Tough acts to follow

They say elite footballers’ children are rarely as successful in the sport as their parents. But look around. It isn’t true

- Rudraneil Sengupta

A couple of weeks ago, two brothers had a showdown.

The stage was the Derby d'Italia, the storied rivalry between two giants of Italian football: Inter Milan and Juventus. The brothers were Inter striker Marcus Thuram and his younger sibling Khephren Thuram, fast becoming Juventus's go-to holding midfielder.

They are the sons, incidentally, of football legend Lilian Thuram, one of the greatest defenders of his generation.

On the day of the face-off, Lilian was in the stands, and what an emotional roller-coaster ride it must have been for him. Both men scored within minutes of each other, in a thrilling match of fluctuating fortunes. A few days later, they were playing together for France in a World Cup qualifier.

Watching the face-off unfold, I was struck by how deeply and how frequently sporting success runs through families.