9 Football Families That Have Produced Three Generations of Professional Players
By 90min
Daniel Maldini, son of Paolo and grandson of the late Cesare, made his senior debut for AC Milan this month, making it three generations of Maldini that have played for the Rossoneri.
Fathers and sons are a (relatively) common occurrence in professional football, but three generations from the same family is a much rarer feat indeed.
Including a closer look at the Maldini clan, here’s a rundown of nine famous football dynasties that have spanned at least three generations…
Gudjohnsen
The Gudjohnsen family made history in 1996 when Eidur and his father Arnor both played in the same senior international match for Iceland against Estonia, with the son replacing his dad as a second-half substitute.
Eidur later went on to star for Bolton, Chelsea and Barcelona in a career that lasted 20 years, while Arnor hung up his boots in 2001, ending a career that had begun in the 1970s and taken in spells in Iceland, Belgium, France and Sweden.
The third generation of the Gudjohnsen family to become a professional footballer is Eidur’s 21-year-old son Sveinn Aron Gudjohnsen, who is contracted to Serie B club Spezia in Italy. Another two sons are also in the youth ranks at Real Madrid.
Weiss
The Vladimir Weiss, who started his professional career with Manchester City and has been a prominent player for Slovakia at two major international tournaments, is technically Vladimir Weiss III as he shares a name with his footballing father and grandfather.
The first Vladimir Weiss was a centre-back who had a club career in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s and won an Olympic silver medal in 1964.
Vladimir Weiss Jr, also played at club level in his homeland in the 1980s and 1990s, representing Czechoslovakia and later Slovakia at international level. More recently he’s found success as a coach and was the man who took Slovakia to the World Cup in 2010.
Kluivert
Patriarch of the Kluivert football dynasty, Kenneth Kluivert was a star in his native Suriname and even played internationally for the Dutch colony in the 1960s, prior to relocating to the Netherlands in 1970, where his famous son Patrick was soon born.
Patrick rose to prominence with Ajax in the mid-1990s, scoring the winning goal in the 1995 Champions League final while still a teenager. He went on to play for Barcelona and has since embarked on a coaching career that has seen him return to Camp Nou as academy director.
His son and Kenneth’s grandson, Justin Kluivert, made his Ajax debut in 2017 aged 17 and later joined Roma for in excess of €18m only 18 months later. Patrick also has an older son, Quincy, who is without a club, and a younger son, Ruben, who is in the youth ranks at Utrecht.
Hernandez/Balcazar
When Javier Hernandez played for Mexico at the 2010 World Cup, he became the third generation of his family to represent the country on the planet’s biggest international stage.
Now with LA Galaxy in MLS, the striker is the son of Javier Hernandez Gutierrez, a midfielder who spent 19 years with various clubs in Mexico and had an 11-year international career that included playing at the 1986 World Cup on home soil.
The younger Javier’s maternal grandfather and Javier Sr’s father-in-law, was Tomas Balcazar who was a member of Guadalajara’s legendary all-conquering team in the 1940s and 1950s. He went to the World Cup with Mexico in 1954 in Switzerland.
Koeman
Ronald Koeman is the most famous member of the Koeman family, a superstar with Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona, two-time European Cup winner and Euro ‘88 champion. Now, the 56-year-old is also an A-list manager, but his father, brother and son have all been footballers too.
The late Martin Koeman was a defender who played primarily for Groningen during a career in the 1960s and 1970s. He also represented the Netherlands once at international level. Erwin Koeman, once of PSV and the national team, is his son and Ronald’s brother.
Ronald Jr. is the third Koeman generation in the game. The 24-year-old, who was born in Barcelona during his father’s time there, is a goalkeeper for TOP Oss in the Dutch second tier.
Alonso
Chelsea wing-back Marcos Alonso is a product of Spain’s famous Alonso football family. His late grandfather was former Real Madrid defender Marquitos, winner of five consecutive European Cups with Los Blancos between 1956 and 1960.
Marquitos’ son, commonly referred to simply as Marcos, was also a famous Spanish footballer. A winger in the 1980s, he enjoyed most of his success with Barcelona where he spent five years and was a European Cup runner-up in 1986.
Marcos had youth ties to Real Madrid where his father was a legend, while his son Marcos Alonso also started out at the Bernabeu and played one first-team game for the club in 2010, before moving on to Bolton and later Fiorentina.
Forlan/Corazzo
Uruguay legend Diego Forlan, Golden Ball winner at the 2010 World Cup, was the third generation of his family to play professional football after his father and maternal grandfather made their mark in the game before him.
Diego’s father was Pablo Forlan, an international defender for Uruguay who went to World Cups in 1966 and 1974, and spent six years of his club career with Sao Paulo in Brazil after making his name at Montevideo giant Penarol.
Diego’s maternal grandfather and Pablo’s father-in-law was Juan Carlos Corazzo. He played for Independiente in the 1930s, where Diego also started out, and coached the Uruguayan national team to two Copa America titles and at the 1962 World Cup.
Maldini
Father and son Cesare and Paolo Maldini each lifted the European Cup with AC Milan during their respective illustrious careers, with Paolo in particular winning it five times. He now has two sons in the game as well, extending the dynasty to a third generation.
Christian Maldini is a 23-year-old defender who started out at Milan but has been without a club since leaving Serie D side Pro Sesto in November 2019, while 18-year-old midfielder Daniel Maldini has made his debut for Milan’s first-team this season.
Paolo’s iconic number three shirt was retired by Milan in 2009, with the exception that one of his sons might wear it in the future. That ship has sailed for Christian, but Daniel technically still could, even though he plays in an attacking position.
Do Nascimento
Edson Arantes is the most famous member of the Do Nascimento family. You will probably better know this legendary striker by his nickname, though - Pele. He shot to fame as a 17-year-old at the 1958 World Cup when he helped his country to its first of five triumphs to date.
His father, Dondinho had also been a footballer, playing for Atletico Mineiro and the now defunct Bauru, the club where Pele initially started out before joining Santos. Pele’s eldest son Edinho was a goalkeeper for several clubs, including Santos, in the 1990s, while another much younger son, Joshua, is in the junior ranks at Santos.
One of Pele’s grandchildren, Octavio Felinto, the late Dondinho’s great-grandson, was reported to have turned professional with little known Brazilian club Guarani in 2015.
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