Journalists are no different than any other person out there, always ready to jump on the hype train. Case in point… on Tuesday during the opening night of the NBA season the Los Angeles Lakers started LeBron James (no surprise there) and his son Bronny James. Anyone with an ounce of sense knows that this father-son storyline is pure Hollywood malarkey. Bronny is a mediocre player by all objective standards, but his selection by the Lakers in last year’s draft had ZERO to do with his talent and EVERYTHING to do with big poppa LeBron flexing his mojo.
Don’t Believe the Hype
But that’s not why I’m venting. Like lemmings leaping off a Norwegian cliff, journalists & bloggers around the globe duly gobbled up that infotainment nugget and regurgitated their own take on generations in sport. Soccer was not immune to this orgiastic trend, but Hooligan readers will know that yours truly, Josep Packsten aka The Qooligan, had everyone beat by a full ELEVEN days with the first article detailing some father-son(s) football stories in which the children fell woefully short.
But since I am also just a human and a “journalist” (note the quotations), I figure I should finish what I started. So here is Installment #2, an exposé of generations in which the jury is still deliberating which generation is the better player. There will be hot takes and controversey galore, so get ready to comment
Gheorghe & Ianis Hagi
Objectively, young Ianis has a LONG way to go to live up to his father’s legacy of the “Maradona of the Carpathians”. Papa earned 124 caps over 17 years; the boy 43 in 6. Papa scored 35 goals for Romania; the boy has 5 so far. But we’re gonna give the lad benefit of the doubt… he still has time.
Lilian, Marcus & Khéphren Thuram
Lillian has rock solid bonafides: won a World Cup in ‘98 with France, 501 senior club appearances, UNICEF ambassador (the last one has nothing to do with football but speaks to how cool of a human he is). Though both of his children have represented France, neither will likely come close to matching his 142 caps. In terms of play, Marcus is a forward and Khéphren a midfielder, so a straight up stats comp isn’t fair. They both play on top clubs (Inter Milan & Juventus respectfully), so that makes for awkward games where they face each other. Or maybe not so much…
Peter & Kasper Schmeichel
It’s really hard to choose here. Both have represented Denmark on the highest stage (Euros & World Cups) and exceed the century mark: Peter 129 times and Kasper 109. Both have won Premier League titles (Peter with Manchester United and Kasper with Leicester City). Both are spitting images of each other; it’s unlikely that if they switched at halftime anyone would notice.
Danny & Daley Blind
Picking which one is better is like trying to pick your favorite beer, a fruitless endeavor when really all you want is more beer. Both have accumulated accolades, played for Ajax, and earned caps… Danny may only have 42 (Daley has a whopping 165!) but he’s from a generation where Dutch talent ran SUPER deep. Danny does have an edge on his boy… he’s only one of two Dutch players to have won all UEFA club competitions.
Claudio & Giovanni Reyna
Trying to make a choice here is like selecting dishes from a Pottery Barn… all function but you can’t tell one from the other. Claudio has been capped 112 times for the U.S. and had spells with Rangers, Sunderland & Manchester City but Giovanni’s already has 31 and is about to turn 22 (on pace to exceed ol’ dad) and club stints with Borussia Dortmund (currently on loan to Nottingham Forest).
More Generations
Our next article will feature the sons who eclipsed the fathers. Until then, feel free to rant and maybe suggest some other familiar draws in the comments below.
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