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| Mario Balotelli: why I'll miss Super Mario when he goes to Milan | Mario Balotelli: why I'll miss Super Mario when he goes to Milan |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At Manchester City, my club, we are used to battling, unglamorous strikers – Rösler, Dickov, Quinn, Walsh, Goater, Dzeko. But Balotelli was an athlete, towering above the mini-maestros, Tevez and Agüero; a winning combination of muscle and skill (even if the concentration and commitment were often lacking). | |
| However, his presence at City can be summed up by the two home matches I attended over Christmas. At the Reading match, in which Mario did not play and we struggled to win 1-0, his only 'appearance' came in the form of a large puppet with a spring-loaded head in the pre-match entertainment marquee outside the stadium. MCFC journalists interviewed the puppet live on club TV. This was strange to see. Were we missing him? Or simply mocking him? Even my club seemed bewildered by Balotelli. | |
| But in the next home game (FA cup to Watford, won 3-0), he came on as a sub for 20 minutes, and I was amazed, having forgotten due to his lack of opportunities this season, how much more athletic he was than anyone else on the pitch. Tall, strong, and super-skilful, he made the substituted Dzeko look like a gangly teenager. | But in the next home game (FA cup to Watford, won 3-0), he came on as a sub for 20 minutes, and I was amazed, having forgotten due to his lack of opportunities this season, how much more athletic he was than anyone else on the pitch. Tall, strong, and super-skilful, he made the substituted Dzeko look like a gangly teenager. |
| Balotelli's all-round play was excellent – controlled, determined, powerful – and the second of his two snapshots (both fumbled by the keeper) created our third goal. At this point, I realised how much we had missed him. And I easily forgave his poor display in the home defeat to United when he was intent on appearing 'not bothered' with a range of unsuccessful touches and flicks, which cost him a huge loss of respect among us fans. | Balotelli's all-round play was excellent – controlled, determined, powerful – and the second of his two snapshots (both fumbled by the keeper) created our third goal. At this point, I realised how much we had missed him. And I easily forgave his poor display in the home defeat to United when he was intent on appearing 'not bothered' with a range of unsuccessful touches and flicks, which cost him a huge loss of respect among us fans. |
| Then came the training-ground spat … | Then came the training-ground spat … |
| Before that, early last summer, I walked around Kraków with Mario during Euro 2012, witnessing – as well as his growing fame - his penchant for kebabs. A very shy and gentle giant who let his brother do most of the talking (it was 36 hours after Italy had knocked out England), Mario simply chuckled and looked down when I told him he could be the star at City and that we needed him to help win us the title again the following season. 'City! City!' chanted his brother; Mario only grinned. Two days later, Balotelli scored two brilliant goals to send Germany out of the tournament. His star had risen. | Before that, early last summer, I walked around Kraków with Mario during Euro 2012, witnessing – as well as his growing fame - his penchant for kebabs. A very shy and gentle giant who let his brother do most of the talking (it was 36 hours after Italy had knocked out England), Mario simply chuckled and looked down when I told him he could be the star at City and that we needed him to help win us the title again the following season. 'City! City!' chanted his brother; Mario only grinned. Two days later, Balotelli scored two brilliant goals to send Germany out of the tournament. His star had risen. |
| We City fans assumed that Super Mario would bring that Euro high back to the Etihad and score at least 20 goals for us in retaining the title. I'm still not sure why that didn't happen. Mancini's bad parenting, perhaps? Clearly deeply insecure and homesick – pretty normal for a 22-year-old who also has a hard time in his own country – Balotelli's off-pitch antics reflected a need for attention that his father-figure, Mancini, mishandled. | We City fans assumed that Super Mario would bring that Euro high back to the Etihad and score at least 20 goals for us in retaining the title. I'm still not sure why that didn't happen. Mancini's bad parenting, perhaps? Clearly deeply insecure and homesick – pretty normal for a 22-year-old who also has a hard time in his own country – Balotelli's off-pitch antics reflected a need for attention that his father-figure, Mancini, mishandled. |
| On the pitch, this need manifested itself in Balotelli's brash displays of anger or indifference. But his talent was never in question. The troubled soul simply needed much more guidance and understanding both on and off the pitch. His £170,000 weekly wage only disguised his dire need of emotional support. Are there any counsellors or sport psychologists at city? | On the pitch, this need manifested itself in Balotelli's brash displays of anger or indifference. But his talent was never in question. The troubled soul simply needed much more guidance and understanding both on and off the pitch. His £170,000 weekly wage only disguised his dire need of emotional support. Are there any counsellors or sport psychologists at city? |
| When Balotelli's on-pitch nonchalance/nervelessness (depending on your view) was matched by commitment and concentration in the taking of penalties, he showed an application that was rarely seen in the rest of his play. If only he could concentrate like that for 90 minutes, he would surely ratify his own billing as 'one of the best strikers in the world'. | When Balotelli's on-pitch nonchalance/nervelessness (depending on your view) was matched by commitment and concentration in the taking of penalties, he showed an application that was rarely seen in the rest of his play. If only he could concentrate like that for 90 minutes, he would surely ratify his own billing as 'one of the best strikers in the world'. |
| Having scored 11 goals in 14 games during City's goal explosion at the beginning of last season, and 30 in total for the club, Balotelli merited more on-pitch time this season. But Mancini's schoolboy scoldings were matched after every incident by Balotelli's schoolboy sulkings. What's more, our manager seems to have a knack of isolating key players; there's an ever-present mumbling discontentment on the bench: Dzeko, Sinclair, Lescott, Kolarov. | Having scored 11 goals in 14 games during City's goal explosion at the beginning of last season, and 30 in total for the club, Balotelli merited more on-pitch time this season. But Mancini's schoolboy scoldings were matched after every incident by Balotelli's schoolboy sulkings. What's more, our manager seems to have a knack of isolating key players; there's an ever-present mumbling discontentment on the bench: Dzeko, Sinclair, Lescott, Kolarov. |
| I don't think we can retain the title this season without Super Mario. Having scored far fewer goals than last season, my club has chosen a strange time to let him go. I have a feeling that Mancini will follow in the summer. I lament the loss of a player who has more raw talent than anyone I have seen play for the club in my 35 years as a fan, but I knew poor Mario's days were numbered when I saw that pre-match puppet. |
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