Emmanuel Boateng (footballer, born 1994)

Emmanuel Boateng

Boateng for Helsingborgs IF in November 2013
Personal information
Full name Emmanuel Agyenim Boateng
Date of birth (1994-01-17) January 17, 1994
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 LA Galaxy
Number 24
Youth career
2006–2009 Right to Dream Academy
Cate School
College career
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2012 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 18 (4)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2013 Ventura County Fusion 5 (1)
2013–2016 Helsingborgs IF 37 (4)
2016– LA Galaxy 4 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 02:16, 8 April 2016 (UTC).

† Appearances (goals)

Emmanuel Agyenim "Ema" Boateng (born January 17, 1994) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who currently plays as a forward for Major League Soccer team LA Galaxy.

Early life and education

Boateng was born and raised in Ghana in a home that lacked running water and electricity.[1] As a preteen, he was selected to join the Right to Dream Academy where he combined academic studies with football training.[1]

In 2009 at the age of 15, Boateng moved to the United States on a scholarship to attend Cate School in Carpinteria, California.[2][3] In addition to playing for the Cate School team, he also appeared for other local youth sides in Santa Barbara Soccer Club and South Coast Strikers.[4] Boateng received the 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year award, presented to him by former winner Alexi Lalas, and became the first recipient in Cate School's 100+ year history across all sports.[1][2] He skipped his final year of high school to enroll early at the University of California, Santa Barbara, despite professional interest from Manchester City F.C. to sign him on professional terms.[2]

While at UCSB, Boateng played college soccer for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team.[3] In his freshman year in 2012, he appeared in 18 games, scoring 4 goals and adding 4 assists.[5]

Career

During the summer of 2013, he played with USL Premier Development League side Ventura County Fusion while still enrolled in college.[6] He appeared in 5 games for the Fusion, scoring once.[7][8]

After receiving an invitation to train with Swedish Allsvenskan side Helsingborgs IF later that summer, Boateng paid for his own airplane ticket across the Atlantic Ocean to be able to visit the club. He made a big impression and soon thereafter they signed him to a three-and-a-half-year contract in July 2013.[4][9][10] He would appear in 37 Allsvenskan matches over his three seasons with the club, scoring 4 times.[11]

Boateng was transferred to LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer in January 2016.[12][13] He scored his first goal for the club on April 23, 2016 against Real Salt Lake.[14][15]

Personal life

His story was featured in The Beautiful Game, a 2012 documentary about football in Africa, and on CNN's report on the Right to Dream Academy.[3][16]

Outside of football, Boateng's ambition is to become a doctor.[2] He speaks three languages.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Konecky, Chad (May 18, 2012). "Boateng nets National Player of the Year". ESPN. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Eskilson, J.R. (July 12, 2012). "From Ghana to Hollywood: Boateng's rise". http://www.topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved March 18, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  3. 1 2 3 Brugger, Kelsey (June 21, 2013). "Meet Soccer Star Ema Boateng". Santa Barbara Independent (Santa Barbara, California). Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Nilsson, Tomas (July 20, 2013). "Boateng gillar sitt nya gäng". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish) (Helsingborg, Sweden). Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  5. ↑ "2012 UC Santa Barbara Statistics". http://ucsbgauchos.com. Retrieved March 18, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  6. ↑ Curley, Joe (May 10, 2013). "Ventura County Fusion have lofty goals despite reshuffled roster". Ventura County Star (Camarillo, California). Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  7. ↑ "2013 PDL Field Stats". http://www.uslpdl.com. Retrieved March 18, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  8. ↑ "2013 Ventura County Fusion roster and statistics". http://www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  9. ↑ Bird, Liviu (August 22, 2013). "Former UCSB standout scores first professional goals in Swedish Cup". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  10. ↑ Ralph, Matt (July 23, 2013). "UCSB Star Ema Boateng Signs with Swedish First Division". http://www.recklesschallenge.net. Retrieved March 18, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  11. ↑ "Ema Boateng SvFF player profile" (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Boateng till LA Galaxy" (in Swedish). Helsingborgs IF. January 14, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  13. ↑ "LA Galaxy acquire forward Emmanuel Boateng". LA Galaxy. January 14, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  14. ↑ Hornish, Mark Edward (April 25, 2016). "Emmanuel Boateng's unique path to first MLS goal". http://sbisoccer.com. Retrieved April 25, 2016. External link in |website= (help)
  15. ↑ Rodriguez, Alicia (April 24, 2016). "LA Galaxy 5, Real Salt Lake 2 - 2016 MLS Match Recap". Major League Soccer. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  16. ↑ Tutton, Mark (April 15, 2010). "African football academy creates future stars". CNN. Retrieved March 18, 2016.

External links

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