Football: Manchester United and Manchester City want Mario Balotelli
Hot headed Internazionale striker, Mario Balotelli is at the epicentre of a tug of war between Manchester United and Manchester City as both Roberto Mancini and Sir Alex Ferguson are trying to bring the hotshot to their club.
Mario Barwuah Balotelli was born in Sicily on August 12th 1990 and was inevitably nicknamed as ‘Super Mario’.
His biological parents are Ghanaian immigrants in Italy, Thomas and Rose Barwuah who had put up their son for adoption only at the age of 2. He was brought up by Italian parents in Brescia and got the country’s citizenship at the age of 18. His biological parents were also accused by him of being ‘glory hunters’ after they started conducting press meetings and interviews about their son after his breakthrough into Inter Milan’s playing 11.
Mario began his football career at the tender age of 16 playing for A.C. Lumezzane and became the youngest player in Italian Serie C1’s history to appear in a first team match against Padova. The Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio had to grant special permission for the striker to participate in the match.
Although Mario did not score too many goals in the first year of his career but his brut power and pace were noted all around as he was offered a trial at the Nou Camp for Barcelona, but he chose to sign for Internazionale’s youth side in 2006. He scored a staggering 19 goals in just 20 appearances and was promoted to the U-20 Primavera side at only the age of 16 and he repaid the faith with another 8 goals in 11 outings including a stunning last gasp winner in the youth cup final against Sampdoria in 2007.
After a string of stunning performances for the juniors he was promoted to the first team at the age of just 17 in December 2007, making his debut from the bench against Cagliari. Balotelli was given his first start only the following week against Reggina in Coppa Italia and he did not disappoint and scored twice in a 4-1 win for his side. Balotelli’s burgeoning reputation claimed worldwide recognition when he scored another brace in the same competition against Juventus in the quarter finals.
Balotelli scored his first ever Serie A goal against Atlanta in April 2008. The following November he became the youngest ever goal scorer for Inter Milan in the Champions League when he scored against Famagusta at the age of 18 years and 85 days.
Balotelli’s goal glut earned him a call for national duty from Ghana but he resisted the temptation and decided to wait for his Italian citizenship and got his reward just after his 18th birthday. He made his debut for the Italian U-21 side in September 2008, so far he has earned 16 caps and netted 6 goals but a promotion to the senior side has eluded him.
By the end of 2009-10 season he was only 19 and had already helped inter win 3 back to back Scudettos, two domestic cups and a coveted Champions league title and along the way notched up 86 appearances and 28 goals.
Balotelli’s short yet glittering career has not been devoid of controversies. His ethnic background has often provoked unsavoury remarks from the Italian crowds and most noticeably from Juventus fans, who have been given heavy fines and there have been partial and full closures of the stadium time and again.
Balotelli is a sublime talent and his record is a glaring testament to this but his career has also been littered with accusations of unprofessional behaviour. Jose Mourinho accused the striker of being lazy in training sessions and dropped him from the first team squad in January 2009 and then again in 2010. In February of the same year he missed the flight to a U-21 training session after allegedly oversleeping.
He is short tempered and extremely volatile but when he lets his boots do the talking he leaves the world awestruck. His arrival in the Premier League would be a great addition to the league but he needs to be kept under a constant check and let’s hope both Mancini and Ferguson are ready to do just that.
Tags: