Next-Gen Football Legends: Sons of Icons in FM24

xplore the journeys of football's next legends in FM24. Manage the careers of famous footballers' sons and surpass their fathers' legacies.

Following Legendary Footsteps in Football Manager 2024

Alfe-Inge Haaland. Cesare Maldini. Miguel Reina. All of these men have something in common: their perfectly respectable careers have been outdone by their own sons. What makes the achievements of their children so fantastic, however, is that they achieved their highest heights at the same clubs. The Maldinis are Milan legends, Pepe Reina was included in the Spain squad for their Euros and World Cup wins 2008-2012, Alfe-Inge Haaland’s son has turned out to be pretty handy for Man City. The purpose of this article is to point out players with famous fathers whose careers you can try to emulate.

Shaqueel Van Persie

The Flying Dutchman: scorer of wonder goals, Netherlands top-scorer, two-time PL Golden Boot winner and Arsenal legend. Robin Van Persie had a career at the very highest level of the game, and was regarded as one of the best strikers in Europe in his prime.

Meanwhile in Feyenoord’s academy - where it all began for Robin - is Shaqueel Van Persie. Shaqueel has an unbelievable level of talent for a 16 year-old, and follows in his father’s footsteps as a striker. He’s absolutely dripping with potential, and looks like he could follow his father all the way to the very top.

Your challenge is to bring him to Arsenal, give him his father’s number 11 jersey, and win the trophy he chased in vain throughout his entire Arsenal career: the Premier League. He looks like he’ll have the potential to be your starting striker on a PL-winning team, so build around him, and you’ll be satisfied with the results.

Kephren Thuram

Lillian Thuram was a generational defensive talent. Equally comfortable at right back or centre back, he won two titles with Juventus, 3 trophies at Parma, and crowned it all with a World Cup and Euros winners medals with the French national team.

No pressure then, Kephren. A talented and hardworking defensive midfielder, Kephren Thuram has a bright future in the game and was linked to Liverpool over the summer as they sought to shore up their midfield. He looks like he could follow his father to the elite level of European football.

Your task is to bring Kephren - and his brother Marcus for extra points - back to Juve. A club who have fallen on difficult times, having a Thuram with the club as they return to the peak of Italian football whilst mounting a challenge in Europe would be a poetic chapter in the Thuram family history.

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Timothy Weah

To fans of a certain generation, George Weah will forever be the greatest African player ever. A truly unique striker, it’s fair to say he blazed a trail for others to follow in his footsteps. While George Weah had an impressive scoring record, he was a very modern-style striker, particularly for his era. He was a quick and talented dribbler and had an eye for a pass to create chances for others.

While his father’s legacy for African football will be almost impossible to emulate, Timothy Weah is more than capable of contributing to a truly elite side. For all of his father’s achievements, the Champions League evaded him despite his time with a Milan squad who were one of the perennial contenders for the European title. If you could bring Timothy Weah to his father’s former side and lift Europe’s premier club trophy, you’d give Timothy a piece of football history that even his father could never capture.

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Giovanni Reyna

A name well known to US fans, Claudio Reyna was part of a trailblazing USMNT who put soccer on the map in the states. Despite spending most of his professional career in Europe, it was in the States where Claudio really made his name as a mainstay in the national side in the early-00s. A teammate of such legends as Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Brad Friedel, Reyna was named to four World Cup squads and earned over 100 caps for his country.

Giovanni is no doubt on track to achieve success in his career. A midfielder like his father, Gio is one of the most hotly-sought after youngsters in world football. However he so far has only gained 20 caps for the national side.

Your challenge with Reyna is slightly different. Taking over the US national team, build your team around Gio and earn him over 112 caps to beat his father. Oh, and a trophy win, too, would be nice.

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Conclusion

Fathers and sons in football can be some of the most poetic stories in sport. To match - or surpass - a father’s achievement is a special story, and these four players have the opportunity to match their father’s achievements in the game. I hope this article has inspired you to try some of the combinations listed, and good luck as you lead these sons to challenge their father’s legacies.