Johan Cruyff’s soccer bloodline lives on through grandson Shae Cruijff-Beane, who has been selected for the first time by the U-18 United States men’s national team.

The 17-year-old midfielder, contracted to Spanish club Gimnàstic de Tarragona, will travel with the U-18 squad to training camp in Portugal for matches this month against Norway and Portugal.

Cruijff-Beane—the spelling matches the original Dutch version of the family name rather than the anglicized and more internationally known ‘Cruyff’—is eligible to play for the U.S, because of his American father, Todd Beane. His mother is Johan Cruyff’s daughter, Chantal.

He is additionally eligible to represent the Netherlands through his mother and grandfather, as well as Spain, having grown up in Catalonia—Tarragona is just over 60 miles down Spain’s east coast from Barcelona—where the family still holds strong roots.

Chantal herself spent part of her early childhood in Barcelona during Cruyff’s playing career and later returned as a teenager when her father was appointed manager in 1988.

Chantal has an older son, 33-year-old Jesjua Angoy-Cruyff, who played at Barcelona’s La Masia between the ages of 15 and 18, but was retired by 25 after failing to make it as a pro. Angoy-Cruyff is the son of former Barcelona B goalkeeper Jesús Angoy.

Cruyff, who passed away aged 68 in 2016, is among soccer’s all-time great players and managers, while his legacy and influence are felt the world over. From being a central part of the Dutch ‘Total Football’ revolution that began in the late 1960s and gave birth to tiki-taka, to the mastermind behind Barcelona’s approach to youth development that eventually gave the world Pep Guardiola, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and so many others.

Famous Soccer Families Spanning Three (or More) Generations

If Cruijff-Beane makes it in the pro game, it would be a third generation for the family.

Cruyff’s son, Jordi—Cruijff-Beane’s uncle, emerged from the Barcelona talent conveyor belt in the early 1990s and later played for Manchester United, albeit with limited success due to injuries. He has found success in retirement as a manager and executive, currently serving since 2025 as Ajax sporting director—the club where it all began for his father.

Sons following fathers into professional soccer is not uncommon, but third and fourth generation players are much rarer because of how difficult it is to establish a career in any pro sport. But there are several examples of it happening.

The Maldini dynasty is in its third generation, starting with AC Milan legend Cesare Maldini in the 1960s, paving the way for Paolo Maldini to become one of the world’s greatest ever defenders in 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Daniel Maldini made a handful of appearances for the Rossoneri at the start his own career in the 2020s and is still playing in Serie A for Cagliari, on loan from Atalanta.

It may surprise you to learn that Pelé was the second link in the three-generation Do Nascimento soccer family, although his father, Dondinho, and his son, Edinho, had much more modest careers in Brazil than one of the greatest of all time.

Kluivert is another, with Kenneth Kluivert a professional player in Suriname. His son and grandson, Patrick and Justin, have made the family name known around the world.

Eiður Guðjohnsen was once substituted on to replace his own father, Arnór Borg, during an international match with Iceland in 1994. Now, all three of the former Chelsea and Barcelona forward’s sons are pro players in Iceland, Sweden and England.

In Spain, the Alonso family is tied to both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Former Chelsea left back Marcos Alonso emerged from the Real Madrid youth system and later played for Barcelona. His father, Marcos, was a Barcelona player and Spain international in the 1980s. In turn, his father, Marquitos, was a member of Real Madrid’s all-conquering 1950s team.

Remarkably, four generations of the Veselý family have played for Czech team Slavia Prague. The most famous member was František Veselý II, a star of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as a European champion with Czechoslovakia. His father and son, both also named František Veselý turned out for Slavia. A fourth Veselý, Daniel, made a handful of appearance in the 2010s.

This article was originally published on www.si.com as One of Soccer’s Greatest Family Dynasties Is Fueled by USMNT Call-Up.