It is an position and worldview that took Boateng to the landmark of 300 Bundesliga appearances in the Matchday 17 fastness in Augsburg, 215 of which have come across 10 silverware-laden seasons at Bayern Munich .
Boateng may be 32 now, but he however has the quality to perform at the highest tied.
– Lars Baron/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images
“ I grew up in a different area of Berlin to my two brothers, but that made me change my game and become a piece hard, because we always played against older boys and we played on concrete, ” Boateng told VICE Sports. “ There was no such thing as a afoul. You were younger and you were n’t as firm but you had to make the best out of it. ” The youngest of three siblings – Kevin-Prince, once of Borussia Dortmund, Schalke and Eintracht Frankfur triiodothyronine, and George, the eldest, are his half-brothers – Jerome was arguably the least talented football player in the family growing up, but what he may have lacked in ability, he compensated for with application. George was a precociously gifted forward whose performances in the youth sides at Hertha Berlin earned rave reviews, although was ultimately not able to make the mark professionally. The younger two brothers succeeded where the elder did not, but it is Jerome that has gone on to enjoy the most distinguish career of them all, and that owe a lot to his swerve difficult employment and determination. They are just a year apart in age, but throughout their childhood, there existed a exquisite competition between Jerome and Kevin-Prince, who constantly seemed to be a dance step ahead in his development . Jerome lived in the tail of older brother Kevin-Prince ( r. ) for many years, before developing into a king.
– 2013 Getty Images
He won the gold Fritz-Walter-Medal for the best U-19 musician in Germany in 2006, while Jerome won bronze in the same category a year late ; Kevin-Prince played well more frequently in Hertha ‘s first team ( 42 Bundesliga appearances to 10 ) ; and in 2007, he made a high-profile transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, while Jerome moved to Hamburg for a significantly smaller fee. Yet the latter made it his mission to learn from his brothers and turn his weaknesses into strengths. “ They could play with their left foot besides but I could n’t, then I barely started training with that foot. And it paid off. ” And how. right side or leave, short passes or long, Boateng ‘s manipulation of the ball – with either foot – is now faultless. He has worked so arduous, in fact, that aside from injury misfortune, he arguably has no failing these days. That will to graft and his indomitable attitude not merely helped Boateng improve to the level where he could make it as a professional, it has besides been full of life to him staying at the acme. For despite the trophies – and there have been enough – there have been setbacks besides.
Niklas Süle ‘s arrival at Bayern pushed Boateng down the centre-back nag order, with former head bus Niko Kovic publicly admitting adenine much in the 2018/19 season. The subsequent arrivals of chap defenders Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez were besides thought to spell the end of his Bayern career, while his omission from the Germany national team was undoubtedly a blow. And yet the 32-year-old is however going strong. This season lone four players have had more Bundesliga action than Boateng ( Manuel Neuer, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller and David Alaba ), while he has been in the club ‘s crown 11 players for minutes played in each of the last three campaigns. Longevity and genial huskiness digression, the Bayern No.17 has plenty of early attributes. Being comfortably two-footed is one of the key assets a top-level centre-back needs in the advanced game, and when it comes to Spielaufbau – bringing the ball out from the back and starting an attack – few players in world football do it better. “ It ‘s incredible to be able to open up the game like that as a centre-back, ” is how teammate Müller once put it, while erstwhile coach Pep Guardiola said : “ When it comes to build-up play, Jerome is one of the best approximately. ” Without the ball, Boateng is just as bad. incorrectly criticised for a miss of pace by some observers, his top accelerate in 2020/21 of 21.34 miles per hour ( 34.39 kilometers per hour ) is the sixth-fastest by a centre-back in the Bundesliga this season, and 38th overall. acrobatic and deoxyadenosine monophosphate firm as an ox, he is about unbeatable in one-on-one situations, and his concentration, which was an exit in younger years, has improved no end. “ Bayern have the testis a fortune. We ‘re only truly challenged a few times per crippled sometimes, and then you fair truly have to be awake. And I used to be a striker so I know what they want to do, ” he said. After eight Bundesliga titles, five DFB Cups, two UEFA Champions League titles – including two treble-winning seasons – and, of course, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, there is small remaining that he is even to win. so possibly it therefore makes sense that he is equitable equally focused on his independent off-field passions – fashion and music – as he is on it . A snappish dresser off the pitch, Boateng is equally sharp on it.
– imago sportfotodienst/imago/Sven Simon
Boateng was named Best Dressed man by Germany ‘s GQ magazine in 2015, has rubbed shoulders with musicians such as Ice Cube and Drake and is even signed to Roc Nation in the United States, a talent agency run by pat headliner Jay Z. He besides takes an active agent interest in charitable causes, supporting his brother George in raising awareness of Down ‘s syndrome.
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so far for all his extra-curricular interests, it is playing football that he does best. “ I do n’t want any regrets when my career is over. I want to give everything until the day I stop playing, ” he said in 2014. That day is still some way off, but as a role model whose case is to be followed on and off the pitch, his bequest is already guaranteed .