Former Black Stars midfielder Derek Boateng says his transfer to the Israeli league in 2006 resulted in him losing his place in the Black Stars
The 37-year-old after the 2006 World Cup joined Beitar Jerusalem in Israel from AIK, a Swedish top-flight club.
According to Boateng, the transfer meant that the national team moved on from him, leading to a sequence of events that culminated in him also missing the African Cup of Nations in 2008.
In an interview with Joy FM, he disclosed that after 2006 World Cup the team expected him to move to a bigger European side but instead he joined Beitar Jerusalem, which led to him being frozen out.
“After the World Cup, I was expecting that the players who represented the country have to report back to the team but it didn’t happen. I think we destroy our tournament squad a little too early and we need to try and maintain the same squad for some time so there will be cohesion in the squad.
I saw that after the tournament, I moved to Israel but people were expecting me to move to any of the top leagues in Europe. And that was the era where most of our players were playing in the top-flight leagues. But I think moving to Israel was the reason why the coach dropped me because I don’t see why he should drop me”.
Background of Derek Boateng
The former Black Stars midfielder made over 40 appearances for the national team and scored just a goal.
He has played for several clubs including Panathinaikos in Greece and Getafe in Spain among other clubs.
