He may be famed for collecting titles on a conveyor belt with Bayern Munich and Germany, but there is much more to Jerome Boateng than what you see on the pitch.
bundesliga.com highlights 10 little-known nuggets about the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner…
1) Aygenim Boateng?
Yup, that's right. You've been watching Boateng play all these years without realising he has an unusual middle name – one he even has tattooed (more on this below) all the way up his right forearm. Boateng's father, Prince, is from Ghana so he gave him the moniker in a nod to those African roots. Meaning 'The Great One' in local dialect Ashanti-Twi, there can be little doubt the centre-back has certainly lived up to his billing.
2) Tottenham? No thanks!
Born and raised in Berlin, Boateng initially cut his teeth in the game in the Tennis Borussia Berlin youth sides, before being snapped up by the city's biggest club, Hertha, at the age of 14 in 2002. He progressed rapidly and made his Bundesliga debut five years later in the second half of the 2006/07 campaign.
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