Like Father, Like Son: Offspring Following their Fathers' Footsteps

It is not unheard of for famous athletes’ sons and daughters to try to follow the footsteps of their well-known ascendants. The Beckham children have already started carving out names for themselves in different fields, for example, playing football at the Arsenal Academy. But they are not the only ones to express their interest for their ascendants’ trade, as there are plenty more examples of chips that were from the same old block than their fathers. 

Jordi Cruyff

The late Johan Cruyff had an amazing career. The Dutch forward and attacking midfielder spent decades on or next to the playfield, strengthening the ranks of teams like Ajax, Barcelona, and the Dutch national team, and returning as a manager to the former two later in his career. His son, Jordi was no stranger to football either – after playing for teams like Barcelona, Manchester United, and several others, he retired from active duty to put his talent to use in the managerial chair. Currently, he is the manager of Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he spent the last five years as a sports director.

Kasper Schmeichel

After spending a few years going from team to team, Danish footballer Peter Schmeichel signed with Manchester United – and spent eight amazing years with the team. His son, Kasper, is apparently a chip off the same old block – as his father, he too is a goalkeeper. After a short time with Manchester City (that he mostly spent on loan elsewhere), he went on to play for Notts County, Leeds, and Leicester City, the team with which he recently signed a contract extension until 2021, and who he won the league with in 2016.

Alex Bruce

Steve Bruce spent almost half of his career playing for Manchester United – between 1987 and 1996 – before moving on to Birmingham, Sheffield United, and then retired. He found a new career as a manager, currently at Aston Villa. His son, Alex, appears to have continued the tradition.

After three years in the Manchester United youth team, he went on to the Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham, Ipswich and is currently at League One club Wigan Athletic. Alex Bruce and Kasper Schmeichel are childhood friends, going back to the time when their fathers played together at Manchester United.