Updated Jul 31, 2014 at 5:59pm (Getty) Jerome Boateng and Kevin Prince Boateng are half-brothers who share everything, except a soccer team. He viewed Jérôme’s lack of support as betrayal.Four years on Kevin-Prince Boateng is recognised as the gifted, consistent talent he vowed to be when starting out as a precocious youngster who scored goals for fun in his favourite footwear, a pair of Wellington boots.He won the Serie A title with Milan in 2011, earned a £10.1m move back to the Bundesliga with Schalke last summer and, notably, his reputation has transformed from the brash star who thought nothing of buying three cars in one day to a man prepared to take a stand against racism on the terraces.Boateng’s decision to walk off the pitch after being racially abused during a supposed friendly for Milan against Pro Patria in January 2013 reverberated worldwide. “I believe Schweini would just like to play his football. He should mind his own business and rather concern himself with his own team and look for leaders over there.” Löw tried not to get involved yet still delivered a chilling: “We will respond adequately to that at the World Cup.” Card marked.Unlike 2010, however, Jérôme Boateng did not join the condemnation of his older brother, and Germany have not had the opportunity to spice their World Cup preparations with a tale of siblings at war.Jérôme and Kevin-Prince Boateng cease daily contact before opposing each other on a football pitch and their pact has remained intact for this Group G meeting in Fortaleza. It really doesn’t interest me any more.” There was more behind the Ballack controversy than one bad foul.Only months before the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Chelsea, Kevin-Prince Boateng had switched international allegiances to Ghana. They just lack this one guy.”The ripostes arrived from all directions. “I have known him since we were 15, but sometimes there are rules to be followed. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Mario Götze insisted Schweinsteiger could not have achieved so much success at Bayern Munich without “special qualities”. But I am sure, even if he did foul Ballack, he didn’t mean to injure him.” That was enough for the German media to label Boateng’s challenge a premeditated assault. I don’t see anyone who could handle this and might be able to carry the team along.”Boateng may have a point but that is beside the point. Unfortunately, Kevin isn’t very diplomatic. In 2010 it was a foul on Chelsea’s Michael Ballack in Ghana may not thank their attacking midfielder for adding an edge to the game should it end their competitive interest in Brazil. It was a blow that left the midfielder in tears and his application for a Ghana passport came later that year.“I was always a supporter of Kevin,” said the Germany midfielder Sami Khedira this week. All rights reserved. Now I don’t care what he does.

“For me, he has been the first footballer who put up some resistance,” said Jérôme, who has since described the fallout from the Ballack tackle as “unfair” on his brother.“A lot of players should have done that much earlier. Kevin had only himself to blame – but he knows it, I’m sure.”Boateng could not make Germany pay in Johannesburg four years ago and is currently upset at the Ghana manager Kwesi Appiah for omitting him from the starting line-up against USA on Monday. He showed everyone that enough is enough. Kevin thought I should have defended him and criticised Ballack. “It is said that he is a leader, but I don’t know if he has taken on this role,” Boateng added. Kevin had just scored his first goal for Hertha [Berlin, in 2006]. You can cross the line once or twice but at some point it has to be enough as well.