Jerome Boateng Biography

Jerome Boateng is a young soccer player who already has a lot of experience including one year in a foreign country. He is a center back who is forced to struggle continuously with those who hate him in Germany.

Beginnings

Jérôme Boateng was born on September 3, 1988 in Berlin, Germany. He is the son of German Nina Boateng and Ghanaian Prince Boateng Sr. His half-brother, Kevin-Prince Boateng, is a professional soccer player who currently plays for Italian club AC Milan.

Jérôme started his career playing for Tennis Borussia Berlin before he moved to Hertha BSC Berlin when he was 13 years old. He played in several youth teams and won the U17 championship in 2005.

Boateng made his Bundesliga debut on January 31st, 2007 in a game against Hannover 96. He played 10 games before the end of this season, then moved to Hamburger SV in the summer of 2007.

Hamburger SV

Hamburg paid about $1.4 million for Boateng and gave him a four-year contract. He played his first game on the 4th game day. Hamburg placed 4th in the Bundesliga and qualified for the UEFA Pokal (today Europa league).

Due to an injury at the beginning of the season 2008/2009, Boateng struggled with his form and had problems getting into the starting 11. However, he still appeared in 21 games and helped Hamburg qualify for the UEFA Europa Pokal again.

After the following season he moved to England and signed a five-year contract with Manchester City in the summer of 2010.

Manchester City

Boateng was injured in the preparation period for the new season, so he made his debut on September 25th, 2010 against Chelsea when he was substituted in the 89th minute.

He appeared in a couple of games, but he was never able to perform well. Another injury at the end of the season ended his time in England. The German giant, Bayern Munich, signed him in the summer of 2011, paying about $17 million for him.

Bayern Munich

Boateng signed a new four-year contract upon arriving. He immediately became part of the starting 11 and played 26 games in his first season for Bayern Munich.

In most of the games he had to play as full back, though. He performed well, but always said in interviews that he prefers the center back position.

His coach, Jupp Heynkes, indulged Boateng's desire for this position at the beginning of the season 2011/2012. Since David Alaba showed good performances, Philipp Lahm moved to the right back position, Alaba played as left back and Boateng could finally play his favorite position as center back.