George Boateng

George Boateng (May 5 1975 - ) is a Dutch association football player.

George Boateng is a central midfielder, who currently plays for English Premiership football team Middlesbrough. He was born in Nkawka, [[[Ghana]] but began his football in the Netherlands. After playing 70 games for Dutch giants Feyenoord he completed a 2.5 million pound move to Coventry City in 1998. Under the managment of Gordon Strachan he proved himself to be a solid defensive midfielder helping Coventry finish fifteenth in the Premier League. The next season he transferred to Aston Villa for 4.5 million pounds. He proceeded to play 131 matches for Villa including an F.A. Cup final defeat against Chelsea in 2000. George made his international debut for Holland as a 47th-minute replacement for Phillip Cocu in a 1-1 draw with England in Amsterdam in February 2002. The tough tackling central midfielder then fell out with manager Graham Taylor in the 2001-02 season. That summer he completed a 5 million pound move to Middlesbrough.

Boateng made his full debut on the first day of the 2002-03 season away to Southampton. The uneventful game finished 0-0. Occupying the defensive midfield position he has been the solid platform upon which Middlesbrough have built their attack. He recovered from a summer ankle operation in 2003 to be fit for the start of 2003/04 season. That season he was part of the Middlesbrough team which lifted the League Cup for the first time. In the 2004-05 season he was injured for 8 weeks with a broken toe. During this period he was sorely missed and Middlesbrough dropped from fourth down to ninth in the league. He did however recover in time to help Middlesbrough otain the results they needed for qualification for the UEFA Cup. In a poll on the official Boro website fans voted him the player most missed due to injury in the 2004-05 season.