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George Boateng (born 5 September 1975 in Nkawkaw, Ghana) is a Dutch footballer. He is a central midfielder who currently plays for English Premiership football team Hull City.

[edit] Club career

After playing 70 games for Dutch giants Feyenoord Rotterdam, Boateng completed a £220,000 move to Coventry City in 1998. Under the management of Gordon Strachan he proved himself to be a solid defensive midfielder helping the attacking Dublin-Huckerby Coventry side of 1998 finish eleventh in the Premier League and enjoy mid table stability. He is still fondly remembered by Sky Blues fans as being responsible for breaking one of Coventry's longstanding hoodoo's-victory at Villa park. Boateng scored twice in the 4-1 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park on 28 February 1999, ending Coventry's 63 year long wait for a league win at the ground.

The next season Boateng transferred to Aston Villa for £4.5 million. He proceeded to play 131 matches for Villa including an FA Cup final defeat against Chelsea in 2000. The tough tackling central midfielder then fell out with manager Graham Taylor in the 2001–02 season. That summer he completed a £5,000,000 move to Middlesbrough.

Boateng made his full debut on the first day of the 2002–03 season away to Southampton in an uneventful game that finished 0–0. Occupying the defensive midfield position he has been the solid platform upon which Middlesbrough have built their attack. He recovered from a summer ankle operation in 2003 to be fit for the start of the 2003–04 season. That season he was part of the Middlesbrough team which lifted the League Cup for the first time.

In the 2004–05 season, he scored his first-ever goal for Middlesbrough in a 4-0 win at Blackburn Rovers on 2 October 2004. However, he was injured for 8 weeks with a broken toe and it was during this period that Middlesbrough dropped from fourth down to ninth in the league. He did however recover in time to help Middlesbrough obtain the results they needed for qualification for the UEFA Cup. In a poll on the official Boro website fans voted him the player most missed due to injury in the 2004–05 season. He started for Middlesbrough in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final.

In June 2006 he signed a new three year contract with Middlesbrough. He was announced as the new club captain on 21 July 2006, replacing Gareth Southgate, who had been promoted to Manager. On 10 March 2007, he scored in an FA Cup tie against league leaders Manchester United. This was his first goal in the tournament since 1999 when he scored for Coventry against Macclesfield Town.

On 22 January 2008, Boateng had his captaincy rescinded by Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate. Southgate cited his desire for Boateng to "concentrate on his game". He was replaced as captain by Emanuel Pogatetz.

Hull City announced on 10 July 2008 that Boateng had agreed to sign a contract with them.^[1] The move was completed on 16 July, after the completion of a medical.

[edit] International career

Boateng made his international debut for the Netherlands in a 1–1 draw with Denmark in November 2001.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Club

Stats accurate as of 00:19, 30 December 2009.

[edit] Personal life

Boateng is married to his Dutch wife Adriana. Together they have two children; Eliana and Elisha.^[2] He is a devout Christian and says the faith affects the way he conducts himself on the pitch. In an interview with Church Times he explains how his family practises Christianity, "On Sundays, I’d drop my wife off and go to my [Ghanaian] church. Then we started going to a Dutch church together. We’ve become very devoted Christians. Hearing and acting on the Word is very important."^[3]

[edit] Honours

• 2000 FA Cup Final Runner-Up
• 2004 League Cup Winner
• 2006 UEFA Cup Final Runner-Up

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• George Boateng profile on Hull City official website
• George Boateng career stats at Soccerbase