Football is a beautiful game that so many people enjoy as the most popular game on the planet. The game has turned out to be a career for many people.
But what about when lightning strikes twice in the same household? A leg up in the game courtesy of a generous footballing gene pool is a lot more common than you might think.
Teamkenya.co.ke takes a look at the footballing brothers that were rivals on the pitch.
Yaya and Kolo Touré
Kolo and Yaya are brothers not everyone knew about. The two graced the world's most competitive league and played against each other.
Kolo Toure was not only a solid member of Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles side’ but also went on to win the Premier League title with Man City in 2011 alongside his brother.
For Yaya, he became the first player to win African Player of the Year four times in a row in 2014 and would win a further two league titles with the Cityzens, while Kolo enjoyed one final sojourn with Celtic before hanging up his boots in 2017.
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Gary and Phil Neville
Unlike Kolo and Yaya, both men were members of United’s ‘Class of ’92’ and played under the same club at the time being coached by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Phil is not remembered as fondly as Gary at Old Trafford. He isn’t well-liked in general really, after conceding a penalty for England against Romania in Euro 2000.
And that reputation took another hit after he pitched up at Valencia as assistant manager to his brother, with the duo lasting less than a year before they were sacked following a disastrous campaign
Fabio and Raphael Da Silva
Fábio and his twin brother Rafael began their careers with Fluminense in their native Brazil before being signed by the English club Manchester United in February 2007. Unlike his brother, Fábio struggled to hold down a place in the Manchester United first eleven. The duo grew to become the best left and right back during their time at Manchester United.
Eden and Thorgan Hazard
When Chelsea learned that Eden had a younger brother they went for him straight up. In fact, Thorgan arrived at Stamford Bridge as part of the deal the Blues agreed with Lille in order to sign Eden.
However, dreams that the west Londoners could one day feature both brothers are all but over after Thorgan signed for Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2015, before joining Borussia Dortmund where he is now showcasing his worth as one of the club’s star performers in recent seasons.
Rio and Anton Ferdinand are also brothers that featured in the premier league. At the time Rio played for Manchester United while his younger brother played for Westham
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