Football’s Boateng Brothers

When Germany and Ghana met last week, it was the second time that brothers Jerome and Kevin-Prince Boateng faced each other in a World Cup match.

Of the two half brothers, born in Berlin to the same Ghanaian father, Bayern’s Jerome chooses to represent Germany at international level, while Schalke’s Kevin-Prince wears the colours of Ghana.

“I won’t say it’s normal now,” said Jerome this week, “because a World Cup is never normal. But we’ve met each other several times in the Bundesliga, so it’s less remarkable than four years ago.”

Four years ago was different. On that day, the Boatengs’ father was said to have wept in the crowd as he heard both national anthems – with one son on either side.

At that point, though, the relationship between the two brothers was cooler than it is now.

Kevin-Prince, once the talented young star in Germany’s youth team, had been made Public Enemy Number One after his crippling tackle had ruled Michael Ballack out of the World Cup in South Africa.

Jerome, the younger of the two, was still making a name for himself.

It suited their relationship through the years. Kevin-Prince and the third, less successful brother George had grown up in Wedding, one of the less affluent areas of Berlin.

Jerome had been raised in the quiet, middle class suburb of Charlottenburg. Kevin-Prince has always been known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, Jerome for being a little more reserved.

On the field, Jerome has cut out a steady, upward trajectory to his career, and is now established as a first team player at Bayern Munich.

Kevin-Prince has excited as much as he has disappointed, and would probably have imagined himself somewhere more glamorous than Schalke at this point.

In the last few years, Kevin-Prince’s hot-headedness has given way to a notable social conscience.

In January last year, he led AC Milan team mates off the pitch in protest after racial abuse from the fans. A few weeks later, he gave a speech to the UN on racism in football.

“I think he has been rehabilitated a little bit,” said Jerome lately.

Before this game, though, there has been no holding back. The relationship between the brothers is now much stronger, but Jerome admits that they have kicked the habit of staying in touch every day now the World Cup is under way.

“It’s every man for himself,” he said.

Kevin Prince, meanwhile, has claimed that he will “play until bloodshed”.

It is the latest of a whole host of battle cries against the nation of his birth. Before the World Cup, he launched a stinging criticism of Germany, saying they “lacked leaders and guys with character”.

A victory for him would be about far more than simple fraternal rivalry.

Kevin-Prince wishes to exact his revenge on the German national team set up, who favoured Sami Khedira over him as the two emerged from the Germany youth teams. Though he cannot speak the language of his team-mates, he sees himself as Ghanaian.

Jerome, meanwhile, admits he is “in touch with my African side”, but he has never visited Ghana.

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