Undoubtably he is, to City fans and football followers in all, one of the biggest frustrations in the game, such an incredible talent this boy has - yet all we seem to read about are his 'excursions' off field, not looking to defend him here, there have been many - far too many in fact. The ultimate question is 'Can he turn the corner and put it behind him?' Last weeks admittance of finally growing up and moving on was scarred by a certain 'firework' incident nonetheless he then re-alit on Sunday with his superb performance in the Manchester derby rout.
So, which Mario Balotelli is it going to be over his career? The 'Super' Mario that delights, wows and inspires fans, or the Mario that is familiar to front page headlines? Ruining what chance he has of making the very top...
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| With his brother Enoch - at the family home before Mario Barwuah's fostering. |
A little delving into Mario's upbringing suggests far from an easy childhood, after being born Mario Barwuah to Ghanaian immigrants in Italy, he generated health problems from his cramped and poverty-like conditions. After much discussion it was ultimately decided fostering was the best option, this was where an Italian couple by the name of 'Balotelli' stepped into his life. This alone is enough to thrust confusion and rejection in any young mans life. Furthermore though, after Mario made it on the radar through his footballing talents, his biological parents regained contact and wanted him to return. Unsurprisingly Mario cast that offer aside without a blink, claiming they were 'glory hunting' and wanting him for the 'fame and fortune'.
It is easy to read through a list of his offenses, brand him an idiot who just happens to be a talented sportsman and move on. Without a doubt though many fostering or adoption cases cause difficulties in the child's mind, exactly what could of occurred with Balotelli, perhaps having the pressure of the worlds media and press over his shoulder 24/7 is preventing his emergence as a man. Or, has he had the opportunity to grow out of this 'childish behavior' and are we being too kind on him looking to his defence?
It is not as though Roberto Mancini bought his compatriot to The Etihad Stadium without understanding the consequences, Mario's attitude in Italy had succumed to much critisicm from pundits, fans of his own Inter Milan side, teammates and most infamously his ex-boss Jose Mourinho, not one to step out of the spotlight himself. Being an African immigrant playing in Italy, even after taking up Italian citizenship is not easy, 3 times over his career for Nerazzurri did Balotelli have to withstand frankly shocking racial chants from giant Turin rivals Juventus, opposing fans would not accept him, hence the chant "Black Italians do not exist"...
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| The incident with Juve's Felipo Melo that instigated dirty scenes. |
This can't of been easy for the 18 year old, and would not of made his growth any easier, all of the above is excusable, to an extent it's horrific that a young man would have to bear such inhuman comments. Not all though, is defendable - His time at Inter was marred by his own stupidity and thoughtless behavior. He came into conflict with Mourinho several times, first of all regarding his lack of effort in training, he showed poor side of his discipline for the first time on field against Juve, when an elbow from Brazilian Felipe Melo sparked terrible, violent scenes. His well documented tension with ex-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho reached a climax when Mourinho's Inter side returned to Stamford Bridge for a Champions League tie, leaving without Mario Balotelli, who he'd had an alleged 'altercation' with in the week prior - at all times his teammates were losing faith, veterans Javier Zanetti and Marco Materazzi were not impressed and let their feeling be-known to the Italian public.
The moment that undoubtedly sealed his switch from Internazionale though was when Balotelli appeared on Italian TV Show 'Sriscia La Notizia' - bearing an AC Milan shirt, for the majority this was the point of no return, being in and out of the side for the rest of the term before being offloading to The Citizens for £24m in summer 2010.
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| Mario posing on TV with a Rosseneri shirt. |
Perhaps then, finally a chance for Mario Balotelli to leave his actions of the past behind him, to forget old ways and live to play the football - his occupation, his life.
Not entirely, to name just a few occasions Mario has caught the English press limelight;
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| Writing off his Audi R8 in the Aug 2010 smash. |
-Crashed cars
-Allergic grass reactions forcing him to not play
-Strolling out of casinos offering the homeless £1000
-Being dismissed on more than one occasion for violent conduct on field
-Throwing darts at a City youth player!
-Swearing on live TV
-Arrested when he and his brother were caught 'wandering' around an Italian female prison because he just wanted to 'take a look'
-The 'Why always me?' T-shirt against United
-Causing a rift on international duty from playing with his iPad after being left on the subs bench
-That lethargic back-hell when one-on-one with a keeper in a City pre-season friendly in the States
-And to top it all off preparing for a Manchester derby by setting his house on fire courtesy of a firework.
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| The beautiful T-shirt 'Super' Mario unveiled after his first goal against United. |
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| His outragious back-heel after being in on goal in a friendly with LA Galaxy. |
Some occasions are humorous, some portray the Italians great personality, but there has to be a cap, a cut-off line for a professional footballer who is idiolised by thousands of youngsters. Through his first year in England he was gathering a reputation for himself of simply being an angry man, who wasn't enjoying his football, even when scoring, showing no signs of emotion. Even at The Etihad 2 weeks ago when City trounced Villa 4-1 Balotelli had an altercation with the opposition fans, giving him the need to wind them up and return to his old antics after netting.
The Italian can be, as the title suggests insanely brilliant on field, he has shown, in Italy and in his year and a bit in the North-east huge, huge potential. His boss at both Inter and City Mancini believes: "His attitude is all that is stopping him becoming in the best 3 players in the world, with Ronaldo and Messi". These are high praises, and pundits alike agree - his recent form, that infamous double in this weeks Mancunian derby, his marvelous performance in last years FA Cup final victory have left City fans drooling over his talent...
All that both Mario Barwuah as it was, to all of us Balotelli, doesn't need is to find himself on the wrong side of the newspaper, because on the face of it, it could tarnish and spoil what could be a splendid career, full of goals, trophies, awards, memorable moments and his enjoyment of the game.
Surely he would love all of that? To really show his 'glory-hunting' parents what they're missing out on...
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| Mario's foster parents, The Balotellis and inset, his biological father - Thomas Barwuah |
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