In total he made 59 league appearances for Inter, scoring 20 goals and providing 10 for his team mates, for someone who made his debut at 18 this is a very impressive record. He reminds me of Andrei Shevchenko in his younger days at Dynamo Kyiv and more famously at AC Milan. Just like "Sheva" Balotelli has become a figure of ire due to his strange behaviour on and off the pitch, and even stranger dress sense...
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| Yes, before you ask that is a hat... |
At the moment he hasn't shown his best side yet but neither have many Italian players from Serie A who've moved to England. These include Rolando Bianci, Alberto Aquilani, Massimo Taibi and Andrea Dossena but I think Balloteli is far more talented than these names. The thing with him is that he has the pace and power which is common in many African strikers e.g. Obafemi Martins, Aruna Dindane and Asamoah Gyan. What Balotelli also has is the technique, technique that he has learnt in the Italian youth system. Left foot, right foot, 6 yard box and outside the area it all seems the same for "Super Mario".
Yes he's moody and unpredictable and I don't want to sound psychologically analytical here but wouldn't you be? He has been racially abused since he started playing for the Inter first team and probably before. He clearly declares himself as Italian and has turned down the opportunity to play for Ghana the country of his biological parents birth and accepted an Italian name. But still a large group of Italian fans refuse to accept him, he has been through a match against Juventus, at the age of 18, with the crowd chanting about him dying and made his full debut for Italy with Italian fans abusing him. How many 19 year olds do you know would be able to cope with that?
He doesn't help himself with the comments he's made about fellow professional Jack Wilshire, he was quoted as saying “What's his name? Wil...? No, I just don't know him, but the next time I play against Arsenal I'll try to be careful. Maybe I could show him the Golden Boy trophy and remind him that I won.” I think if anything this arrogant streak could lead to his demise.
Mario Balotelli, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly...
After winning the Golden Boy Award he also went to comment on previous winners of the trophy saying, "There's only one that is a little stronger than me: Messi. All the others are behind me," The past winners of the award include Cesc Fabregas and Wayne Rooney. But how true is this? Lets have a look at Balotelli compared to the best players in the world...
Didier Drogba at 20
Le Mans - 32 games, 7 goals
Didier Drogba first season in the prem
41 games, 16 goals
Carlos Tevez at 20
Corinthians - 38 games, 25 goals
Carlos Tevez first season in the prem
29 games, 7 goals
Edin Dzeko at 20
Teplice - 30 games, 13 goals
Edin Dzeko first season in the Germany
33 games, 9 goals
Wayne Rooney at 20
United - 48 games, 19 goals
Lionel Messi at 20
Barca - 40 games, 16 goals
David Villa at 20
Sporting Gijon B - 35 games, 13 goals
Samuel Eto'o at 20
Mallorca - 40 games, 10 goals
Raul at 20
Real Madrid - 49 games, 15 goals
Mario Ballotelli so far at 20
City - 9 games, 5 goals
The stats do show that Balotelli does match up to some of the big names in football when he was their ages and to be honest I don't think Wilshire is even near his level in football if its based on talent and achievement. Remember Balotelli was part of a team which won the Champions League, Serie A and the Coppa Italia scoring some important goals on the way. Now after all the talking, the statistics and the criticism, lets see if you can get your mind right Mario and be super again...
2 comments:
Balotelli is an enigma. His talent is unquestionable but it appears that he is being held back by his often erratic and childish behaviour and this makes him an easy target for the media. He strolls around the pitch with a permanent scowl on his face and his antics run the risk of alienating his team-mates. Mancini needs to get through to him in a way Mourinho could not. Only then will Super Mario have a chance of fulfilling his undoubted potential and become one of the world's leading players. But don't hold your breath...
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you completely, but I do feel Mourinho mishandled him, he escalated the problems with him by commenting on them publicly. I would've loved to see him at Manchester United as I feel if there is a manager who could harness his talents it would be Alex Ferguson. But your right he needs to get his mind right first and then he might be able to become one of the worlds best...
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