Mario Balotelli, a figure in football that has had everything said about him from good to the very bad. A young man at only 21, he has already cemented his first team place in Manchester City and the national Italian team.
It would be an understatement to call him controversial. His frequent erratic behaviour, violent conduct on the pitch, and public stunts paint a picture of a very complex individual. Given up for foster care by his Ghanian mother, he was raised by a wealthy Italian family named Balotelli. He had an unsuccessful trial at FC Barcelona, and was signed by Internazionale (Inter Milan FC).
His rapid growth through the ranks of his teams, highlighted Balotelli as a huge talent to look forward to for the future. His physical presence, height, strength, power and speed is a great asset to any team and shows fantastic ability when he gets the ball at his feet.
His recent performance at the Euro 2012 competition showed the world what he is capable of, first smashing a great volley against the Republic of Ireland in the group stages, and then a striking master-class against Germany in the Semi-finals. A powerful header after losing his defender with clever movement, and the second an unstoppable strike after being put through by midfielder Ricardo Montolivo with German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer a helpless spectator.
He is more than capable of top performances, but has been told he must be able to control his temper and focus and train harder. Then Inter Milan boss, Jose Mourinho called him, “unmanageable”, and formed a surrogate father – son relationship with him. Mourinho gave him a handful of first start team opportunities based on how Balotelli could maintain his professionalism on and off the field.
In December 2009, Italian ex-footballer Roberto Mancini took the helm of Manchester City and a revolution at the team began. Backed by wealthy family, Manchester City went on a spending spree buying a completely new look team. They saw Mario Balotelli as an option, and purchased him from Inter Milan. He had brought with him the title of a “bad boy” from Italy, and the English press held its breath. The events that have followed from the time up until now have been nothing short from hilarious, arrogant at times, and idiotic. Here are some of the examples of things he has done, or rumoured about him:
Stolen gloves from a team mate just before kick off, set off fireworks in his house, threw darts at youth team players at Manchester City’s training ground, allegedly gave £1000 to a homeless person, was unable to put a training bib on himself, involved in a fight with German team mate Jerome Boateng, attempted a back-heel goal against LA Galaxy showing blatant disrespect, posing for the viewing public after scoring his second goal against Germany.
That is only a taste of his actions that have happened since his arrival. Journalists feed off him, waiting for him to give a trademark rant on the pitch, latest bust up with a team mate, or out of the ordinary off the field antics. He is mentioned in the newspapers almost on a daily basis, and has now developed a reputation in England as well as Italy. Manchester City has now began to rival Manchester United, more attention is going to be given to them following their recent Premier League triumph. Mario is a victim of his own actions, he claims he is “shy”, and the press paint a bad picture of him. That may be the case, but it doesn’t explain the current drama’s of his life.
There have been various “bad boys” in the game; Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gennaro Gattuso, Joey Barton, John Terry.. But Balotelli seems to get the fans on his side, he has a mischievous side that the English fans have taken to their heart, and a great eye for goal that they appreciate just as much.
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