Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.

Samid

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Unfortunately I don't think he has the mentality to make it at the top level.

 

shamans

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I wonder how good these kids genuinely are (isn't it one of the Rooney kids in the middle?). Would any of them be there on merit.
Probably not because we wouldn't know how good their dads would be then but a son of a top footballer is likely to be a very good football player -- hear me out though -- the reason they often don't make it is because you need to be really damn good to actually make it to serious teams but they often do have the genetics.
 

tomaldinho1

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I wonder how good these kids genuinely are (isn't it one of the Rooney kids in the middle?). Would any of them be there on merit.
They'll be insanely good compared to the average kid but whether they initially get in on merit is the real question. Once they're into an academy so young they'd become elite for their age very very quickly.

I was talking with someone in that thread about how hard is it to become a professional footballer and people don't realise there's almost two separate systems for football so it's a deceptive question - imagine how good you would have been (assuming you played football) if you had trained essentially every day, had proper coaching and nutrition. I played decent level and we were training 3-4 times a week with a weekend game but that wasn't until I was maybe 14 or 15, these kids are in elite academies from 7 or 8 years old.
 

Adisa

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Unfortunately I don't think he has the mentality to make it at the top level.

That's brutal.
Imagine being the son of one of the most driven, obsessive athletes in history. The kid must want to make it badly to put up with that.
 

FreddieTheReddie

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Unfortunately I don't think he has the mentality to make it at the top level.

So kids can just decide what they want to drink and eat nowadays? When I was 11, my parents simply said that I can’t drink coke so I didn’t drink coke. I did complain a bit, but this was the rule.
 

Ali Dia

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The kids of the best footballers don’t make it very often because they are minted. Football is a total lottery that you have to make a lot of sacrifices for. Pretty much giving up a lot of your childhood. Their footballer parents probably don’t really want to stop their kids but they don’t want them to get hurt or disheartened either, especially if they know they aren’t quite good enough or tough enough to make it. They want better or different for their kids then what they had to go though which is pretty standard.

The hunger also maybe isn’t there as much for the second generation, the outside expectation and the name weighs heavily too. I’d imagine it’s fun when you’re young like the kids there but imagine being someone like Rooneys son (picked randomly) and being let go by United at 16. Are you really going to have the hunger to go down the leagues or head off abroad? Beckhams son was let go by Arsenal and he stopped but most normal lads won’t have that luxury. These kids are going to the best schools hanging out with other rich kids from influential families and will have every other door imaginable open to them.
 

Catt

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I wonder how good these kids genuinely are (isn't it one of the Rooney kids in the middle?). Would any of them be there on merit.
That kid looks like Matic too. Why do you think the middle kid is Rooney's?
 

horsechoker

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The kids of footballers don’t make it very often because they are minted. Football is a total lottery that you have to make a lot of sacrifices for. Pretty much giving up a lot of your childhood. Their footballer parents probably don’t really want to stop their kids but they don’t want them to get hurt or disheartened either, especially if they know they aren’t quite good enough or tough enough to make it. They want better or different for their kids then what they had to go though which is pretty standard.

The hunger also maybe isn’t there as much for the second generation, the outside expectation and the name weighs heavily too. I’d imagine it’s fun when you’re young like the kids there but imagine being someone like Rooneys son (picked randomly) and being let go by United at 16. Are you really going to have the hunger to go down the leagues or head off abroad? Beckhams son was let go by Arsenal and he stopped but most normal lads won’t have that luxury. These kids are going to the best schools hanging out with other rich kids from influential families and will have every other door imaginable open to them.
On the other hand footballers' children have more access to playing football due to who their dad and perhaps mum are. The hunger might not be there but there are still plenty of footballers who are hungry and the son or daughter of a former professional. Moreover, that hunger can be transferred to the child. If they don't make it, chances are they probably just weren't good enough.
 

Big Andy

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In our youth teams/academy teams we've had the kids of loads of current/former players

Giggs, Rooney, Ronaldo, Matic, Savage, Phil Neville off the top of my head.

And if you look at current footballers with footballer parents, the list is LONG.
 

The Boy

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The kids of the best footballers don’t make it very often because they are minted. Football is a total lottery that you have to make a lot of sacrifices for. Pretty much giving up a lot of your childhood. Their footballer parents probably don’t really want to stop their kids but they don’t want them to get hurt or disheartened either, especially if they know they aren’t quite good enough or tough enough to make it. They want better or different for their kids then what they had to go though which is pretty standard.

The hunger also maybe isn’t there as much for the second generation, the outside expectation and the name weighs heavily too. I’d imagine it’s fun when you’re young like the kids there but imagine being someone like Rooneys son (picked randomly) and being let go by United at 16. Are you really going to have the hunger to go down the leagues or head off abroad? Beckhams son was let go by Arsenal and he stopped but most normal lads won’t have that luxury. These kids are going to the best schools hanging out with other rich kids from influential families and will have every other door imaginable open to them.
It's worked out pretty well for the Haalands so far, the Cloughs, the Blinds and the Cryuffs didn't do too shabbily either.

EDIT: The more I think about it, there are loads of successful examples, the Schmeichels, the Maldinis, Ian Wright and Shaun Wright-Phillips, Lampards and the Chiesas, I'm sure there will be more.
 

Ali Dia

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On the other hand footballers' children have more access to playing football due to who their dad and perhaps mum are. The hunger might not be there but there are still plenty of footballers who are hungry and the son or daughter of a former professional. Moreover, that hunger can be transferred to the child. If they don't make it, chances are they probably just weren't good enough.
I think It’s kind of the same with musicians. Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Bob Marley and a few other genius level guys have kids playing and releasing music to this day. Playing some good stuff but with no where near the same cultural importance or impact. It’s just such a hard act to follow on from. Literally 1 in a million. They would also have access to every contact in the business. Music Lessons from the earliest age and front row seats to the creative process. Most of the time it’s just the shoes are too big to fill and they always have a fortune to fall back on instead of scrapping it out.

Off the top of my head I can only think of a few kids who arguably surpassed their parents success. Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, Norah Jones maybe but Ravi Shankar was pretty huge, Miley Cyrus….

In footballing terms who had a top footballer for a parent who’s gone on to surpass them? Chiesa is definitely on his way to being a top player and his own thing. Paulo Maldini. Haalands dad wasn’t a top player. I can’t think of too many others. I’m sure there’s loads of current average players and past great players that are kids of average or slightly above average former players who were better than their dads. Doesn’t seem to work out the other way around all that much though.

Just seen @the Boy’s post there. I don’t think any of those other kids were better than their parents apart from Haaland and Lampard but yes I’m sure it helps to have family involved in some way on more than one level.

Sorry about the ramble lads. I could also be miles off. Just a random thought occurred to me. Thinking out loud.
 

Greek Red Devil

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In our youth teams/academy teams we've had the kids of loads of current/former players

Giggs, Rooney, Ronaldo, Matic, Savage, Phil Neville off the top of my head.

And if you look at current footballers with footballer parents, the list is LONG.
We also have Sonny Aljofree, Hasney's son Charlie Wellens, Richie's, Ruben Butt, Nicky's son.

As of players with a former footballer father, Anthony Elanga's father was a Cameroonian international defender with great career in Sweden, Andreas Pereira's father used to be an attacker in Belgium and Noam Emeran's father was a Rwanda international defender with a decent career in small French, Belgium and Greek clubs
 

Pexbo

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I wonder how good these kids genuinely are (isn't it one of the Rooney kids in the middle?). Would any of them be there on merit.
The lad in the middle is Edgar Davids’ grandson.
 

Red Stone

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If anything I'd say the likelyhood of the son of a professional footballer making it is much higher that us regular folk making it. The amount of people that make it to the top leagues is already so tiny compared to the overall population, and considering a lot of active players today have fathers that played at the top level the percentage must be staggering in favour of the latter.

To add to the list:
Abedi Pelé with the Ayew brothers
Mazinho with Thiago and Rafinha
Danny Blind with Daley Blind
Patrick Kluivert with Justin Kluivert
Lillian Thuram with Marcus Thuram
Arnor Gudjohnsen with Eidur Gudjohnsen
Hamlet Mkhitaryan with Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Claudio Reyna with Gio Reyna
George Weah with Timothy Weah
Rory Delap with Liam Delap
Souleyman Sane with Leroy Sane
 
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Varun1

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If anything I'd say the likelyhood of the son of a professional footballer making it is much higher that us regular folk making it. The amount of people that make it to the top leagues is already so tiny compared to the overall population, and considering a lot of active players today have fathers that played at the top level the percentage must be staggering in favour of the latter.

To add to the list:
Abedi Pelé with the Ayew brothers
Mazinho with Thiago and Rafinha
Danny Blind with Daley Blind
Patrick Kluivert with Justin Kluivert
Lillian Thuram with Marcus Thuram
Arnor Gudjohnsen with Eidur Gudjohnsen
Hamlet Mkhitaryan with Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Kasper Schmeichel
 

Greek Red Devil

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If anything I'd say the likelyhood of the son of a professional footballer making it is much higher that us regular folk making it. The amount of people that make it to the top leagues is already so tiny compared to the overall population, and considering a lot of active players today have fathers that played at the top level the percentage must be staggering in favour of the latter.

To add to the list:
Abedi Pelé with the Ayew brothers
Mazinho with Thiago and Rafinha
Danny Blind with Daley Blind
Patrick Kluivert with Justin Kluivert
Lillian Thuram with Marcus Thuram
Arnor Gudjohnsen with Eidur Gudjohnsen
Hamlet Mkhitaryan with Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Claudio Reyna with Gio Reyna
George Weah with Timothy Weah
Rory Delap with Liam Delap
Souleyman Sane with Leroy Sane
Eidur Gudjohnsen's son recently debuted for his country, making him the third generation from his family that played international football. I think he plays for Real
 

Inigo Montoya

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If anything I'd say the likelyhood of the son of a professional footballer making it is much higher that us regular folk making it. The amount of people that make it to the top leagues is already so tiny compared to the overall population, and considering a lot of active players today have fathers that played at the top level the percentage must be staggering in favour of the latter.

To add to the list:
Abedi Pelé with the Ayew brothers
Mazinho with Thiago and Rafinha
Danny Blind with Daley Blind
Patrick Kluivert with Justin Kluivert
Lillian Thuram with Marcus Thuram
Arnor Gudjohnsen with Eidur Gudjohnsen
Hamlet Mkhitaryan with Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Claudio Reyna with Gio Reyna
George Weah with Timothy Weah
Rory Delap with Liam Delap
Souleyman Sane with Leroy Sane
:lol: Cruel parents
 

Samid

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Apparently this Ronaldo is better than his dad according to his grandma.