born in nkawkaw, ghana, after playing 70 games for dutch giants feyenoord rotterdam, boateng completed a £220,000 move to coventry city in 1998. under the management of gordon strachan he proved himself to be a solid defensive midfielder, helping the attacking dublin-huckerby coventry side of 1998 finish eleventh in the premier league and enjoy mid table stability. he is still fondly remembered by sky blues fans as being responsible for breaking one of coventry's longstanding hoodoo's-victory at villa park: boateng scored twice in the 4–1 win over aston villa at villa park on 27 february 1999, ending coventry's 63-year-long wait for a league win at the ground.