5 Managers who gave their son a debut

Premier League legend and current Feyenoord boss Robin Van Persie brought on his son Shaqueel Van Persie for his debut last night in Feyenoord’s loss to Celtic.  Today we take a look at other examples of famous managers who have gave their son debuts.

Zidane

On November 30, 2016, Real Madrid icon Zinedine Zidane gave his son Enzo Zidane his Real Madrid debut against Cultural Leonesa in a 6-1 win for Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Coming on at half time in the Copa Del Rey clash, Enzo scored in the 63rd minute to record his first Real Madrid goal.

Whilst the midfielder had featured in pre-season games for Real Madrid, the game against Leonesa marked his first professional outing for the club. It was his only official game for the club and he is now retired.

Zidane also handed a debut to his son Luca in a 2-2 draw with Villarreal on the final day of the 17-18 season on May 19, 2018.

Bizarrely, despite his father being one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Luca is a goalkeeper. He now plays for Spanish second division side Granada.

Cruyff

The three-time Ballon D’or winner and influential manager Johan Cruyff gave his son Jordi his Barcelona debut in 1994.

His debut came against Racing Santander in a 2-1 Camp Nou win on September 10, 1994. After Barcelona went 1-0 down Jordi Cruyff scored the equaliser.

Simeone

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone handed his son Giuliano Simeone his Atletico Madrid debut on April 20, 2022 in a 0-0 draw against Granada.

He was then sent on loan to Real Zaragoza and Deportivo Alaves before staying with Atletico in the 24/25 season.

Giuliano is now a key member of the Atletico squad three years after his debut. Despite initial questions from some fans and media over whether he was playing just because of his father being the coach Giuliano has proved himself to be a high quality player over the past two seasons.

Ferguson

Widely regarded as the best manager in English football history, Sir Alex Ferguson gave his son Darren his Manchester United debut.

Darren debuted in a 2-1 away victory for Manchester United against Sheffield United on February 26, 1991.He played under his father until Darren left the club in 1994.

Redknapp

English football hero Harry Redknapp famously managed his nephew Frank Lampard at West Ham, however he also gave his son Jamie his professional debut.

At only 16 years of age, Jamie Redknapp debuted for Bournemouth in 1989 in the second division. He left for Liverpool in January 1991 where he stayed until 2002.