The Rundown

Top 10 parent and child sporting combos

Harry and Jamie Redknapp

Tottenham Hotspur have identified a potential star of the future in the shape of six-year-old Joey James Iversen — the son of former Spurs striker Steffen Iversen.

The young Iversen  is already showing his father's potential and has been invited to train with the Spurs academy once a week despite being three years younger than anybody else in Tottenham's youth system.

"He has a football player's physique and the same powerful legs as his father," said his mother Anna and the old adage of 'it's in the genes' could well apply.

Of course, he would not be the first sporting offspring to emulate one or both of his parents - as our top 10 list of the best sporting parent and child combos shows.

Harry and Jamie Redknapp

Harry Redknapp is of course best known for being a manager with the likes of West Ham, Portsmouth and current club Tottenham, but he also had a decent, if unspectacular, career as a footballer playing alongside Bobby Moore at West Ham before spells at Bournemouth (twice), Brentford and American side Seattle Sounders.

During his first managerial job at Bournemouth Harry gave his son Jamie his first taste of English football. Jamie went on to play for Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton and won 17 England caps before becoming a pundit for Sky Sports.

Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning

Archie Manning had a great NFL career. He was selected second overall by the New Orleans Saints, played for 13 seasons and ranks 17th overall in career completions. Yet his sons Peyton and Eli have managed to go one better.

Peyton, Archie and Eli Manning

They were both overall number one draft picks, and have both led their teams - the Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants - to Super Bowl victories, something their father never managed to do. Archie's eldest son Cooper was also set to star, but doctors diagnosed him with spinal stenosis which effectively ended the wide receiver's career. Peyton is considered one of the all-time greats but his career is currently threatened by injury while Eli is enjoying his best ever season and will play in his second Super Bowl on Sunday.

Princess Anne, Mark and Zara Phillips

Princess Anne is the only member of the Royal Family to compete at the Olympics and won two silver and one gold medal at the European Eventing Championships. She was also named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1971.

Her husband, Captain Mark Phillips, won a gold medal in the team three-day event at the 1972 Olympics, and picked up a silver in the same event 16 years later in Seoul.

And in 2006 their daughter Zara Phillips followed in her parents' footsteps by becoming European and world equestrian champion on her horse Toytown - and was also named BBC Sports Personality of the Year. However injury to the horse in both 2004 and 2008 shattered her Olympic dreams.

The sporting family has extended even further since Zara married England rugby World Cup winner Mike Tindall.

Wendy, Justin and Gavin Hoyte

Wendy Hoyte was one of Britain's top female sprinters in the 1980s - a former UK indoor 50m record-holder - and her sons have continued the family's sporting tradition.

Justin began his career at Arsenal and was an England U21 regular, and now plays for second-tier Middlesbrough. His younger brother Gavin is still at Arsenal.

Yannick and Joakim Noah

1980s tennis star Yannick is one of the brightest tennis talents ever to come out of France, and won the French Open at Roland Garros in 1983 - the first Frenchman to do so in 37 years, and the last to do so.

Yannick and Joakim NoahHis son Joakim is also a talented athlete: he was drafted into the NBA in 2007, being picked by the Chicago Bulls, and has continued to impress ever since.

It's not just Joakim's dad who has tasted the limelight: his paternal grandfather, Zacharie, played professional football in Cameroon, while his mother Cecilia Rodhe was crowned Miss Sweden in 1978.

Graham and Damon Hill

British hero Graham won two World Championships, with BRM and Lotus, and is the only driver to win the Indy 500, Le Mans 24 Hours and world title in the same year. He was tragically killed in a light aircraft crash in 1975 when son Damon was 15.

Damon concentrated on motorcycle racing to begin with but after moving into Formula One went on to match Graham's title feat when he beat Michael Schumacher in 1996 - becoming the only son of a world champ to win the big one.

Ann Packer, Robbie, Ian and David Brightwell

Now this is what you call a sporting family. Ann Packer won gold in a world record time in the 800m at the 1964 Toyko Olympics and at the same Games her then fiancé Robbie was part of the British men's 4x400m relay team that won silver.

The two married later that year and went on to have three sons - two of whom, Ian and David, went on to play for Manchester City with Ian making 378 appearances for the Citizens.

Ian and Liam Botham

Sir Ian is of course one of the greatest cricket all-rounders of all-time, firing 14 Test centuries while also claiming 383 wickets in his 102-Test career. He even played 11 times in the Football League for Scunthorpe United.

His son Liam was also a jack of all trades, but unlike his father, he was a master of none. He started out in cricket and took the wicket of Mike Gatting on his County Championship debut; he then started playing rugby union and made the England U21 team as well as having spells with Cardiff and Newcastle. Then it was time for his third career - as a rugby league player with Leeds and Wigan. However, a neck injury ended that career path and he is now back playing cricket, although not at county level.

Johan and Jordi Cruyff

Johan Cruyff is considered both one of the greatest players and managers of all time after successful spells in roles with both Ajax and Barcelona. In 1999 he was voted European Player of the Century in an election held by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics.

His son Jordi made his debut as an 18-year-old at Barcelona and had a decent record of 11Johan and Jordi Cryuff goals in 34 appearances while playing as an attacking midfielder. However, when his dad left the club, his career at the Camp Nou effectively ended and he moved to Manchester United. Cryuff was never really more than a squad player during his four-year spell at United and he returned to Spain before having spells in the Ukraine and Malta. It was far from the career of his father, but nine Dutch caps and spells at two of the biggest clubs in Europe is hardly bad going.

Cesare and Paolo Maldini

Cesare Maldini was a mainstay in the Milan defence for 12 seasons and captained Milan to the European Cup in 1963. He also represented Italy at the 1962 and 1966 World Cups and went on to manage the national team from 1996 to 1998 too.

His son Paolo went on to become an even better player and matched his father's achievement of captaining Milan to a European Cup in 2003 — one of five European titles he won in his career. He played more than 900 games for Milan and won 126 Italy caps. His number three shirt has been retired - but it will be bequeathed to one of his sons if they make the club's senior side.

 

77 comments

  • Sue  •  3 months ago
    Does this just apply to sport or life in general...? Just look at the Snows. I am sure there are many historians who are just as good as Dan (and Dan is good, don't get me wrong; I enjoy his progs and his un-stuffy delivery so I'm not knocking him personally; he's just a case in point). Dan will prob defend himself by saying that he did everything himself, which may possibly be entirely true. I don't know. But there's always this nagging doubt at the back of the mind of nepotism. Going before a board with an outline of a history prog as detailed by Dan Snow - oh yes and my dad will be there as well - just makes one wonder a bit. And there's the actor familiessuch as the Richardsons. Is Joely really all that much better than her peers? And god help us when Madonna's or Sting's kids release an album.
  • James  •  Seoul, South Korea  •  3 months ago
    There is a certain degree of nepotism going on with some of these though...Jordi Cruyff would never have got a look in at any other club and only forged a career based on his father, same can be said of Darren Ferguson when Sir Alex played him for United
    • ElDuderino 3 months ago
      Darren Ferguson was an average player at best, his managerial career is helped no-end by daddy too, loaning him some of the countries top prospects from his daddies top English club. Take what happened at Preston NE, sonny gets sacked and what do you know, every one of the miriad of young Man U starlets on loan are recalled within hours....hmmmm let me see how this works....I wonder. (Not saying if my boy was in that situation with me I wouldn't do the same mind you!)
  • incognito55  •  Dublin, Ireland  •  3 months ago
    Ozzy Osborne and...........on second thoughts just forget it
  • brians  •  3 months ago
    the rothchilds have made a sport of raping the world.
  • Foxy  •  Columbus, United States  •  3 months ago
    It's as much about financial resources as anything else !!
  • Robin  •  Sheffield, England  •  3 months ago
    Frank Lampard Snr (West Ham) and Frank Lampard Jr (Chelsea)
  • Nezza  •  3 months ago
    (How could I forget) Graeme Souness and Dean Saunders.
  • BB  •  3 months ago
    Nice to see the haters are on here already! If they have been succesdul in their careeer, what does money have to do with it? Genes has a role to play in athleticisim if your family has a sporting heritage and strong genes which give them the physical capabilty then why not? I do agree in the case of Zara Phillips, as horse riding or dressage does not require athleticisim, just technique, and financial backing.
  • ClashCityRocker  •  Ilford, England  •  3 months ago
    Terry and Roberto Mancini
  • Sue  •  3 months ago
    Families with genes for world domination in their field... Good job Hitler never managed to sire.
    • dave 3 months ago
      lol@sue, him only having 1 ball might have had something to do with it....lol
    • The Masked Avenger 3 months ago
      or did he not?
  • Andrew  •  3 months ago
    nigel and brian clough? chris and stuart broad? the entire gracie family (jiu jitsu), nelson piquet snr and nelson piquet jr.
    • Alex 3 months ago
      they cant put EVERY instance otherwise this would be twenty pages long as there is surely a seven generation hurling team or something in the world
    • Andrew 3 months ago
      I mentioned them as they were more noteworthy, you stupid idiot...
    • sambam! 3 months ago
      I would have mentioned the clough's too, but that just show's the lack of knowledge the writer has. I was going to mention Ian wright and wright philips... but then i saw the word "Talented" in the header!
  • KEVIN  •  Ilford, England  •  3 months ago
    What about Chris Broad - opening batsman, and his son Stuart Broad - fast bowler and lower order batsman. Unlike Ian and Liam Botham, they have both played for England. Then there's Colin and Chris Cowdrey, again they both played for England (and both captained England, though Chris was a lot less successful). And also a father and son who played for England's cricket team: Ray and Richard Illingworth. Also, Bairstow senior (Yorkshire and England wicketkeeper, who sadly committed suicide) and son Bairstow junior who has played a couple of one day internationals, and who is tipped to have a good future.
  • Jed Lilly  •  3 months ago
    The Andretti family should be up there too
    • J C 3 months ago
      Whats the Mafia got to do with this article?
    • ClashCityRocker 3 months ago
      Something about flogging a dead horse!
    • Cormac 3 months ago
      Andrettis cant be in the World's Top 10 parent and child sporting combos as they're not British!
  • Yahoo! Prints Lies  •  Orkney, Scotland  •  3 months ago
    In the genes? No, more like in the bank balance.
  • Peter  •  Bangkok, Thailand  •  3 months ago
    And there's the father and son who both plated for Pakistan at the same time...............Miandad!!!!
  • BRIAN  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
    ‘Sports abilities are inherited in the genes.’ I don’t expect the educationists to admit right now that personality, academic, music and artistic abilities are also laid down in a child’s genes; but it is a step in the right direction.
  • Achmed The Dead Terrorist  •  3 months ago
    Keke Rosberg and his son Nico? (F.1)
  • Fairdos  •  3 months ago
    The paucity of the examples given above would seem to contradict any idea that sporting talent runs in families. If it were otherwise we would all be able to cite hundreds of examples without a second's thought.
    By contrast, the staggeringly high number of children of media personalities who also make their careers in the media clearly demonstrates that media skills do indeed run in families. Or it might just be that nepotism operates more effectively in the media than in the more competitive sporting filed. Of course, that could just be me being cynical . . .
  • Neville S  •  3 months ago
    My two brothers were Victors Ludorum and I won the egg and spoon race.
    • Sue 3 months ago
      I remember you. You beat me into second place...
    • dave 3 months ago
      you only won by cheating you glued the egg to the spoon, ..lol
    • Fairdos 3 months ago
      I also remember your bros Vic and Lud.
  • A Yahoo! User  •  3 months ago
    My nickname'sㄇ where you have theㄇopportunityㄇdreaming about Ďatingㄇaㄇmillionaireㄇ and make it true!
    This video is about a pro athlete taking the time to play in a game for the community. The idiots posting on here about how nobody was defending him are missing the whole point. He did this for free, for the love of the game, and for the people. I live in OKC, and KD is always doing awesome things for our community, that's just the type of person he is. Doesn't have the huge ego that seems to be a prerequisite for many pro athlethes, he is humble, and acts surprised by how the community embraces him. Every Christmas he and the other Thunder players take underpriveleged children Christmas shopping, and have a great tme doing it. He loves the game and the fans. But I guess some people just have to find the negative in everything.58737152126

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