FORTALEZA, Brazil, – Brotherly love will be forgotten tomorrow when Germany’s Jerome Boateng faces his sibling once more at a World Cup, with Ghana’s Kevin-Prince Boateng predicting a “fight to the death”.
The half brothers were both born in Berlin to separate mothers, but in 2009, Schalke’s Kevin-Prince, 27, opted to play for the country of his father.
He turned to Ghana having become discouraged by a perceived lack of opportunities even after the brothers had made a single appearance in the same Germany Under-21 team.
The brothers normally have daily contact via SMS or telephone.
“We’ve had no contact recently, each of us is just concentrating on himself,” said Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng.
The 25-year-old will face Ghana with a splint on his right hand having torn a thumb ligament in Germany’s opening 4-0 win over Portugal.
This is not the first time the brothers have played each other at a World Cup.
In South Africa in 2010, they set a record by becoming the first brothers to play against each other at a World Cup finals.
“The team who wants it more will win and we will fight to the death against Germany.”
The brothers hail from the tough Berlin district of Wedding and neither are short of confidence, but Kevin-Prince attracts attention.
As a seven-year-old, he successfully played a game for a place in Hertha Berlin’s young section in rubber Wellington boots as they were his favourite shoes at the time.
And in an interview with German football magazine 11Freunde, Boateng was once happy to admit: “Yes, I am the best footballer in the world”.
