His explanation for this is enlightening: “The pressure before these games is obviously high, but I let myself get excited more than before. This leads to me feeling calmer. I concern myself with thoughts about what could go wrong or what ‘may or may happen’. I think positive things. This helps me get through games without panicking. Now I go into the big games with more calm than usual.”
Two potential cup finals in his home city: Will Bayern make it to Berlin?
With the league all but wrapped up and Germany on course to qualify for the European Championships, Boateng has his eyes set on two potentially huge cup finals. The DFB Cup final on 30th May and the Champions League final on 6th June, both in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. Returning to his home city, and indeed his old club, brings back memories of his child when all he wanted was “to become a professional footballer.” His dreams of winning titles have all been realised, capped off by the national sides’ World Cup win in Brazil 2014.
Titles have made him greedy. Boateng has won the cup in England and Germany, the World Cup, two German league titles and a Champions League. Not bad, but it’s not enough for him yet. Now he has his sights set on “even more titles.” On the weekend he has the chance to add a third league title if results go their way, otherwise the title will surely be sealed by the end of next weekend if they win. Following that Boateng will be hoping to end the season with two more cup finals and two more medals.
Occasionally, DFB.de previews a national team player ahead of an important weekend for their club side. This week we have chosen Jerome Boateng, who will face his old club Hertha BSC for FC Bayern on Saturday (18:30 CEST) on matchday 30 which may end with him and his club as German champions once again.
After the year Jérôme Boateng has had, nobody can doubt his place among the world’s best defenders. A World Champion. He had the game of his life in the World Cup final against Argentina and since then the 26 year old has continued to show that he is a man for the big games. On Saturday, the boy from Berlin faces Berlin in the game against Hertha BSC, and Bayern can all be wrap up the league title.
Goalscorer against Porto: "It was obviously very important"
Now he scores goals too. In this case, it was with his head as he rose above the rest to put FC Bayern 2-0 up with a perfect header into Porto keeper Fabiano’s net and set the Munich side on the way to the Champions League semi finals. Bayern went on to win 6-1, completely overturning the 3-1 deficit from the away leg.
The win took Boateng one step closer to a “final at home” in the German capital on the 6th June in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. No wonder, then, that the Berliner was so happy after the game. “We gave everything from the first minute”, he said. “My goal was obviously very important. I want to dedicate it to my daughters. I am very happy to have helped my team.”
Though he finds the net occasionally for his club, he is yet to find the net in 51 appearances for Germany. Indeed it took a long while before he scored his first goal for Bayern, so much so that previous manager Jupp Heynckes promised to buy the whole team dinner, should Jérôme ever score his first goal in the Bundesliga. The challenge seemed to have an effect on the World Champion, who scored the winning goal in the 3-2 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf in March 2013. Heynckes kept his word, serving up a team meal at his farm in Niederrhein after the season.
Already three Champions League goals this season
It’s unlikely that Joachim Löw would enter into any such agreement with Boateng, given how dangerous the German international has proven in front of goal this season. In this season alone the 26 year old has scored three times in the Champions League: a 90th minute winner against Manchester City to make it 1-0, the second goal of the 7-0 thrashing against Shakhtar Donetsk and the same in the second leg against Porto.
One thing that Boateng no longer needs to learn is how to defend. And that goes for both club and country, which is convenient given that his main position is in defence. One of the world’s best. Ever since the U21 European Championship win of 2009, Boateng has continued to realise his glowing potential and establish himself as a pillar in the German national team. It didn’t take him long to break into the senior side, being used in a variety of positions whenever it was needed of him. That’s in the past though now. As of the 2014 World Cup, he is playing where he has always wanted to – as the centre back.
"I go through games without panicking"
He has consistently performed at the highest level for years now, with less poor performances than goals. And best of all, Boateng saves his greatest performances for the right time. He doesn’t deny that the 2013 Champions League final against BVB and the 2014 World Cup final against Argentina were his best games. Until now anyway - the 90 minutes against Porto in the Allianz Arena will definitely be up there among his best performances.
His explanation for this is enlightening: “The pressure before these games is obviously high, but I let myself get excited more than before. This leads to me feeling calmer. I concern myself with thoughts about what could go wrong or what ‘may or may happen’. I think positive things. This helps me get through games without panicking. Now I go into the big games with more calm than usual.”
Two potential cup finals in his home city: Will Bayern make it to Berlin?
With the league all but wrapped up and Germany on course to qualify for the European Championships, Boateng has his eyes set on two potentially huge cup finals. The DFB Cup final on 30th May and the Champions League final on 6th June, both in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. Returning to his home city, and indeed his old club, brings back memories of his child when all he wanted was “to become a professional footballer.” His dreams of winning titles have all been realised, capped off by the national sides’ World Cup win in Brazil 2014.
Titles have made him greedy. Boateng has won the cup in England and Germany, the World Cup, two German league titles and a Champions League. Not bad, but it’s not enough for him yet. Now he has his sights set on “even more titles.” On the weekend he has the chance to add a third league title if results go their way, otherwise the title will surely be sealed by the end of next weekend if they win. Following that Boateng will be hoping to end the season with two more cup finals and two more medals.
