George Boateng

George Boateng

Boateng playing for Middlesbrough
Personal information
Full name George Boateng
Date of birth 5 September 1975 (1975-09-05) (age 36)
Place of birth Nkawkaw, Ghana
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current club Nottingham Forest
Number 6[1]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1995 Excelsior 9 (0)
1995–1998 Feyenoord 68 (1)
1998–1999 Coventry City 46 (5)
1999–2002 Aston Villa 103 (4)
2002–2008 Middlesbrough 182 (7)
2008–2010 Hull City 52 (1)
2010–2011 Skoda Xanthi 19 (2)
2011– Nottingham Forest 5 (1)
National team
2001–2006 Netherlands 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:47, 21 August 2011 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 July, 2008

George Boateng (born 5 September 1975) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a midfielder for Nottingham Forest in The Championship.

Contents

Club career

Born in Nkawkaw, Ghana, after playing 70 games for Dutch giants Feyenoord Rotterdam, Boateng completed a £220,000 move to Coventry City in 1998. Under the management of Gordon Strachan he proved himself to be a solid defensive midfielder, helping the attacking Dublin-Huckerby Coventry side of 1998 finish eleventh in the Premier League and enjoy mid table stability. He is still fondly remembered by Sky Blues fans as being responsible for breaking one of Coventry's longstanding hoodoo's-victory at Villa Park: Boateng scored twice in the 4–1 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park on 27 February 1999, ending Coventry's 63 year long wait for a league win at the ground.

The next season Boateng transferred to Aston Villa for £4.5 million. He proceeded to play 131 matches for Villa, including an FA Cup final defeat against Chelsea in 2000. The tough-tackling central midfielder then fell out with manager Graham Taylor in the 2001–02 season, and that summer he completed a £5 million move to Middlesbrough.

Boateng made his full debut on the first day of the 2002–03 season away to Southampton in an uneventful game that finished 0–0. Occupying the defensive midfield position, he became the solid platform upon which Middlesbrough built their attack. He recovered from an ankle operation in the summer of 2003 to be fit for the start of the 2003–04 season. That season, he was part of the Middlesbrough team which lifted the League Cup for the first time.

In the 2004–05 season, he scored his first goal for Middlesbrough in a 4–0 win at Blackburn Rovers on 16 October 2004. However, he was injured for eight weeks with a broken toe; during this period, Middlesbrough dropped from fourth down to ninth in the league. He did recover in time to help Middlesbrough obtain the results they needed for qualification for the UEFA Cup. In a poll on the official Boro website, fans voted him the player most missed due to injury in the 2004–05 season. He started for Middlesbrough in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final.

In June 2006 he signed a new three year contract with Middlesbrough. He was announced as the new club captain on 21 July 2006, replacing Gareth Southgate, who had been promoted to manager. On 10 March 2007, he scored in an FA Cup tie against league leaders Manchester United, his first goal in the tournament since 1999 when he scored for Coventry against Macclesfield Town.

On 22 January 2008, Boateng had his captaincy rescinded by Gareth Southgate. Southgate cited his desire for Boateng to "concentrate on his game". He was replaced as captain by Emanuel Pogatetz.

Hull City announced on 10 July 2008 that Boateng had agreed to sign a contract with them.[2] The move was completed on 16 July, after the completion of a medical. On 6 February 2010, Boateng scored his first career goal for Hull City in a 2–1 win over Manchester City, their first win since November 2009.[3]

Boateng's contract with Hull City came to an end following their relegation from the Premier League in 2010. He was confirmed as having left the club along with fellow former Dutch national team-mate Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

After holding talks with Celtic[4] and West Bromwich Albion[5] he joined Greek side Skoda Xanthi on a two-year deal.[6]

On 27 July 2011, it was announced that Boateng had joined Nottingham Forest, on a one-year deal.[7]

Boateng scored his first goal for Nottingham Forest in dramatic fashion, scoring in the 94th minute to grab Forest a point against Leicester City.

International career

Although born in Ghana Boateng chose to represent Netherlands at international level earning four caps in total for the Dutch. Boateng made his international debut for the Netherlands in a 1–1 draw with Denmark in November 2001.

Career statistics

Club

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
HOL League Cup League Cup Continental Total
1994–95 SBV Excelsior Eerste Divisie 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
SBV Excelsior Total 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
1995–96 Feyenoord Eredivisie 0 0 0 0 0 0
1996–97 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997–98 0 0 0 0 2 0
Feyenoord Total 68 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 70 1
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
1997–98 Coventry City Premier League 14 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 19 1
1998–99 32 4 3 1 3 1 0 0 38 6
Coventry City Total 46 5 8 1 3 1 0 0 57 7
1999–00 Aston Villa Premier League 33 2 5 0 7 1 0 0 45 3
2000–01 33 1 3 0 1 0 4 0 41 1
2001–02 37 1 1 0 2 0 8 0 48 1
2002–03 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Aston Villa Total 103 4 9 0 10 1 13 0 135 5
2002–03 Middlesbrough Premier League 28 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 0
2003–04 35 0 2 0 6 0 0 0 43 0
2004–05 25 3 0 0 0 0 4 0 29 3
2005–06 26 2 4 0 2 0 12 1 44 3
2006–07 35 1 6 1 0 0 0 0 41 2
2007–08 33 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 38 1
Middlesbrough Total 182 7 15 1 10 0 16 1 223 9
2008–09 Hull City Premier League 23 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 25 0
2009–10 29 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 31 1
Hull City Total 52 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 56 0
2010–11 Skoda Xanthi Greek Superleague 19 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 2
Skoda Xanthi Total 19 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 2
2011-12 Nottingham Forest Football League Championship 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 1
Career total 479 20 35 2 24 1 31 1 569 24

Stats accurate as of 12:48, 20 July 2011 (EET)

Personal life

Boateng is married to his Dutch wife Adriana. Together they have two children; Eliana and Elisha.[8] He is a devout Christian and says the faith affects the way he conducts himself on the pitch. In an interview with Church Times he explains how his family practices Christianity, "On Sundays, I’d drop my wife off and go to my [Ghanaian] church. Then we started going to a Dutch church together. We’ve become very devoted Christians. Hearing and acting on the Word is very important."[9]

Honours

Aston Villa
Middlesbrough

References

  1. ^ "Squad Numbers Announced". nottinghamforest.co.uk. 27 July 2011. http://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10308~2403484,00.html. Retrieved 27 July 2011. 
  2. ^ "Hull agree contract with Boateng". BBC Sport (BBC). 2008-07-10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hull_city/7498807.stm. Retrieved 2008-06-10. 
  3. ^ "Hull 2–1 Man City". BBC Sport (BBC). 2010-02-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/8498610.stm. Retrieved 2010-02-06. 
  4. ^ "Boateng keen on Celtic". Sky Sports (Sky Sports). 2010-07-12. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11787_6256978,00.html. Retrieved 2010-07-12. 
  5. ^ "West Brom eye move for George Boateng as former Hull City star trains with Albion". Daily Mail (London). 2010-07-22. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1296666/West-Brom-eye-George-Boateng-Hull-City-star-trains-Albion.html. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  6. ^ "Boateng moves to Greece". Sky Sports. 2010-07-30. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12875_6286754,00.html. Retrieved 2010-07-30. 
  7. ^ "George Boateng to join Hasselbaink at Nottingham Forest". BBC Sport. 2011-07-21. http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14215738.stm. Retrieved 2011-07-21. 
  8. ^ "George Boateng discusses his faith". Gazette Live. 2008-04-30. http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2008/04/30/george-boateng-discusses-his-faith-84229-20841477/. Retrieved 2009-12-25. 
  9. ^ "George Boateng, Darren Moore, Joseph-Desire Job and Carlo Nash". Church Times. 2006-10-27. http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=24723. Retrieved 2009-12-25. 

External links