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News, Blog and GuidesSometimes together, sometimes as opponents, there have been many cases of brothers sharing time out on the pitch in MLS. Let’s take a look at those who have starred for the same team.
Andy HallUpdate: Jul 18th, 2024 06:54 EDT0
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Like all sports, soccer can be very much a family affair at times with fathers, mothers, sons and daughters all getting involved – occasionally at the same time. Many siblings will have played together since childhood and a fortunate few might make the grade and turn professional. An even smaller number will be from the same family, carving out their playing careers at the same time.
Famous soccer siblings
Over the years there have been many famous football brothers – Michael and Brian Laudrup, Ronald and Frank De Boer, Filippo and Simone Inzaghi, the Neville brothers at Man United and Athletic Club’s Iñaki and Nico Williams. All of them made, or are still making their mark in Europe’s top leagues but there are examples in MLS too.
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This week Cavan Sullivan came on as a late sub for the Philadelphia Union in Wednesday’s home game against the New England Revolution to become the youngest player to debut in Major League Soccer and also join a small but growing list of brothers who have played alongside each other in the league.
In total, 19 siblings have played a game together, at the same time, for the same team in MLS. Curiously, the list includes Union coach Jim Curtin, who brought on the Sullivans for the final minutes of last night’s match. He was part of Dave Sarachan’s Chicago Fire with his brother Jeff, also a defender, back in 2007.
Before the Sullivans’ joint appearance for the Union last night, the previous case involved the Higuaín brothers, Federico and Gonzalo who did it with two different teams. They were on the pitch together in two games when they were both on the books at River Plate in 2005 and were reunited at Inter Miami when Federico joined the Herons from DC United in October 2020. The brothers made their first joint appearance in the 1-1 draw against Atlanta United on 14 October 2020 – Gonzalo in the starting XI and Federico coming off the bench.
Lineup Notes:📋- Federico Higuaín will make his starting debut alongside his brother Gonzalo.-Sami Guediri will also be making his starting debut. pic.twitter.com/REP2nfGxfZ
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) May 16, 2021
Brothers who have played at least one game together in MLS
Chris and Sean Henderson (Colorado Rapids: 1996-1998)Alexi and Greg Lalas (New England Revolution: 1997)Judah and Micah Cooks (DC United: 2000-2001)DaMarcus and Jamar Beasley (Chicago Fire: 2001)Martin and Fausto Klinger (MetroStars: 2001)Daouda and Ibrahim Kante (New England Revolution: 2003)Brian and Jeff Carroll (DC United: 2006-07)Jim and Jeff Curtin (Chicago Fire: 2007)Chris and Stephen Wondolowski (Houston Dynamo: 2008)Gabriel and Michael Farfan (Philadelphia Union: 2011-2012)Bradley and Shaun Wright-Phillips (New York Red Bulls: 2015)Jose and Jaime Villarreal (LA Galaxy: 2017)Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos (LA Galaxy: 2017-2018)David and Mathieu Choiniere (Montreal Impact: 2018)Cristian and Alex Roldán (Seattle Sounders: 2018-2020)Diego and Yimmi Chará (Portland Timbers: 2020)Gabriel and Nicholas Slonina (Chicago Fire: 2020)Federico and Gonzalo Higuaín (Inter Miami CF: 2020)Quinn and Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union: 2024)
The Higuaíns, MLS’ Argentine hermanos
That was the first of 25 games in which the Higuaín brothers starred together for Miami. They both appeared in the starting XI for the first time in the 2-3 win over Cincinnati in May 2021, Federico playing in the hole just behind his younger brother and providing the assist for the first of Gonzalo’s two goals in the game.
Federico and Gonzalo started a total of seven games together during their time at Inter Miami with the crowning moment for the family coming on 23 October 2021 when both brothers ended on the scoresheet – Fede opening the scoring in the 5-1 win over Cincinnati then supplying his brother Gonzalo to score the team’s second after the break.
Brotherly love. ❤️6 brothers have combined for goals in MLS history:▪️ Gonzalo & Federico Higuaín▪️ Diego & Yimmi Chará▪️ Alex & Cristian Roldan▪️ Bradley & Shaun Wright-Phillips▪️ DaMarcus & Jamar Beasley▪️ Chris & Sean Henderson pic.twitter.com/Ob6cBpBo0t
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 24, 2021
Before them, the Chará brothers, Yimmi and Diego, played together with the Portland Timbers. They took had already played for the same team earlier in their respective careers in Colombia with Deportes Tolima. They both featured in the starting line-up in the 1-3 home defeat to Minnesota in February 2020 – the first of 96 games in which they were both on the pitch at the same time for Portland.
