On 23 June 2010, at Soccer City in Johannesburg, two brothers walked out for a World Cup match wearing different shirts. Jérôme Boateng played for Germany. Kevin-Prince Boateng played for Ghana.
It was the first time brothers had played against each other at a World Cup.
One father, Berlin childhoods
Jérôme and Kevin-Prince are half-brothers. They share a Ghanaian father and have different German mothers. They grew up in different parts of Berlin, Kevin-Prince in the tougher district of Wedding and Jérôme in a more comfortable area, and both played in the youth teams of Hertha Berlin.
A third brother, George, also played football but did not reach the same level.
Two paths
Both played for Germany’s youth teams. Jérôme went on to the senior German side. Kevin-Prince, frustrated with his treatment by the German federation, switched to Ghana in 2010, shortly before the World Cup.
The Ballack tackle
Weeks before the tournament, Kevin-Prince, playing for Portsmouth, fouled Germany’s captain Michael Ballack in the FA Cup final. Ballack’s ankle injury ruled him out of the World Cup, and Kevin-Prince was widely criticised in Germany.
The match
Germany and Ghana met in the final group match in 2010. Germany won 1-0 with a goal from Mesut Özil. Both teams went through to the knockout rounds, and Ghana went on to reach the quarter-final, where they lost to Uruguay on penalties.
2014
The brothers met again at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The match in Fortaleza ended 2-2. Germany went on to win the tournament, with Jérôme a key defender in the team.
Careers
Jérôme won the Champions League with Bayern Munich and many German league titles. Kevin-Prince played for clubs including AC Milan, Schalke, Barcelona and Hertha. In 2013, playing for Milan in a friendly, he walked off the pitch in protest at racist chants, a moment that drew worldwide attention.
Kevin-Prince’s Ghana career ended in controversy when he was sent home from the 2014 World Cup after a dispute with team management.
A Ghana career
For Ghana, Kevin-Prince brought energy and experience from the European game. At the 2010 World Cup, he scored against the United States in the round of 16, a match Ghana won in extra time to reach the quarter-final.
Brothers first
The brothers have said they remain close despite the headlines. Their story is one of the best-known examples of footballers with two countries to choose from, and how two sons of the same Ghanaian father ended up on opposite sides of the same pitch.
