Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we focus on German brothers, Rani and Sami Khedira.
Families in Football: Rani and Sami Khedira
Sami Khedira
An older brother by seven years, Sami Khedira has enjoyed a wide array of success at domestic and international level throughout his career.
The former Germany international came through the academy with Stuttgart – the town in which the brothers were born. The midfielder made 22 appearances for the B team before spending four seasons with Die Roten in the Bundesliga. Sami scored 16 times from 132 appearances and won the league title in his first full season at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion.
His impressive displays led to Real Madrid signing the youngster. Khedira made 40 appearances in his first season at the Bernabeu where he won the Copa del Rey with victory over rivals Barcelona.
Sami would go on to win one La Liga title along with a further Copa del Rey, one Supercopa de España, one Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup before joining Juventus on a free transfer after five seasons in Spain.
Success continued in Italy, winning nine trophies in just five seasons. This included five successive Serie A titles, three Copa Italia’s and one Supercoppa Italiana, along with a runners up medal in the 2016/17 Champions League, which was won by his former club.
Before his move to Italy, Sami was a key part of the Germany side that won the 2014 World Cup. He has since made 77 appearances for Die Mannschaft, scoring seven times.
In February 2021, Sami returned to the Bundesliga and joined Hertha Berlin. However, the midfielder made just nine appearances before announcing his retirement in the summer.
Rani Khedira
Like his older brother, Rani Khedira also came through the Stuttgart academy. The midfielder scored once from 56 appearances for the B team before establishing himself in the senior set-up.
However, Rani only turned out nine times for Die Roten before dropping down a division to join RB Leipzig. The midfielder made 54 appearances for the club, winning promotion to the Bundesliga in his first season.
With game time hard to come by, Rani made the switch to Augsburg. The midfielder turned out 127 times for the Fuggerstädter before joining Union Berlin in the summer.
Rani is yet to make a senior appearance for the German national team but has represented his country 13 times at various youth levels.
Interesting Facts
On top of his 2014 World Cup win, Sami also won the 2009 European U21 Championship with Germany and came in third place for the senior side ar the 2010 World Cup.
Rani has a qualification as a sports and fitness salesman.
Unlike many of the other players in this series, the brothers have never played on the same team or on opposing sides.
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