The son of a title-winning Celtic hero has vowed to follow in his dad’s footsteps after making his pro debut for FC Twente Enschede.
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink spent three years at Parkhead, claiming two league winners medals and lifted the Scottish Cup and League Cup. Now son Lucas is following in his old man’s footsteps. Born just before the big striker made the move to Glasgow in 2006, the 18-year-old came off the bench for Twente – where JVH Sr started his career – in their 6-2 win over Willem II at the weekend. Now the new debutant wants to emulate his dad, who won 19 Dutch caps and played in the finals of the World Cup and European Championship and is now technical director for PSV Eindhoven‘s Youth Academy.
He said: “It is incredibly nice that I was able to make my debut and fantastic that the fans were singing my name. If you have such a special name as I do, you have to cherish it. I think I can be proud of this name.
“It motivates me to become as good as my father although I want to surpass what he did in his career. I lived abroad for a few years, in Scotland and Austria, when my father played for Celtic and Rapid Vienna, but I don’t remember much about that.
“Of course, I looked back on a lot of things from his career. You can find everything on the internet. My dad sometimes gives an example of how he used to do it and gives me tips.
“I have the feeling that I am a bit more agile than my father. I can get out of my position a bit quicker. There is still room for improvement in my speed and explosiveness. What we are both very good at is heading. That has been passed on from father to son. That is a bit of him in there.”