No longer the Fresh Prince of Milan: What has happened to Boateng?
Posted On Tuesday, 30th October 2012
Kevin-Prince Boateng's form has been a long shy of those that made him a fans' favourite
One of the great mysteries surrounding AC Milan’s horrible start to the 2012-13 season has centred around the poor form of Kevin-Prince Boateng.
While Stephan El Shaarawy remains the Rossoneri’s one ray of light, the pressure only increases on the Ghanaian to return to the heights which made him a fans’ favourite.
Boateng was the revelation of 2010-11 after his transfer from Portsmouth via Genoa, so much so that perhaps the biggest cheer at the San Siro Scudetto party came after he performed a moonwalk complete with Michael Jackson garb on a specially constructed stage. But, while he largely continued to enhance his reputation amongst Milanisti last season, this campaign has begun in a very different vein for the ex-Tottenham man.
Formerly cocksure, powerful and inspirational, Boateng now appears uncomfortable, insular and short of the kind of big-match qualities with which he surprised many over his first two years in the famous red and black.
The explanations for his lack of form have varied depending on who you speak to, with some going as far as blaming his girlfriend Melissa Satta.
“I’m not the problem for Boateng. I am a normal girlfriend and he will regain his form soon. I have always supported him and AC Milan,” Satta said in response to the spotlight being cast on their relationship. “I read the Gazzetta dello Sport’s report on Boateng’s form but it is not my fault.
Satta oncce told Vanity that she believed she was the reason for the number of injuries her man had suffered at the beginning of 2012, but it is surely more likely that the answer to the Boateng conundrum lies closer to the football field.
With Milan having lost so many big names and influential faces during the summer, Boateng was thrust into the role of talisman which he was perhaps not ready for. The No.10 shirt carries a huge responsibility in Italian football, but the decision by Massimiliano Allegri to give him such an accolade-cum-burden was an example of the high regard in which he had become held around Milanello.
However, for a player who arrived at the club as an orthodox midfielder but quickly developed into the kind of powerful presence in the final third that few Italian clubs can boast, it was expected that the transition would be easy. That has not been the case.
“Lui? Con il number 10? Che disastro!” bellowed one Milanista within Goal.com’s earshot at San Siro earlier this season… “Him? Wearing the number 10? What a disaster!” To call him a disaster may be harsh, but he has turned in only one notably positive shift all season.
After a no more than reasonable opening day performance against Sampdoria, which saw him pushed up alongside Robinho and El Shaarawy as a mock ‘false nine’, Boateng hit back to play a key role as Milan won at Bologna, but since that evening his form has deserted him completely, with his personal nadir coming in an anonymous display against Lazio when he last stepped onto the pitch.
More responsibility and greater expectation has brought with it a more glaring spotlight when things go wrong. Part of his dip during September was put down to the hand injury that had seen him struggle with his balance and co-ordination, but the slump has now gone on too long for that to have been anything more than a convenient excuse.
Allegri’s regular changes of formation could certainly be held partly accountable, since Boateng has been one of the players used in a variety of different ways depending on the shape the side has been asked to play, but even then it should not have been too much to ask for him to have adapted.
As a result of his unhappiness, his shoulders are more slumped than Milan have become used to seeing. In a dressing room he used to dominate, he has the tough task of regaining his position as the bolshie, brazen, ballsy star whose attitude once reflected the renaissance of the Rossoneri, but is now representative of a side struggling to come to terms with their new role on the Calcio landscape.
By Kris Voakes | Italian Football Writer
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FUCK KEVIN PRINCE HITLER,THAT MIXED UP DONKEY AIN’T NO GHANAIAN,HE IS FROM HITLERS BLOOD LINE,BUT DUMB GHANAIANS ALWAYS WANT 2 CLAIM HIM AS SUCH.PITIFUL.
Stop being an asshole you anti-Social Nigerian APE!!
He’s now coming to earth !!
The dust has finally settled.
look a big man comes to see u, u will have to see him no matter what your opinions are. A national term coach came to Milan to see him he refused to see him(coach Appiah) now people are saying he should return to int’l football. if have no respect for elders you don’t point your left finger at your father’s house(simply put, he did not respect Ghana)
now thanks be to God Ghana is getting good and better players than him(KPB) Astu for example, compare the two.
I rest my case
Never ignore those who helped you on the way to the top because you will have to confront them on your way back down.
Karma is a bitch, huh!
Ghana people kurse am.
when it’s coming den it’s doing.
As hard as it is, lets us express some sympathy for the guy and encourage him to bounce back. May be this time he will avert his karma and apologise to Ghana and play at his best for us to win the 2014 world cup that is what we want
Whu curse who?…..neva fink dat those who made u who u r are f¤¤lz!!…wise up
EH Ghana, let’s learn how to forgive !!!
To err is human, we all make mistakes. Let God be the judge not us. Please, he is still a Ghanaian, remember?
As for his soccer career, I definitely believe he will bounce back very soon. Talent is a gift that stays with you forever only injury can stop a good player. Roger Miller of Cameroon even played at 40 years during Italy 1990 World Cup.
Guys lets call a spade a spade.KPB is a flash in a pan player.Why was he offloaded to POMPEY from SPURS.He joined the GLORIOUS BLACK STARS and rode on the shoulders of gallant players who wanted to make a point.It is said when a chicken flow with eagles,he learns to fly.
Personally,l never liked the idea of KPB playing for GHANA.l will not wish him doom nor will l wish him well.
I hope Akwasi Appiah do not lay the red carpet for him to launch himself.
He was following pompey to the championship until the opportunity to play for the black stars catapulted him to milan.Stupid as he was,he forgot the hand that fed him.
l will never forget what he said when he drew the curtain on the black stars.HE SAID ”MILAN IS IMPORTANT TO ME”.Let see what will happen if his form doesn’t pick up if he will be important to milan.
In the end it does not really matter… He is rich… Worth over 30 million dollars. I doubt he cares what a random guy on the internet thinks.
KPB,u need to apologise to ur wife n child n get dem back den,God will place u back to where u belong.We(Ghanaians) wish u well.
IT SURPRISING HOW SOME FOLKS DEPICTS TODDLER MINDSET.
Dis guy is in fallin apart fo real,gh put u on da map and u disrespect us.wat goes around coms da fuck around next tym thnk about dat. Toto nkoaa u dey chop wen edey afect ur career forkin man