They’re taking over. Checking out one of your favourite actor’s or musician’s Wikipedia page is almost always followed by a frustrated “oh, of course,” when you see the blue hyperlink over one of their parent’s names. You can’t throw a rock in LA without hitting a Caulkin, Quaid, or a Kardashian.
By Alex Roberts
Football is a little different. A traditionally working-class sport, the lavish lifestyle being the son of a successful player affords doesn’t usually ingrain the grit needed to make it professionally. Just look at Romeo Beckham.
Marcus Thuram, however, may be the exception to the rule, and dare we say it, giving them a good name.
Unlike lead singer of The Strokes, Julian Casablancas (we bet you didn’t know he was a nepo-baby), Marcus, son of Lilian, made it to the top the hard way, first at Sochaux, then Guincamp before heading to Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Originally a winger, Thuram has transitioned into a target man in Simone Inzaghi’s unique 3-5-2 system. Partnering Argentine ace Lautaro Martínez up top, his hold up play, and clever movement pull opposition defenders out of position, allowing for his fellow striker to move in and, well, strike.
Martínez has been the main man for Inter over the past few years, banging in goals and winning titles for the current Italian champions. Those goals have dried up somewhat this season, just nine in 27 games across all competitions so far to be precise, and now it’s Thuram’s time to shine.
He’s been at Inter for the past 18-months, arch-rivals of one his father’s old sides, and the club his younger brother Khephren currently plays for, Juventus. Dinner time in the Thuram household might be interesting, but Marcus won’t care, he’s having the season of his life.
It didn’t take long for Thuram to make his mark on the 2023-24 Serie A campaign, scoring a brace as the current champions were held to a 2-2 draw with Genoa in their first game of the season.
Alessandro Vogliacco was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring for Genoa in the 20th minute, pouncing on a loose ball that ricocheted off the crossbar after Inter failed to clear their lines.
With a steely look in his eyes, Thuram towered over the Genoa defender to nod home Nicolo Barella’s pinpoint cross, bagging his first and the equaliser for Simone Inzaghi’s side.
Thuram was an attacking threat throughout the game, finally putting his side ahead in the 82nd minute with a cheeky lob over Pierluigi Gollini. Unfortunately, his hard work was undone by Yann Bisseck, who conceded a penalty in added time, allowing Genoa to score the equaliser.
After a fairly quiet outing in the 2-0 win over Lecce in the game after, Thuram was on hand once again to play a crucial role in Inter’s 4-0 win over Atalanta, scoring a second brace in three games, as the champions inflicted the heaviest defeat on Gian Piero Gasperini’s side of the season so far.
Football mirrors life, there are peaks and troughs. Seven games for both club and country came and went, without a goal to be seen. Thuram was still productive, providing an assist in Inter’s 3-2 league win over Udinese in late September.
The Frenchman finally broke his duck on October 5 in style, scoring his first hat-trick since 2022, while at Gladbach, dragging his side to a 3-2 win over Torino at the iconic San Siro.
Torino defender Guillermo Maripan was given his marching orders after just 20 minutes for a rash tackle on Thuram. It was the type of challenge that cause lesser men to crumble, but there is nothing lesser about Marcus.
He took the game by the scruff of its neck, spanked it’s little bottom and sent it on its way. His first was with his head, the type of header that makes one reminisce about their playing days as a youngster, hearing your coach, likely someone’s dad, tell you to “head the ball back the way it came from.”
His second was also with his head, although this time, he did the exact opposite of what your mate’s dad would have told you to do. Maybe that’s why they didn’t make it pro; it wasn’t the ‘dodgy knee’ after all.
Things were looking pretty peachy for both Thuram and Inter. 2-0 up against ten-men Torino after 35 minutes, this would be a walk in the park, surely? Wrong. Serie A cult hero Duvan Zapata had other ideas.
Just one minute later, the veteran striker made it 2-1, and few anxious looks were shared between the Inter faithful. Torino weren’t going to roll over and go down without a fight. Bulls are famously not big fans of belly scratches.
Thankfully, Thuram was there to round of his hattrick with this goal coming via his feet. He was in the right place at the right time to scramble the ball into the back of the net after Torino failed to clear their lines.
Nikola Vlasic got one back from the penalty spot in the 86th minute, but it was too little, too late. Thuram had dragged his side to a win against a side who had been down to ten men since the 20th minute.
The game has been indicative of Inter’s season so far; they’ve made it harder than it needs to be. Thuram had a bit of a dry spell after, scoring just once in his next seven games, but he’s since made up for that.
With 12 goals in his 20 league games, he’s one goal off Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui at the top of the scoring charts. There is plenty of football to be played, don’t be surprised if he ends up as the top dog soon.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every game from Serie A on FotMob – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.