5 footballers who surpassed the legacy of their fathers

It can go two ways when a son follows in the footsteps of his father to become a footballer. Either you go the Neymar way and become one of the most sought-after footballers in the world with your father-cum-former-footballer becoming your manager, or you become someone like Jordi Cruyff, a top-level player who never quite escaped the shadow of his genius father, Johan Cruyff.

Like many other skills, the beautiful game also runs in the blood, and with Paolo Maldini's son Daniel Maldini becoming the latest footballer to follow in his father's footsteps, it seems like the right time to take a look at five footballers who went past the legacy of their fathers.

Note: This list isn't in any particular order

Footballers who surpassed the legacy of their fathers

#5 Oliver Kahn

A legendary goalkeeper, Oliver Kahn was the best in the business in his prime, playing a huge part in Bayern Munich's dominance in the Bundesliga and helping them to European glory. His Golden Ball-winning performance in the 2002 World Cup could only take Germany to the second place as even the mighty Kahn had to bow to the brilliance of Ronaldo and co.

Kahn's father, Rolf, also played professionally for Karlsruher FC, where Kahn began his career as well as at youth level for Germany. Oliver's brother was also a professional footballer but it is safe to say that he is the best footballer in the family.

#4 Eden Hazard

Eden Hazard's multi-million move to Real Madrid is yet to work out but he remains one of the best-attacking footballers in the world right now. Hazard's silken skills and exploits with Chelsea and Belgium have already established his legacy.

Hazard belongs to a complete football family, with his father, Thierry, having played professional club football in Belgium as a defensive midfielder and his mother, Carine, having also played as a striker. Eden's brother Thorgan needs no introduction while their other two siblings, Kylian and Ethan, are also footballers.

#3 Xabi Alonso

More than the previous two dads on this list, Miguel Angel Periko Alonso had a solid career at the top level for Real Sociedad and won two consecutive league titles for the team. He also played for Barcelona as well as the Spain national team.

However, his son Xabi did go past his father's legacy, becoming one of the best contemporary midfielders and going on multiple title-winning spells for some of the biggest giants of the global game such as Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. He also did better than his father at the international level, being a part of the Spanish golden generation that won the World Cup and two Euro Cups.

Like their father, both Xabi and Mikel (his brother), became midfielders.

#2 Neymar Jr.

Neymar insists on putting Jr. on his jersey to differentiate him from his father who had a professional career in Brazil but never even reached close to the exalted heights his son reached.

The Brazilian wizard, who had his best spell at club level with Barcelona, is currently playing for PSG where he has seen a few ups but a lot of lows. His relationship with his father has always been close, with the latter being his agent and the one who helped him become the most expensive footballer in the world when PSG activated his release clause to acquire him from Barca.

#1 Frank Lampard (Jr.)

Now this is a story of a son going past his father's legacy. Why, you ask? Well, when Frank Lampard began his career as a promising youth player at West Ham, he also carried the junior tag as his father had followed a similar trajectory in his career. Frank senior was also a West Ham product who went on to play for England.

The son, therefore, lived in his father's shadows for a while. But, Frank junior started evolving into one of the greatest-ever English midfielders and a Chelsea legend and the Jr. appellation disappeared organically.

Fun fact, like Frank junior, his father also went into coaching and was last seen as a managerial consultant with Reading.

Edited by Rachel Syiemlieh