Sports News of Friday, 19 August 2011

Source: GFA

Ghana drop Kevin Boateng for prestigious Brazil friendly

AC midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has been dealt a humiliating snub by Ghana as he has been left out of the squad for the prestigious friendly against Brazil next month, GHANAsoccernet.com can exclusively reveal.

The German-born enforcer, who is only keen on high-profile Black Stars matches, will not play the South Americans in London on 5 September.

Ghana FA deep sources have told GHANAsoccernet.com that he is also not needed in the must-win 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier Swaziland in Accra on 2 September.

The revelations shows that coach Goran Stevanovic will not allow any player -regardless of his status – to hold the country to ransom.

The decision to snub Boateng and give the chance to more committed players seems to have emanated from the midfielder’s decision to exclude himself from the aborted Nigeria friendly two weeks ago.

His claim that he was recovering from an injury sparked suspicion over his attitude towards Black Stars call-ups as he played for his AC Milan in a friendly against Solbiatese few days later.

Fed-up Ghana FA officials are also keen that a strong message must be sent to Boateng that many talented Ghanaians are waiting for the chance to play for the Black Stars.

Boateng flopped in the Black Stars clash against Congo in Kumasi few weeks ago and opted out of the trip to South Korea for a friendly claiming he was tired.

It added to a catalogue of Ghana matches Boateng has missed for suspicious reasons.

He suffered a massive public backlash in March when he refused to turn for the crucial Nations Cup qualifier against Congo away in Brrazzaville.

But two days later he presented himself to play in the high-profile Ghana-England friendly which sparked fury among Black Stars players.

On that occassion he was snubbed by team officials who suspected he was picking and choosing the matches he wants to play for the Black Stars.

Now he will not be given the chance to shine on the big stage with the Brazil friendly.

Many Ghanaians feel used-and-dumped by the German-born player whose dwindling career was rescued by his association with the Black Stars last year.

He was sacked from the German youth national team for indiscipline and was offloaded by Tottenham for non-performance before he secured a switch to the then struggling Portsmouth.

His career was saved when he secured a nationality switch to play for Ghana at the 2010 World Cup and got the move to AC Milan after the Black Stars excelled at the tournament in South Africa.

Already Ghanaians, including some popular pundits are alluding to the fact that he opted for Ghana only to market himself at the World Cup.