McGarry, Probert, Nykiene, Komolong, Kai, Malo, Naidu, Feke, Tehau, Iaruel and Joseph are just some of the familar names that cropped up over the 12 days of competition in American Samoa and Samoa.
All associated with players who have etched their names in the history books of regional football.
Now as the latest generation of young football talent emerges from the same lineage, one question being raised is whether football could possibly be in the genes?
There’s little, if any, research to prove sporting talent is genetic but OFC Technical Director Patrick Jacquemet attempts to shed some light on the phenomenon here in Oceania.
“It’s an interesting subject and I think that from a young age many younger brothers or sisters, sons or daughters find themselves in a football environment,” Jacquemet says.
“Being young, they identify with their elders and try to follow in their footsteps.”
Just watching a talented sibling, mother or father probably isn’t enough to translate into success on the football field for those following generations – but their passion and dedication will help contribute.
“Players aren’t predestined to become great footballers just because family members who have come before them have been, but it will help,” Jacquemet says.
“Their passion for football starts developing from a young age and, as I said, they identify with those family members. They want to share in those moments and then, sometimes, maybe it is just in the genes.”
Papua New Guinea’s Kusuga Komolong is following in the studmarks of his older brothers Alwin and Felix, both of whom have represented their country at U-17 and U-20 level. The pair have also earned scholarships to further their football and academic pursuits alongside each other and Kusuga is set to do the same.
“My older brothers were always playing a lot of football so I just thought I’d try and copy them really, that’s how I got into it.”
“I’ve got a scholarship for a year at Westlake Boys’ High School in Auckland, New Zealand.”
With Felix already over there competing his studies at King’s College, also in Auckland, Kusuga can continue to keep a close eye on what his brother is doing.
For the Cook Islands’ Sunai Joseph again it was the allure of watching an older brother shine that drew him to the game.
“He used to play striker, I used to play striker. We both started at the front and ended up at the back,” the central defender says of just how closely his career has mirrored that of brother Mii’s.
And the similarities don’t end there with Sunai displaying the same leadership qualities as his brother, the senior national team captain, to once again shadow him by donning the armband during the Cook Islands’ OFC U-17 Championship campaign in Samoa.
Another rising talent, Samoa’s U-17 captain Frank Mariner, was also influenced into taking up the beautiful game by a family member.
The youngster is an impressive and commanding talent who excelled during the championship with mum Sally Perise Afa-Mariner cheering him on from the stands – and he says that talent is all down to her.
“Because my mum played football she really pushed me to play too and that’s why I’m really strong in it, because of my mum – so it’s all thanks to her,” Mariner says.
There are plenty more examples of how family members have contributed to a talented player’s start in the game of football.
But is this a rare phenomenon, isolated to the Oceania region? Not likely, according to Jacquemet.
“I think there are plenty of examples from around the world that would show the same results, in Europe for example with Zinedine Zidane and his three sons at Real Madrid.”
Many will remember the English example of Bobby and Jack Charlton, the bothers who helped their country to win it’s only major international trophy – the 1966 FIFA World Cup.
The Boateng brothers are another great global example. For the second time in history, Kevin-Prince and Jerome Boateng faced off against one other in a World Cup game during the FIFA World Cup in Brazil last year. Born in Berlin to a Ghanian father, Kevin-Prince great up playing for German clubs and the German youth national teams. In 2009 he decided to play at senior level for Ghana, while Jerome has continued to represent his country of birth.
So while we may only have anecdotal evidence to support the theory of football being in the genes one thing is for certain – expect to see plenty more of these players, and their famous family names, in the future.