He is a good guy Chappy, one of the best. Manchester City kit-man Les Chapman has even gone into detail about the story in a brilliant interview. Chosen for You Chosen for You. Most Read Stories Most Read. Advert He quickly made a name for himself, being named the Golden Boy Award at the age of Despite still having disciplinary issues, he scored big goals for the club. Despite being a part of that incredible moment, Balotelli was always the subject of antics that drew the anger of his teammates, coaches, fans, and the media.
In , he moved to AC Milan , with Mancini considering it a necessary change of scenery. He came out the blocks quickly, scoring 2 goals in his debut and scored 4 goals in his first 3 matches. In all, he had 12 goals in 13 appearances that season for Milan, despite once again being subjected to racist taunts along the way.
He moved to Liverpool, where he had a disastrous season in , and eventually returned on loan to Milan. Battling injuries and inconsistency, he only scored 1 goal in his return to the San Siro. He has since had stints at Nice, Marseille, Brescia, and Monza.
He turned down call-ups from Ghana, expressing his desire to play for Italy when he became eligible. Because his foster family did not adopt him, he could not obtain Italian citizenship until he turned He made his debut with the senior national team in August in a friendly match against the Ivory Coast. He scored his first goal in November against Poland.
Balotelli scored quite a few goals for Italy, but none more memorable than his brace against Germany in the Euro semifinals. On the second goal, a missile from the edge of the box, he simply ripped his shirt off and stood motionless, flexing every muscle in his body for the world to see as he was mobbed by his teammates. While Italy would go on to lose to Spain in the final, Balotelli was named to the Team of the Tournament.
Subscriber Account active since. The shirt and the phrase came to symbolize Balotelli's unexplainable compulsion to subvert his immense talent with on- and off-the-field brain farts. Well, now we know exactly what the year-old Italian meant with the shirt. Here's an excerpt from his Time magazine cover story for the international edition :. He says, on the contrary, the message was a plea to those critics and to the paparazzi who trail him off the pitch: 'Just leave me alone.
The Time article is largely about how Balotelli is misunderstood , and not just when it comes to his t-shirts. Mario was abandoned by his birth parents when he was three, and has faced intense racism from his own fans while playing in Italy. He has a close relationship with his foster mother, and even stopped dying his mohawk blonde when she told him little kids in her town were doing it and their parents were angry.
One of the biggest criticisms of Balotelli is that he's a me-first striker who only cares about scoring goals.
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