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Former Liverpool player Kolo Toure has a brother, Yaya Toure, who was even more famous and a lesser-known brother, Ibrahim Touré. While Kolo was famous, there are forgotten Reds like Philipp Degen who has a twin brother David Degen.
The current Liverpool team also has players with brothers who are professional footballers. It goes without saying that playing for a club of Liverpool’s stature thrusts any footballer into the limelight and gives them instant fame. So, while the current Liverpool stars bask in fame and glory, spare a thought for their lesser know brothers.
The brother of one Liverpool player was recently nominated for the prestigious Golden Boy award for which Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ben Woodburn and Herbie Kane were also in contention. Barring this particular player, the other brothers in question may never have the opportunity to play for Liverpool.
Gini Wijnaldum, Giliano Wijnaldum and Rajiv van La Parra
Gini Wijnaldum has one brother and a half brother. His brother, Giliano Wijnaldum, is almost two years younger to him and his half-brother, Rajiv van La Parra, is a year younger to Gini.
Like Gini, Giliano also spent some years of his youth career with Sparta Rotterdam. However, while Gini moved to Feyenoord, Giliano moved to AZ Alkmaar. While Gini had a fantastic stint in the Eredivisie playing for Feyenoord and PSV Eindhoven, Giliano jumped from one club to another without cementing his place in any side. He returned to Sparta Rotterdam in the summer.
Gini’s half-brother, Rajiv van La Parra, is more famous that Giliano as he plays for Premier League side Huddersfield Town. When Gini was 10-years-old, he travelled to Feyenoord to play a match and it was here that he met Rajiv for the first time.
“Growing up I was with the side of my mother, and my grandmother, and not a lot with the family of my father, so that is why we didn’t see each other, I knew I had another brother, but I never saw him until that moment. I never saw pictures because at that time you didn’t have the internet or social media. There was no Instagram or Facebook or anything.
“She [Rajiv’s mother] came to me and told me he was Rajiv. In the beginning, I didn’t speak. I was looking at him. But I was also happy because I could finally see him. I went to play a game, but I found my brother.” - Gini recollected on his first meeting with Rajiv.
Gini and Rajiv played together for a while after the former moved to Feyenoord and their relationship became stronger. They also played together a few times for the Netherlands U-21 team.
Alisson Becker and Muriel Becker
Liverpool’s new hot-shot goalkeeper Alisson Becker has a brother Muriel Becker who is nearly six years older and the brothers started their career with Internacional.
Muriel was with the first team of Internacional for ten years and he shared the dressing room with Alisson for a few years. In his first season as a professional, Alisson was competing to be the second choice goalkeeper at Inter behind his elder brother. In two years time, he cemented his place as the club’s first choice goalkeeper.
While Alisson moved to Roma in 2016 and to Liverpool in 2018, Muriel joined Portuguese top division club Belenenses in 2017.
Ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Alisson shared the heartwarming story of how his brother helped him become the player he is today The Players Tribune.
“You see, since we were playing the same position for the same club, people were always comparing us. They were like, ‘Is Alisson gonna be as good as Muriel?’ Some said yes, some said no. I didn’t really want to compare myself to my brother … but he gave me something to aim towards. As a professional, I had to compare myself to those who were above me, you know? I always wanted to be better than him, but he’s also super competitive, so he never wanted to lose to me. So in this period at Internacional, we were training hard every day — and I do mean every day — and neither of us wanted to be worse than the other. And let me tell you, that was a huge source of motivation fr us. When I was tired, he’d say, ‘Come on bro, let’s do some more!’ And I’d do it.
“Sometimes it’s so easy to forget how lucky I am. What I definitely won’t forget is who helped me get here. So this summer [at the World Cup], I’m not just gonna play for Brazil … I’m gonna play for my brother, too. And honestly, every time I put on the Brazil shirt, I think about all the training we did together.
“So if you’re reading this, brother, know that every save I make in Russia is yours as well. My success is your success — because we’re part of the same story. And for that, I will always be grateful.”
Joel Matip and Marvin Matip
The Matip brothers, Marvin and Joel, were born in Bochum, Germany to a German mother a Cameroonian father who has lived in Germany since 1975. Both players played for the youth team of local side VfL Bochum but Joel completed his footballing education with Schalke while Marvin made his professional debut with Bochum.
Marvin, who is six years older than Joel, played for FC Koln before joining his current club Ingolstadt in 2010. When Marvin was playing for Ingolstadt in the lower divisions of Germany, Joel earned a good reputation with the Bundesliga giants, Schalke.
Joel and Marvin are both centre-backs who could have played for Germany but they both chose to play for Cameroon. After Ingolstadt earned promotion to the German top tier for the 2015/16 season, the brothers played against each other for the very first time with their father watching from the stand wearing a Cameroon jersey.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain comes from a family of footballers. His father, Mark Chamberlain, is a former England international who notably played for Stoke City, Portsmouth and Sheffield Wednesday. He also has an uncle, Neville Chamberlain, who played football professionally.
The Liverpool man has a younger brother, Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain, who plays for League Two side Notts County. The 20-year-old started his football career with Portsmouth but he clearly doesn’t have the football pedigree of Alex who’s an England international.
Christian played for five different clubs on loan from Portsmouth before joining Notts County in the summer. Although he’s playing in a lower division, he can still make his way to the Premier League like England internationals Jamie Vardy, Adam Lallana and Rickie Lambert.
Alex is currently nursing an injury he picked up at the end of last season and he is likely to miss the entire 2018/19 season.
Dejan Lovren and Davor Lovren
Dejan Lovren’s younger brother, Davor Lovren, is the only brother in this list who has a realistic chance of playing for the Reds in the future.
Davor is a product of the Dinamo Zagreb academy like his brother but Davor plays as a forward. He is highly rated in the football world and was nominated for the 2018 Golden Boy award.
The 20-year-old has an impressive record for Croatia’s junior teams. At the Under-17 level, he has 5 goals and 5 assists in 19 games and in the Under -19 level, he has 2 goals and 3 assists in 12 games.
Davor moved to German club Fortuna Düsseldorf on loan ahead of the 2017/18 season and he set up the title-clinching goal for Fortuna's winner-takes-all meeting with second-placed Nuremberg on the final day of last season's Bundesliga 2 season. Ahead of the current season, his loan move was made permanent and the club’s head coach, Friedhelm Funkel, believes that Davor will become a huge star.
"Davor will definitely play more in the coming season. He's capable of becoming a top Bundesliga player in the next two, three years."
Although Davor is busy making a name for himself, he keeps a keen eye on what’s happening with his brother at Liverpool.
"I keep a close eye on what my brother does at Liverpool. His achievements are a real motivation. I only use the negatives people say about him as a stepping stone."
If Davor becomes a star, then Liverpool has an inside man who can put in a few good words.
