This may be the most unsurprising statement I will ever have the pleasure of making: This week Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli made the headlines for his actions away from a football field. Shock, horror.
The extra-curricular activities of Super Mario, as he’s known, won’t come as a surprise to anyone. It’s what we’ve come to expect from one of the more unique characters in Premier League history. Just this week alone, we have seen Balotelli’s personality at its fullest, some endearing points and some not quite so easily acceptable.
First, we saw Mario in a video released by CityTV (Man City’s in-house channel) where he is taught how to wrap Christmas presents by fellow striker Carlos Tévez. Balotelli innocently/naively claims he cannot assist as he is left-handed and so cannot cut the paper with the scissors provided. Tévez quipping “no wonder people say that you are daft”. YouTube it, it has to be seen to be believed.
It’s the kind of incident which prompts comments like “he’s comedy gold” or “he’s exactly the kind of character we need to brighten up our league”. But not all of Mario’s off field activities are as easy to swallow. This week taking City to a tribunal to contest a heavy fine they issued him, before eventually backing down and accepting it- the kind of incident that prompts comments like “he’s more trouble than he’s worth”.
When have you ever heard of a player simultaneously pushing to break into the starting line-up and taking legal action against his club? Maybe Balotelli has finally crossed that line from ‘quite a character’ to ‘more trouble than he’s worth’.
Perhaps Roberto Mancini shouldn’t be surprised by what he has on his hands in Mario Balotelli. His reputation certainly preceded him before his switch to City. This was the Mario Balotelli who had been branded ‘unmanageable’ by one of the greatest at handling big characters, José Mourinho.
The Mario Balotelli who had appeared on Italian TV in an AC Milan shirt whilst still very much an Inter player. Imagine the hostility he would be faced with now if he turned up on Football Focus sporting a Man United shirt?
Mancini knew all of this, he had experienced much of it first hand as he had managed Balotelli prior to Mourinho. But Mancini decided there was a future for Balotelli at Man City. Perhaps this is why Mario has been given so many chances. This was Mancini’s gamble and it’s one that he wants to give ample time to in order for it to pay off. Perhaps others would have already cut their losses.
That could certainly be one reason why Mancini has stuck with Balotelli, but another could be the raw talent he undoubtedly possesses. No doubt we don’t see the best of him enough, but it’s not out of the question that Mario Balotelli could one day be one of the world’s best strikers.
His near-unplayable stint at this summer’s European Championships showed that. But this potential can only be tapped by one man and that’s Mario. No one will hold him back but himself.
Currently a catalogue of less than desirable (albeit often amusing) off-field distractions seem to be stifling his development. Highlights include driving, uninvited, into a women’s prison so that he could “have a look around”, lighting his house on fire by setting off fireworks in his bathroom, explaining to police that he had £5000 cash in his possession when they stopped him with the simple phrase “because I am rich”.
Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Xavi, Robin van Persie, it’s hard to imagine any of them making a seemingly arbitrary and uninvited appearance at the press conference of a rival team as they unveil their new manager. But with Mario you don’t even have to imagine it, you can go on YouTube for that too. That’s exactly what he did in March of this year when Inter Milan unveiled their new manager. Entering the press conference unannounced, he shook hands and then left.
The other players mentioned above, Messi, Ronaldo et al, they don’t have these distractions, that’s one of two differences between them and Balotelli. The other is that they perform to their fullest each and every week. Without these distractions maybe Mario would too, maybe he wouldn’t. But it would be nice to know for certain.
A lot of comparisons have been made recently between Balotelli and the temperamental yet supremely talented Eric Cantona. The main difference between them currently though is that despite a fiery personality, Cantona was tamed by a skilled manager whom he had unwavering respect for and went on to perform consistently as a result.
Mario Balotelli needs to do the same to avoid being labelled a waste of talent or a ‘what might have been’. At the moment his contribution on the pitch may not be worth the baggage that he comes with. But Roberto Mancini seems to be clinging on to the hope that one day it will be.