No tears for Balotelli departure
Monday 26 July 2010 12:10
Inter flew out to the States on Sunday for their pre-season tour and as the fans at Malpensa airport waved farewell, there were few tears being shed that Mario Balotelli will more than likely be a Manchester City player before the team gets over its jet-lag.
Saddled with the ‘Super Mario’ tag, the youngster has done little to live up to his moniker since making his debut as a raw seventeen-year-old under Roberto Mancini.
Now about to turn 20, those rough edges have not been softened and his career stalled last season when Jose Mourinho decided he was nothing more than a frustrating talent who was unable to integrate into a team – and exiled him to the margins of his Treble-winning squad.
Balotelli’s overall demeanour – on and off the pitch - did little to win over his doubters: throwing his shirt on the ground, winding up his own fans by donning a Milan shirt and generally acting like a spoilt brat in most people’s eyes.
In fact, there was little that he did right last year - and it seems he has still not learnt that he need not open his mouth whenever a microphone is thrust in his face.
Waiting for the flight to the USA, he was asked by reporters if he had a message for Inter fans: “Yeah, I am off on holiday.”
And a one-way ticket it will be, adding further ammunition that Inter are doing the right thing in taking the €30 million from City to be done with a player who has all the makings of being as much a disruptive influence under Rafa Benitez as he was when Jose was in charge.
At least Mancini knows what to expect, having been something of a hot-head in his playing days, which is probably why he put so much stock in the teenager when he first made his breakthrough.
There is no doubting the striker’s potential but the jury in Italy seems to have finally decided that he is guilty as charged – a wasted talent more concerned with the trappings of success than working to achieve it.
It is the likes of Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso that the Nerazzurri fans adore – because they only want to play football - but then again they are not blessed with the skill and turn of pace of Balotelli.
However, the question has to be asked: did Mario want to leave Inter, was he forced out by a dressing-room influence – or the whispers i.e. advice, over the last few months finally take hold?
The answer probably lies in a mix of all of the above, but the figure of his agent Mino Raiola looms large throughout the whole affair, having already negotiated another maverick Zlatan Ibrahimovic away from Inter this time last year.
He has been pushing all the right buttons to angle his young client in a position for a move, but so far the only firm offer has come from City – Manchester rivals United have been mentioned and before that there was Barcelona although the talking was coming from the Raiola.
When he took over the player’s management he was able to wrest a €2 million-a-year pay deal out of Massimo Moratti for his client, but with it came the flash car, the rapper-looker and an even-more inflated attitude.
The riches will double at City but maybe the move is the best option for the player to escape the goldfish bowl back home.
There will be little chance that he will pull on a Manchester United shirt on an evening out and even if he utters the sort youthful nonsense that has ruffled the feathers of Italians it is unlikely to grab as much attention in England.
It is not as if living in Milan or anywhere in Lombardy is that different from the north-west of England in winter – after all he grew up in Brescia which isn’t exactly Florence.
In the long run it may be cold comfort for Italian football to lose one of its brightest talents but for Balotelli let’s hope it is the making of him as a true professional.
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About Richard Whittle
Despite the name,
Richard Whittle is so at home in Italy that some call him Riccardo Rossi. He has lived and worked in Italy for the last 15 years as a football journalist and works as Italian soccer commentator for the English-speaking world covering Serie A, Champions League, Europa League and Italian Cup matches as well as Italy internationals. With Paul Visca, Richard concocts the regular
Calcio & Coffee podcast.