Kevin-Prince Boateng Revisiting Tottenham Hotspur Debacle
German-born Ghanaian midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, 28, is unwanted by Schalke.
It is a repeat of his experience at Tottenham Hotspur.
Here is a retro report of Boateng's ill-fated, high-risk, high-reward transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.
Hertha Berlin Angst
"You've scored one goal," Michael Ballack, an all-time great midfielder for Bayern Munich, said to Boateng in 2006, an unproven but exceedingly gifted Hertha Berlin teenager. "And you [already] think you are the best."
Ballack humiliated a pride-fuelled Boateng, who "has never forgotten that," according to his father, per the Hamburger Morgenpost (h/t Mark Fleming at the Independent).
Grafting at Chemnitzer before making it at Kaiserslautern and then starring at Bayer Leverkusen, Ballack had tasted what it was like to struggle.
Now he was playing against Boateng, an arrogant bigmouth and flashy German youth international with not much end product.
This was the context behind Ballack's acerbic, demeaning and spiteful trash-talking to Boateng, who was still an impressionable kid.
Even if Ballack's intention was to play mind games with Boateng, it was a prescient comment which has defined one of the most underwhelming careers in recent memory.
"I didn't even train sometimes [at Hertha Berlin because] I just thought 'yeah, I'm a big player now'," Boateng said, per Matt Weiner at the Sabotage Times. "I took everything easy and didn't work hard."
It was the antithesis to what Hertha Berlin youth program chief coordinator Frank Vogel told to the youngsters being promoted to the first team.
"They [need to] develop consistency, don't get injured and possess that special personal drive to become a top Bundesliga player," Vogel said, per Jefferson Chase at Deutsche Welle. "One or two of them will certainly get the chance to play for [Germany] at one of the big events."
For Boateng, Vogel's advice went in one ear and out the other.
Receiving the 2006 U-19 Fritz Walter Gold Medal, Boateng was the No. 1 German prospect in his age group.
In his first season (2005-06) as a Hertha Berlin regular, he was placed at No. 78 out of 213 footballers in Kicker's Bundesliga player rankings.
He was rated above Bastian Schweinsteiger (No. 87), Eugen Polanski (No. 91), Mario Gomez (No. 105), Thomas Broich (No. 125) and Lukas Podolski (No. 155).
The next season, Kicker placed Boateng at No. 82 out of 217 players.
He was ahead of Philipp Lahm (No. 86), Aaron Hunt (No. 128), Schweinsteiger (No. 136), Steven Pienaar (No. 138) and Stefan Kiessling (No. 148).
Boateng transitioning from Regionalliga to Bundesliga football and still being an above-average player in his first two seasons verified he was a legitimate talent.
However, he was a constant source of vexation for management.
Then-German national team U-19 manager Uli Stielike told Boateng to cut out the FIFA street moves, per FIFA's website: "At senior level, Kevin will need to wean himself off the world of fantasy football."
Despite being a Bundesliga-standard player, Boateng was not an instant hit and he struggled to deal with critics who wanted him to be world class.
Rather than being accountable for his own performances, he pointed the finger at Hertha Berlin, the club that gave him a chance at stardom.
"If things don't work out here, the youngsters are blamed for it," Boateng said, per Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC. "They are downgraded and kept down."
What Went Wrong At Tottenham Hotspur?
Hertha Berlin were open to selling Boateng if the price outweighed his character problems.
Once then-Tottenham Hotspur director of football Damien Comolli offered €7.8/£5.3 million for Boateng, it was readily accepted by Hertha Berlin finance director Ingo Schiller.
"It's a shame Comolli [is] gone now," Schiller said, per Raphael Honigstein at the Guardian.
Schiller's snide remark suggests Comolli bid above Hertha Berlin's valuation of Boateng.
Comolli's calculated gamble was doomed by three managers—Martin Jol, Juande Ramos and Harry Redknapp—unwilling to pacify Boateng, a man-child.
"In Germany [Boateng] is regarded as one of the biggest talents," Jol said, per Richard Morgan at the Telegraph. "We recognised this and went in for him."
Let's fix Jol's last sentence: "We Comolli recognised this and [he] went in for [Boateng]."
"Jol told me 'I didn't want to sign you, you are a good player but I don't have time for you'," Boateng said, per the News. "I had just turned 20 [years old] and it was like a punch in the face. It was like 'wow okay'."
Ramos had been observing Boateng from afar at Sevilla and was in the running to sign Boateng before Tottenham Hotspur intervened.
"One of the first things [Ramos] asked me when he arrived was why I hadn't wanted to go to Sevilla. He had been scouting me since I was young and that is why he knew how good a player I was," Boateng said, per the Daily Mail. "He respects every player, even if he is in the reserves or the youth team."
Boateng talking about Ramos respecting players regardless of status probably was a roundabout way of calling out Jol.
Karma hit Boateng because Ramos is cold-blooded when it comes to freezing out players.
Eight months later, Ramos withheld a first-team squad number from Boateng and he became a loan option for Birmingham City, per the Times.
There's no settling-in period for Ramos—either perform or get out.
"Apparently I did not convince Juande Ramos," Boateng said, per the Sunday People (h/t the Daily Mirror). "He was not fully fair to me."
Redknapp talked with usual bluster when praising Boateng's upside.
"[Boateng was] voted the best young German player a couple of years ago," Redknapp said, per Sky Sports. "He's 6'1" and you have to get the best out of him. If we don't, there is something wrong with us."
Sanctioning Boateng's loan to Borussia Dortmund proves how Redknapp's words are sometimes laced with malarkey.
Borussia Dortmund Detour
Jurgen Klopp got Boateng—the right player—but at the wrong time.
"We had already met with Kevin this summer. We had agreed to terms, but could not agree on a transfer fee with Tottenham Hotspur," Klopp said, per Boris Rupert and Keith Richardson at Borussia Dortmund's website. "This deal made sense for both sides. Everyone is hoping for a win-win situation."
Klopp correctly projected Boateng would later flash astonishing, crazy and did-you-just-see-that moments at AC Milan.
This is why Klopp pushed to sign Boateng permanently in the 2008 summer transfer window and then acquired him on loan in the 2009 January transfer window.
Yet Boateng was devoid of confidence, low on match fitness, miffed at the Premier League experience and just wanted to be back in Germany.
He didn't qualify for Kicker's Bundesliga player rankings, but his rating would have in theory placed him at No. 145 out of 222 footballers.
He had been placed at No. 78 and No. 82 during his two seasons at Hertha Berlin.
Boateng's mind drifted away from football.
He and Patrick Ebert, who grew up together in Berlin, "went on a late-night bender" damaging "six cars and a motorcycle" at 3:45 am, per Raphael Honigstein at the Guardian.
On the field, Boateng assaulted Makoto Hasebe, incurring a four-game suspension from the German Football Association, per Stefan Coerts at Goal.
Joachim Schuth at Bild goaded Boateng by nicknaming him "RAMBOateng."
Vandalism and recklessly endangering Hasebe's life provides a glimpse into how chaotic Boateng's thought process was during his Borussia Dortmund loan.
Borussia Dortmund chief executive officer Hans-Joachim Watzke dismissed Tottenham Hotspur's asking price for Boateng.
"We will definitely not pay €5/£4.6 million [for Boateng]," Watzke said, per David Hytner at the Guardian. "Maybe [Tottenham Hotspur] will change their expectations."
In a statement to shareholders, Borussia Dortmund said they were "unable to completely sidestep the fallout" from the "largest economic crisis in the history" of Germany.
Operating on a budget, Borussia Dortmund spending €5/£4.6 million on Boateng was too risky.
He was inconsistent and there were red flags surrounding his personal life.
Tottenham Hotspur sold Boateng to Portsmouth for €4.5/£4 million in the 2009 summer transfer window.
Borussia Dortmund signed Mats Hummels from Bayern Munich for €4.2/£3.6 million.
Boateng does not qualify for Kicker's player rankings, but his rating in theory places him at No. 204 out of 206 footballers this season.
Paying Boateng €7.5/£5.4 million-a-year, Schalke expected elite performances and leadership.
Neither requirements have been adequately fulfilled, revealed Schalke chairman Clemens Tonnies who has backed general manager Horst Heldt banishing Boateng from the squad.
"[Boateng] did not help the team anymore, and I believe that he even dragged it down a bit," Tonnies said, per Der Westen (h/t Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC). "I think it was the right reaction [from Heldt]. The only difference is that I would have done it even earlier."
Heldt is to Boateng what ESPN president John Skipper is to Bill Simmons.
"I sent [Boateng] a text message saying 'Why Schalke with eight question marks'," Klopp said, per FourFourTwo. "I didn't hear back from him."
Schalke probably don't ever want to hear back from Boateng.
If only Schalke had heard from Redknapp's sources prior to signing Boateng from AC Milan for €10/£8.5 million.
"I was only listening to what other people were telling me about [Boateng's] character, the way he was behaving off the field, and it wasn't painting a very good picture," Redknapp said, per the News. "To be honest, I wasn't keen to sell him."
Even when Redknapp is trying to shift blame to "other people," he is wrong.
The "other people" were 100 per cent right.
Those in the know who acted as Redknapp's consultants are vindicated by Boateng's alleged toxic influence on the Schalke dressing room.
When not specified, statistics via WhoScored.com.
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