Theo Zidane - The last of his kind at Los Blancos

They say that traits are often hereditary. And the same is said about footballers that football runs in their family when multiple generations of a famous baller end up making it as a pro. Some footballing families are filled to the brim with superstars in every generation while most of the times one family member ends up being far more talented than others. Like the Laudrup brothers who very very successful but their off springs ended up being a mixed bag at the professional level. Pogba brothers for example who among those three have seen the highs of the highs and lows of the low. One such iconic family is the Zidane family and with such name comes much pressure but also some leeway.  

If you look at the career of the all four of them in isolation, minus their background, they would seem like your run of the mill La Fabrica products at various stages in their career. But the fact that they are who they are makes it interesting for the neutrals to follow their careers with great interest and witness the trajectory they have either gone or can go towards.

Enzo Zidane

For the most part of his early he was known as Enzo Fernandez and unfortunately he is not the one who is at Chelsea right now. This one was touted to reach similar heights though when he started his career in the Real Madrid academy and raked in over 100 appearances for the reserves and had also represented France and Spain in youth internationals. Sound good up until now but it is as good as it gets as far the hype is justified. 

From here on in, he did have a couple of decent seasons in Switzerland and Portugal. Apart from that just bounced around lower leagues in Spain and France. He was around 28 when he effectively retired from the sport although there has been no official announcement, we would unfortunately not be hearing about his on field exploits anytime soon. However his topsy turvy playing days could potentially be a precursor to a great career on the touchline.

Luca Zidane

The only Zidane to don the gloves till now. He has had the most successful career out of the four brothers up until now. Luca has also amassed 30 caps as the number one between the sticks for Les Bleu youth teams up until the U-20 level. He also is the only one to have registered League appearances for the senior team in La Liga albeit they are only two. 

Luca Zidane has also carved out an identity of his own after being a reserve keeper for the most part during his time at Los Blancos thanks to an array of superstar custodians during his time with Madrid. His brief La Liga adventure with Vallecano and solid performances in the Segunda division for Eibar, Santander and Vallecano have put him in good stead and looks set for a return to La Liga soon. As keepers are often known to come of age relatively late in their careers, Luca Still has time to catch the bus to greatness, would it be a fairytale return back to Madrid as their number, highly unlikely but never say never.

Elyaz Zidane

The youngest of the  bunch, he already has 25 plus caps for France at youth level but unlike all his brothers never made the step up to the reserve team. Instead he made the switch to the Betis reserve team putting more importance on his chances to remain in the French youth squads over carving out a legacy at Madrid. It is too early to say where the career of this center back. His career shall be watched with great interest especially as he could also play as a Left Back and is described as a Physical yet street smart player.

Theo Zidane  

The last of the Zidane clan still at Madrid. He like his father is a midfielder by trade and just like his immediate older and younger brother has got over 20 youth caps for France till now. But unlike Elyaz would not be able add to his tally unless he breaks into the France senior squad. This is highly unlikely as he has exclusively featured for the reserves for the better half of the past decade. He needs to make the step up to Senior football soon which might be around the corner so one needs to watch this space.

Zidane 5-a-side team

                                                                                Enzo Zidane 

                                                    Zinedine Zidane                   Theo Zidane

                                                                                Elyaz Zidane

                                                                               Luca Zidane 

                                                                                     (GK)     

Cover Credits - Goal.com