Wherever he played, Lilian Thuram always won titles. These include AS Monaco, Parma Calcio, Juventus and FC Barcelona. The only title missing from his collection is the Champions League. This is the only trophy missing from the French national team defender’s collection, which includes the World Cup, Euro and Confederations Cup from 1994 to 2008.
It is the Champions League trophy that Lilian’s son and Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram can now achieve. ‘I wish I could tell my father how to win the Champions League,’ Marcus joked to Sky Sport Italia.
Lilian recorded 69 Champions League matches over the course of nine seasons. During that time, he could only experience the atmosphere of the final once. This was in the 2003 edition. Unfortunately, Juventus were defeated by AC Milan in a penalty shootout, losing 2–3. Lilian played for the full 120 minutes as right-back.
However, Marcelo Lippi, Juventus’s coach at the time, did not select him as one of the first five penalty takers.
Lilian won the 1998–99 UEFA Cup with Parma once. Marcus was only two years old at the time. If Lilian retired at the age of 36 with a total of 11 titles, then Marcus, aged 27, has won only two. These were the Serie A scudetto and the Supercoppa Italiana last season.
However, winning the Champions League early this morning could change the narrative of the comparison between Marcus and Lilian. Nevertheless, Marcus emphasised that he was not burdened by his father’s big name. “I am proud to be Lilian’s son,” he said.
Me and Khephren (his younger brother and Juventus midfielder) don’t see his success as a distraction,” he said.
The idea that few sons of football legends can surpass their father’s achievements is widespread. Jordi Cruijff, for example, is the son of Johan Cruijff, and Zinedine Zidane has four sons.
Just pursuing a football career requires a lot of hard work, let alone surpassing his father’s achievements. According to L’Equipe, only 250 out of 100 thousand young players in France spend at least one year in a training centre. Of those 250 children, only five later become professional players.
Even then, they sometimes find themselves stuck in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football.