The beautiful game of football has seen a whole lot of rivalry but the unlikely one is sibling rivalry and that is what we will be looking at today. Many football players have had their siblings play against them and we have also seen brothers play for the same club. We have heard some siblings play for different countries from their sibling but most is siblings playing for different clubs or the same club.
This article will try to address different players who played against or played with their siblings either internationally or at the club level. Football is such a beautiful game with lots of payment coming from it. Every player who has a sibling will be happy to see his sibling doing the same thing he is doing. just as they are parents who played football and then helped their children sharpen their football careers, so also we will be looking at brother rivalry and support as well in the beautiful game of football.
Sibling Rivalry in Football
The first on our list is the Hazard Brothers:
Eden and Thorgan Hazard are two good players, when English Premier League top-side Chelsea learned that Eden Hazard had a younger brother they snapped him straight up. Thorgan arrived at Stamford Bridge as part of the deal the Blues agreed with Ligue 1 side Lille sign Eden Hazard.
However, dreams that the London club could one day feature both brothers are all but over after Thorgan signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2015, before joining Borussia Dortmund where he is now showcasing his worth as one of the club’s stars performers in recent seasons. Chelsea may not have been able to realise that dream, but the Belgium national side certainly is, with the brothers regularly featuring alongside each other for the Red Devils.
Toure Brothers:
Kolo Toure was not only a solid member of Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles side’ but he also went on to win the Premier League title with Manchester City in 2011, doing so alongside his brother. His younger brother Yaya Toure joined Manchester City from Barcelona and he became the first player to win African Player of the Year four times in a row in 2014.
He won two league titles with Man City, while Kolo enjoyed one final sojourn with Celtic before he retired in 2017. He is now a first-team coach at Leicester City under former manager Brendan Rodgers.
Rio and Anton Ferdinand:
Manchester United star player Rio Ferdinand was so good he was the captain of Manchester United at a time and he made many caps for the England national team. They were a time everyone thought that England would call the two players in the heart of their defence but it was not so.
While Rio enjoyed a good international career his brother was not given any cap at all. Anton Ferdinand however played in the English Premier League and he played against his brother severely in the English Premier League.
Gary and Phil Neville
Although both men were members of Manchester United’s ‘Class of ’92’, Fizzer is not remembered as his brother Gary at Old Trafford. He isn’t well-liked in general really, after conceding a penalty for England against Romania in Euro 2000.
The player’s reputation took a huge backward move after that incident. After retirement, Both worked together in the Spanish La Liga as manager and assistant manager of Valencia.
Ronald and Erwin Koeman
Former Barcelona player and manager Ronald Koeman and his brother Erwin played together but he was better on the pitch than his older brother, Erwin Koeman. Ronald enjoyed a more prolific career, he won double the number of caps for the Netherlands as his sibling and also represented Barcelona with distinction, while Erwin didn’t play outside of the Eredivisie.
They both went into football management with Erwin working as an assistant to Ronald during his stints in charge of Southampton and Everton, but after a poor showing on Merseyside, they have since gone their separate ways. Ronald’s last coaching job was with Barcelona while his brother Erwin managed Oman.
Filippo and Simone Inzaghi
Italian duo Filippo and Simone Inzaghi were both great players in the Italy national team. They are the iconic brothers during their playing time in Serie A. Filippo Inzaghi was scoring goals for fun with Atalanta, Juventus and AC Milan, not to mention his exceptional record for Italy.
On the other hand, Simone spent most of his career with Lazio and only mustered three Italian caps, though is currently enjoying a better managerial career than his once prolific brother.
Rafinha and Thiago Alcántara
The brother had the chance to play for three different countries as one was born in Italy, and the other was born in Brazil to Spanish parents. They’re both bloomin’ good at football though. The eldest Thiago is currently playing for English Premier League side Liverpool.
He left the Camp Nou to follow Pep Guardiola to Bayern Munich in 2013 before joining Liverpool last summer. He has also pledged his national allegiance to Spain, where he holds citizenship, receiving 39 caps since 2011.
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Rafinha recently left the Catalan club to join Paris Saint-Germain. He has featured for Spain’s youth sides but has also turned out for Brazil’s Under-20s in the past, though he opted to represent the country of his birth where he has since picked up two caps for the Seleção (Brazil).
Jerome and Kevin-Prince Boateng
Ghanian brothers and the Boateng brother are half brothers though they are born to the same father but different mothers. Their father Boateng is a Ghanian. They were both born in Germany but the one decided to choose his father’s country while the other played for Germany. Kevin-Prince didn’t play Ghana.
Jerome pledged allegiance to Germany and he won the World Cup with them. He has also won the Champions League with Bayern Munich while the ‘Prince’ currently plays for Serie B club Monza.
Jordan and Andre Ayew
The Ayews are the sons of Abedi Pele so they are quite a footballing family. Their family tree could probably cobble together an entire team. Former Ghana captain Abedi Pele is the father of the star players. Jordan and Andre played together at Marseille for several years and reunited at Swansea before going their separate ways.
The younger brother Jordan Ayew currently plays for English Premier League side Crystal Palace while Andrie Ayew plays for Qatar Stars League club Al Sadd.
Reece and Lauren James.
The two players started playing at a very tender age and they have grown to become great footballers both playing for Chelsea. The Chelsea siblings would have been the first brother and sister to win the men’s and women’s FA Cup titles but the Chelsea male team lose to Liverpool in a penalty shootout while the female team won.
