Successful father-son managers at the top-level competitions, either at the club level or international football, are still rare to find.
Football can run in the family.
In top-level football, one may have seen plenty of examples of a successful player who follows in his father’s great footsteps.
The likes of Kasper and Peter Schmeichel or Giovanni and Diego Simeone are the current examples.
Both manage to build their careers at the top level and thrive, even though their level of success might still not be exactly the same.
However, a similar case is not easy to find in the managerial career. Most successful managers have heirs who follow in their footsteps. Yet, they mostly fail to reach the top level. Let alone replicate their father’s success.
The likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough are the perfect examples. Their sons, Darren and Nigel, have never been able to be employed by the top-tier teams.
They are currently in charge of Peterborough and Mansfield Town, respectively. Both only compete at the third level of the English football system.
This season, one name has risen to prominence and can potentially succeed at the top level as his father did.
Eintracht Frankfurt boss Dino Toppmöller is such a figure. He is the son of Klaus Toppmöller, the only manager who was able to lead Bayer Leverkusen to reach the UEFA Champions League in 2002.
Dino has been at the helm of Frankfurt since 2023 and guided them to sit third in the current campaign.
His team is also still in contention to win silverware in the continental competition, as they have advanced to the Europa League quarterfinals.
Last season, the former VfL Bochum man managed to bring Mario Götze and Co. to finish sixth in the standings despite his lack of experience at the top-level club as a head coach.
His last stint as a manager was taking charge of Luxembourg’s F91 Dudelange and Belgium semi-pro side, RE Virton, which is currently owned by the 2019 World Cup winner N’Golo Kanté, from 2016 to 2019.
Dino’s previous role was as an assistant manager under Julian Nagelsmann in Bayern Munich.
Sadly, he was sacked too by Die Roten following his superior’s dismissal from Allianz Arena.
His potential success could be seen as an anomaly, but he is, as a matter of fact, not the only one who achieved the same or even better than his father as a gaffer. Here are the other father-son managers who also thrive at the top level.
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The Current Father-Son Managers Thriving at the Top Level
Guy-Julien Stéphan
This is probably one of the current examples of the father-son managers at the club level. Guy Stéphan is currently serving as the assistant of Didier Deschamps in Les Bleus, a position he has been in charge of since 2012.
Previously, he was at the helm of Caen, Lyon, and Bordeaux, plus the Senegal national team, without any notable success.
His best achievement was only leading El Hadji Diouf and Co. to the quarterfinal in AFCON 2024 and guiding Lyon to an 11th-place finish in the 1995/96 campaign.
However, his son, Julien, has better spells as a manager.
The former Rennes boss won the French Cup in 2019 after beating Neymar’s PSG on penalties. He even brought them to end their league campaign in third place in the following season and made their debut in the UEFA Champions League 2021.
The former defensive midfielder also managed to help Strasbourg sit sixth in the 2021/22 season. It has been their best finish since 1980.
Sadly, he was unable to replicate his glorious campaign in the second stint with Rennes last season.
Julien was sacked in January 2023 when his team was in the relegation zone.
Anghel-Edward Iordanescu
In international football, the perfect example of father-son managers are none but the former Romania boss who left the post after EURO 2024, Edward Iordănescu and his father. He is the son of Romania’s legendary gaffer, Anghel.
His father’s success might still be much better than his own since he managed to guide Steaua Bucharest to win the UEFA Super Cup in 1986, was a finalist in the 1989 European Cup, and led Georghe Hagi and Co. to three consecutive major tournaments: the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups and UEFA EURO 1996.
Anghel was also the one who brought his nation to qualify for EURO 2008 and 2016.
Edward might still be in the process of making his mark in his career, but he has achieved something that his father could not achieve in the EURO.
The former FCSB (the new name of Steaua Bucharest) boss was able to lead Romania to qualify for the knockout stage in EURO 2024.
Radu Drăgușin and Co. toppled the favourites, Belgium and Ukraine, in the group stage before losing to the Netherlands in the round of 16.
Nevertheless, he is currently unattached after leaving his post in the Romanian national team. He was succeeded by the more senior figure, Mircea Lucescu.
Interestingly, the former Shakhtar Donetsk and Galatasaray boss has a son who has been following in his footsteps, Răzvan Lucescu.
The latter was once also named Romania’s manager but could not reach the same success as Edward Iordănescu.
Mircea-Răzvan Lucescu is another example of father-son managers who failed at the top level.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / sport pictures-Razvan Pasarica
Recording Date: 07.11.2021