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Kevin: The Ghanaian Prince from Berlin
By Robson Sharuko.
AS Africa waits for its date with destiny on Friday, it’s a remarkable tale that its World Cup dreams are being fuelled by a wild boy — who grew up in a poor Berlin neighbourhood in Germany — and has a passion for hip-hop music that is pregnant with lyrics about sex and prostitutes, AS Africa waits for its date with destiny on Friday, it’s a remarkable tale that its World Cup dreams are being fuelled by a wild boy — who grew up in a poor Berlin neighbourhood in Germany — and has a passion for hip-hop music that is pregnant with lyrics about sex and prostitutes.
Kevin-Prince Boateng should have been playing for Germany at this World Cup. After all, he made 41 appearances for the Germany youth teams — from the national Under-15 to the national Under-19 sides — which have been credited with a fertile production line that has produced a battery of hardworking world-class players who have kept their fatherland on the top table of world football.
Eight of the players that Germany sent into battle against old enemy England, and helped them crush the Three Lions 4-1 in Bloemfontein on Sunday, were under the age of 26. Kevin-Prince is 23 and would certainly have been part of that Germany team had something not happened in March 2007, during a training camp ahead of the Under-21 European championships, which changed his world.
He was part of that Germany youth team but was somehow dropped from the training camp.
Everything changed.
He told Germany national coach Joachim Low, that same year, that his focus had changed and he would now try to concentrate on playing for Ghana’s Black Stars — the team that he had turned down when they came begging for his services ahead of the 2006 World Cup finals.
On June 24, 2009, Kevin-Prince announced that he would play for Ghana and on May 12 this year Fifa granted him the licence to switch his nationality, in terms of the national team he represents, and approved his selection for the Black Stars ahead of their campaign at this World Cup.
Almost 30 years to the day when his father, Prince Boateng, left Ghana for Germany, Kevin-Prince had sealed his spiritual reunion with his fatherland.
On Saturday, against the United States, Kevin-Prince ran more than 30 metres and then drilled home a beauty to give the Black Stars the lead in a game that they eventually won 2-1 to become only the third African nation to qualify for the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
It was his first goal for the Black Stars.
On Friday, Ghana will be bidding to become the first African nation to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup and, given the way they have played so far, they should fancy their chances against Uruguay.
Kevin-Prince, who was pulled out in the game against the United States with an injury, will be a key member of a team that will miss the services of Andre "Dede" Ayew through suspension.
But who is Kevin-Prince Boateng?
Who is this dashing young lad who has taken over the playmaking role of the Black Stars and given their game a new dimension with his bag of skills?
Who is this showman, who never misses a chance for showboating, who is turning on the style in the heart of the Black Stars midfield that even the coach has made his recovery, ahead of the game against Uruguay, a priority for the team’s medical staff?
Who is this charming lad, who is turning the hearts of African girls around the continent, with his handsome features and the skills that have made a difference to his team?
Kevin-Prince was born on March 6 1987 in a poor neighbourhood of Berlin called Wedding, where unemployment rate if above 15 percent of the working population, more than 15 000 crimes are recorded every year and there is a general dependence, by the poor residents, on welfare benefits. His father, Prince Boateng, had left Ghana in 1981 hoping for a break in Germany where he wanted to study administration but was frustrated by the system and the paperwork he ended up as a disc jockey and a waiter.
Kevin-Prince calls himself "The Ghetto Kid" because of his poor upbringing.
He was only one-and-a-half-years-old when his father left the family home and his German mother, Catherine, ended up working long hours just to take care of her children.
Maybe it was inevitable that Kevin-Prince would become a football star.
His paternal uncle was a former Ghana international who played for the Black Stars and his maternal grandfather is a cousin of legendary former Germany star, Helmut Rahn, who rose to fame when he scored his country’s winning goal in the 1954 World Cup final victory over Hungary.
Kevin-Prince was only seven when he joined Hertha Berlin and was only 17 when he played his first game for the side where he spent three years, and established himself as one the rising young football stars in Europe.
In 2007 he joined Tottenham Hotspur for 5,4 million pounds and the Ghetto Kid, who had grown in poverty, had just struck the riches and Kevin-Prince married his long-time girlfriend Jennifer, just two days after signing for Spurs.
He struggled to make an impact and was loaned back to a Germany club, Borussia Dortmund, where he made 14 appearances before he returned to England where last year Spurs sold him to Portsmouth for 4 million pounds.
Now Italian giants Lazio are waiting in the wings.
Kevin-Prince has been described as a showman, who loves to play to the gallery, and a Germany national youth coach famously dubbed him a fantasy footballer.
But he has his strengths, the obvious skill and technical balance, and he has changed in recent years to cut down on the showmanship and concentrate on working hard to improve his game.
His father only learned that Kevin-Prince had chosen to play for Ghana through the newspapers.
"I accept it. I support him completely. The German Football Association made him feel that he was no longer needed," he told Spiegel Online.
Prince Boateng has another son, Jerome, with another woman. Jerome played for the Germany team that thrashed England 4-1 and has no regrets about choosing his country of birth ahead of his fatherland. Maybe their upbringing contributed to their choices.
Kevin-Prince grew up in a poor neighbourhood and Jerome grew up in a rich neighbourhood with a mother who was an airline hostess.
Having made his choice to play for his fatherland, Kevin-Prince has been a success story as the playmaker of the Black Stars and, should he win his fitness battle and play on Friday, his contribution will be key for Ghana.
There is very little doubt that Kevin-Prince has brought a swagger into the Ghanaian attack.
No wonder coach Milovan Rajevac wants him badly for Friday’s game.
"Boateng was injured against Germany already. It is going to be a huge problem to get him ready for the next game," said Rajevac. "We are going to see how the players react in the next days. For me the priority now will be to try and get them all ready for Friday. There is a lot of work ahead for the medical staff."
Times have certainly changed for Kevin-Prince who now understands that he has a certain responsibility, to go with his growing status, and he has to behave in a certain way.
Gone are the wild days, shortly after signing for Spurs, when he would follow the London parties and he now works hard for both his game and his team.
He no longer goes on excessive shopping trips, having sorted out an addiction that saw him buy a Lamborghini, a Hummer and a Cadillac all in one day and has seen him end up with a personal stock of over 200 caps, more than 20 leather jackets and more than 160 pairs of shoes. |
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