AFCON 2025
What makes football an interesting sport is not just about what happens on the pitch while the match is ongoing, sometimes it’s about those tiny little details people don’t pay attention to.
Those little details develop into stories that draw the attention of football fans, pundits and the entire ecosystem of the sport.
One of the biggest sporting stories this summer is that of NBA legend, Lebron James playing alongside his son Bronny on the same team – LA Lakers.
The historic event attracted lots of attention and something like that also happens in football but not exactly.
What is obtainable in football is players playing for the team their fathers played for or players currently playing for a manager whom they once played against when the latter was a player.
This post takes a look at five players who currently play for managers who they once played against.
1. Jonny Evans and Ruben Amorim.
The longevity of Jonny Evans is amazing. The Manchester United defender is on his second stint in the club and has more than a handful of memories.
Jonny Evans once played against the newly-appointed coach of Manchester United Ruben Amorim on October 22, 2012 in a UEFA Champions League match at Old Trafford.
Evans started alongside Michael Carrick in defense as the Red Devils beat Braga 3-2 at Old Trafford. Ruben Amorim wore jearey number 5 and played as a right winger.
2. Van Dijk and Arne Slot
Arne Slot is the current manager of Liverpool and Virgil Van Dijk is the captain of the club. But Van Dijk and Arne Slot played against each other in 2013.
In 2013, Van Dijk while playing for Groningen faced Arne Slot’s Zwolle in a Erevidisie promotional match.
Arne Slot was brought on as a second half substitute but his team lost in stoppage time courtesy of Michael de Leeuw’s goal.
3. Andrea Pirlo and Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo played against Andrea Pirlo’s Juventus four times in the UEFA Champions League between 2011-2015. Pirlo went on to coach the five-time Ballon D’or winner at during Ronaldo’s last season at Juventus.
4. Andrea Pirlo and Fabio Quagliarella
Fabio Quagliarella played for 9 clubs in the Serie A between 1999 and 2003 and played against Pirlo who played for AC Milan and Juventus several times. Pirlo went on to coach Quagliarella at Sampdoria in 2023 shortly before he retired from football.
5 Ronaldo v Zidane
Cristiano Ronaldo played against Zidane once and it was at the 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-final match where France won 1-0. Zidane’s 33rd minute penalty made the difference on thw night.
Ronaldo and Zidane as assistant coach and later head coach at Real Madrid wwnt on to win multiple Champions League titles including the 3-peat between 2016 and 2018.
