When ‘enemies’ become friends: A case of Kevin-Prince Boateng and Suarez

Kevin-Prince Boateng could have made history with the Black Stars on 2 July 2010 – becoming the first African country to reach the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup but that was not meant to happen.

It was the Uruguay number 9 – Luis Suarez – expelled for a blatant handball in the 120th minute in his side’s penalty area – that celebrated semifinal qualification because his team won 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 eventful draw after extra time as Asamoah Gyan failed the stoppage-time spot kick to give Ghana a 2-1 lead.

But after eight and half years, the German-born has become the first member of the Ghana squad of 2010 to share the same dressing room as Suarez.

In 2010, the duo were adversaries at the Mondiale but after the Sassuolo forward joined FC Barcelona on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season on 21 January 2019, Boteng and Suarez are now friends representing the same football club.

Football continues to throw up unimaginable events such as this. In his debut for the Spanish giants, Boateng lasted 63 minutes in his side’s 2-0 loss at Sevilla in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quater-finals tie on January 23 and was replaced the South American Suarez who is the club’s main striker.