fact:
He wears 34 in tribute to his former Ajax team-mate Abdelhak Nouri, who
suffered a career-ending cardiac arrhythmia attack in 2017.
Timothy Weah - 19,
Lille
Timothy Weah signed a five-year deal with Lille in June
having struggled to get in the squad at Paris St-Germain.
Dad famous for:
Being the first and only African to win the Ballon d'Or. He is now the
President of Liberia.
George Weah made his name in France when he was signed by
Arsene Wenger for Monaco for just £12,000.
He became a world superstar in Italy at AC Milan winning two
Italian titles, the Ballon d'Or and scoring a famous goal in which he ran from
one end of the pitch to the other past half the Hellas Verona side.
Despite nearly 200 career goals, Weah hasn't taken it easy
in retirement, becoming the President of Liberia in 2018 and turning out for an
international friendly against Nigeria later that year at 51.
Timothy's career so
far: Starting off in New York Red Bulls' academy,
the US international followed his father's footsteps signing his first
professional contract at Paris St-Germain.
It was always going to be tough living up to his surname
with a front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, so after
spending half a season on loan at Celtic it's no surprise he decided to take a
move to French rivals Lille.
Interesting fact:
Gianluigi Buffon made his debut for Parma in 1995, keeping a clean sheet
against George Weah's AC Milan. Then, 23 years later, Buffon became a team-mate
of his son at PSG.
Ianis Hagi - 20, Genk
Ianis Hagi scored twice as Romania reached the semi-finals
of the Under-21 European Championship in July 2019.
Dad famous for:
Being 'the Maradona of the Carpathians' (a mountain range in Romania) Gheorghe
Hagi - a creative playmaker who played for Real Madrid, Barcelona and
Galatasaray - was regarded as one of the best footballers in the world in the
80s and 90s.
The attacking midfielder won 125 caps and is considered
Romania's greatest player of all time. Not a lot for his son to live up to
then…
Ianis' career so far:
Twice nominated for the prestigious European Golden Boy Award, his talent
hasn't gone unnoticed. He started his career at the academy set up by his dad,
then was coached by Gheorghe at Viitorul Constanta.
Although his first move away from Romania to Italian side
Fiorentina didn't quite work out, Ianis regained his confidence back at
Viitorul and lit up the Under-21 Euros this summer before bagging a move to
Belgium's Genk - the club that launched the careers of Kevin De Bruyne, Divock
Origi and Thibaut Courtois.
Interesting fact:
His dad made him captain of Viitorul Constanta, aged just 20.
Luca Zidane - 21,
Racing Club Santander (on loan)
Dad famous for:
Being Zinedine Zidane - one of the greatest footballers of all time, winning
nearly everything as a player and a manager. And a headbutt in a World Cup
final - we can't forget the headbutt.
Luca's career so far:
He's made his way through the ranks at Real Madrid, graduating to the reserve
team and then the first team under his dad's management. Unlike many of the
other sons of legends, he hasn't followed his dad's footsteps exactly, putting
on the goalkeeping gloves instead of heading midfield.
Interesting fact:
He is the second of four Zidane offspring making their way through the Real Madrid
academy.
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