World Cup 2010: Boateng takes centre stage in Germany-Ghana clash

Published on: 22 June 2010

In Ghana and Germany, all eyes will be on one person on Wednesday when the two sides clash in a crucial World Cup game.

The guy is Kevin-Prince Boateng, the man whose foul put Michael Ballack out of the World Cup.

And he has promised to do his talking on the pitch!

Up until now, the midfielder (23), who was born and raised in Berlin but represents Ghana, had avoided all questions ahead of the final group game.

But he has broken his silence – albeit in limited fashion – saying: “I will answer my critics on the pitch!”

The Ghana football federation has advised him not to speak publicly about the matter, “so as not to further stir up emotions in Germany”, spokesman Randy Addy said.

And Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac is concerned about his controversial midfield star: “He must not react to provocation from Germany. He should just concentrate on playing football and clear his head of anything else. He might have been born in Germany, but that musn’t get to his head.”

Half-brother Jerome is an unlikely defender of his brother after rowing with him after the Ballack incident.

The pair have not spoken since, but Jerome, who plays for Hamburg, has stood up for him, telling ‘Tagesspiegel’: “Kevin is a man who makes mistakes like everybody else.

"He didn’t do it on purpose, he didn’t want to take Michael Ballack’s World Cup away from him.”

Ghana trained out of sight of the press yesterday, as is usual two days before a game.

Yet the Ghanaian camp is anything but calm.

There is controversy around Champions League winner Sulley Muntari (25) of Inter Milan, who has lost his starting place in the team to Boateng.

The frustrated midfield star insulted his coach and fellow players after the 1-1 draw against Australia.

Only after pleas from other members of the squad did Rajevac retract his initial decision to send Muntari home.

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