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Mario Balotelli is an utter loose cannon, an unpredictable person, liable to cause damage and he’ll probably be a misfit wherever he goes. But make no mistake, when it comes to pure talent Balotelli is a class-act and on his day he’s as good as the best in the world!
The powerfully built centre forward had his share of problems with fans and managers alike in Italy where he was racially abused during several games, most notably against Juventus and Romania. Never one to bow down to such taunts, Balotelli always responded to them either by celebrating in front of them or by keeping his fingers to the lips in order to quiet down the crowd.
The Italian media also enjoyed a not so-friendly relationship with the lad as he was always in the news for all kinds of reasons apart from football. This has earned him the tag of a“troublemaker”.
Despite having had a troublesome time in Italy, not getting along well with Jose Mourinho at Inter, the infamous bust-ups with his team-mates Marco Materazzi and Jerome Boateng, there is no doubting his ability as a world-class player. The frightening thing is that he is still only 20 years old and will get better and more matured as he ages. In the limited opportunities given to him at Inter, his free-kick against Rubin Kazan is best demonstrated his superb capabilities.
A fall-out with the manager at Inter along with his open fondness for the city rivals AC Milan meant that his career with the Italian giants would soon come to a halt. His former manager, Roberto Mancini, came calling and he signed for the Arab-owned Manchester City. Coupled with a frightening pace and a strong physique, he has all the required abilities to excel in the Premier League but he needs to cut down on his fiery temper. In his fifteen starts in the Manchester City shirt, he has been yellow carded eight times and been sent off on two occasions. Although he has adapted to the pace and physicality of the Premier League with ease, the above stat speaks a lot about his mental state.
The training ground tussle with Jerome Boateng which earned Balotelli notoriety
“Super Mario” as he is popularly known, is no doubt a quality young player and has a bright future ahead of him. He is already being hailed as Italy’s brightest creative talent and Roberto Mancini has proudly declared that he has the makings of a world class striker. But Balotelli needs to sort his act out soon if he wants to be remembered for his football rather than his mischievous behaviour.
