In order to understand the player you must first learn to understand the man and what life events have conspired to make him act the ways he does. Mario Balotelli has undoubted talent on the football pitch. When he turns it on he is a treasure to behold, then there is the other side, the side that frustrates and infuriates fans, team mates and American announcers.
Mario was born in Palermo, Italy to Ghanaian immigrant parents. He was very ill as an infant and went through several surgeries due to problems with his intestines. His health improved but his living conditions didn't, the government intervened and Mario was fostered out to the Balotelli family.
As Balotelli started to make his way in football his parents became more interested in reclaiming their son. This led to Mario accusing them of being motivated by greed and the relationship was unrepairable.
Mario made his league debut at the age of 15 before then having an unsuccessful trial with Barcelona and then being taken in by Inter Milan. Roberto Mancini took him on loan with the option to purchase, which he did. Aged 17 he made his Serie A debut against Cagliari and he would score his first and second goal three days later against Reggina.
In April 2009, aged only 18, he scored in Inters 1-1 draw with Juventus and was racially abused throughout the game with fans chanting ‘Black Italians do not exist’. Juve were given a one game home fan ban as a result of the behavior. The abuse was also condemned by the Juve chairman.
After Mancini left Inter, Balotelli's days were also numbered. The crowd turned on him and then eventually so did the rest of the squad. This wasn't all without cause though, Balotelli has never been one to avoid controversy and appeared on TV wearing an AC Milan shirt!
Then he secured a move back to Mancini and Manchester City. Once in Manchester he instantly repaid Mancini with a goal on his debut in the Europa League before getting injured and subbed off. On his second full league debut though he showed us exactly what he could do, scoring both goals in the 2-0 win against West Brom before being unfairly sent off.
More controversy was to follow with him being awarded with the Golden Boy Award. When accepting he stated that of the previous winners only Messi was 'slightly better' than he was and that he had never heard of runner up, Jack Wilshire. Ok lets analyze that, of the winners maybe new City signing Aguero might have something to say about that along with previous years winner, Pato. But Van Der Vaart has hardly set the world alight since he won it in 2003. Same could be said for 2006 winner Fabregas, with Arsenal winning trophy after trophy…not! That leaves two other winners, Anderson and Rooney? Any City fans think those two are better than Super Mario? as for the Wilshire statement, I can believe that Balotelli hadn’t heard of him more than I can the reasons for Wilshires nomination in the first place. Balotelli, winner of Serie A three times, and the Coppa Italia, Super Coppa Italiana and the Champions League once a piece. Mr Wilshire? FA youth cup winner and Premier Academy League.
Now to the latest controversy and a now famous bodged up back heel against the mighty LA Galaxy. For all of those up in arms and ready to throw him to the lions, relax, it was an exhibition game, and he is an exhibitionist! Maybe he even thought he was offside but whatever his thinking I highly doubt he would have done it in an important League game. I don’t remember him trying anything like that against United in the semis or Stoke in the final of the FA Cup. The comment has always been that he is moody and doesn’t seem to enjoy playing, the one time he does and he gets berated and hauled off! His reaction was a bit over the top but to me that just shows that he really wanted to continue playing. Mancini I am sure will be pleased to see that and I don’t think any more action will be taken. I say this because Balotelli has been named in the 28 man squad traveling to Ireland this weekend.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Manchester In North America
Manchester City travel back to the Manchester weather after a very hot and heated tour of North America. The squad had a few days rest and relaxation before getting down to the semi serious work of playing matches.
The trio of fixtures kicked off in San Francisco with the City team taking on Club America. City started with new signings Clichy and Savic, youth prospects Mancini, Guidetti, Veseli as well as members from the FA Cup winning squad, Hart, Toure, Richards and Dzeko.
However it was old boy SWP and Ryan McGivern who netted both City goals as they ran out victors, 2-0.
Next up the City team traveled to Canada to face the Vancouver Whitecaps. It was not the start that City had hoped for with the Canadians going a goal up through a deflected shot from Sanvezzo before losing Yaya Toure through injury.
Mancini again elected to play a different team each half and it was the second half City that struck back. Guidetti latched on to Mancini Jr’s corner to power the Blues back on level terms before Sweepie secured the win five minutes from time with a cracking effort.
Lastly it was off to LA where the ever intelligent David Beckham, who signed for LA Galaxy for a reported $250million and paid $6.5million a year, stated that City are buying success but will never be as big as United. LA Galaxy meanwhile have won???? To the game though and it would be fair to ask LA if they knew it was a friendly as first Clichy was clattered into la la land before Richards was felled in the area. Balotelli dispatched the penalty to put City 1-0 up and despite the protests from the LA keeper it was a good penalty. A few minutes later, however Balotelli was again put through on goal but instead of putting City 2-0 up he decided to spin and back heel the ball past the post. This initiated a barrage of anger toward the quiet City forward from fans, announcers, his team mates and more importantly, City boss Roberto Mancini, who hauled him off at the next available chance to his disgust.
This was the turning point for City as before we were slicing through their backline at will we know seemed to lose our spark and it as feared a terrific goal from Magee on 53 minutes tied up the contest. It could have gone from bad to worse for City if not for Harts double save. The game ended a draw a 1-1 but as with all American sports a winner needs to emerge and so to spot kicks. Milner, Weiss, Suarez and Kolarov all scored before Guidetti failed to end it. Then we went into sudden death with Hart stopping LA’s first and Lescott failing from the spot. At this point even my American girlfriend stated ‘This is ridiculous!’ I had to agree, but it is her country! Sweepie put the next away and Hart stopped another. Joe, obviously tired of the whole circus stepped up and launched a shot into the top corner to seal the win for City. My mind went back to Nicky Weaver going crazy after the playoff win on penalties and running around the pitch like a fool. However this wasn’t that important and Hart just did a Ninja pose and walked off.
The trio of fixtures kicked off in San Francisco with the City team taking on Club America. City started with new signings Clichy and Savic, youth prospects Mancini, Guidetti, Veseli as well as members from the FA Cup winning squad, Hart, Toure, Richards and Dzeko.
However it was old boy SWP and Ryan McGivern who netted both City goals as they ran out victors, 2-0.
Next up the City team traveled to Canada to face the Vancouver Whitecaps. It was not the start that City had hoped for with the Canadians going a goal up through a deflected shot from Sanvezzo before losing Yaya Toure through injury.
Mancini again elected to play a different team each half and it was the second half City that struck back. Guidetti latched on to Mancini Jr’s corner to power the Blues back on level terms before Sweepie secured the win five minutes from time with a cracking effort.
Lastly it was off to LA where the ever intelligent David Beckham, who signed for LA Galaxy for a reported $250million and paid $6.5million a year, stated that City are buying success but will never be as big as United. LA Galaxy meanwhile have won???? To the game though and it would be fair to ask LA if they knew it was a friendly as first Clichy was clattered into la la land before Richards was felled in the area. Balotelli dispatched the penalty to put City 1-0 up and despite the protests from the LA keeper it was a good penalty. A few minutes later, however Balotelli was again put through on goal but instead of putting City 2-0 up he decided to spin and back heel the ball past the post. This initiated a barrage of anger toward the quiet City forward from fans, announcers, his team mates and more importantly, City boss Roberto Mancini, who hauled him off at the next available chance to his disgust.
This was the turning point for City as before we were slicing through their backline at will we know seemed to lose our spark and it as feared a terrific goal from Magee on 53 minutes tied up the contest. It could have gone from bad to worse for City if not for Harts double save. The game ended a draw a 1-1 but as with all American sports a winner needs to emerge and so to spot kicks. Milner, Weiss, Suarez and Kolarov all scored before Guidetti failed to end it. Then we went into sudden death with Hart stopping LA’s first and Lescott failing from the spot. At this point even my American girlfriend stated ‘This is ridiculous!’ I had to agree, but it is her country! Sweepie put the next away and Hart stopped another. Joe, obviously tired of the whole circus stepped up and launched a shot into the top corner to seal the win for City. My mind went back to Nicky Weaver going crazy after the playoff win on penalties and running around the pitch like a fool. However this wasn’t that important and Hart just did a Ninja pose and walked off.
Monday, June 6, 2011
City Sign 'Promising Prospect Savic'
The second signing from Manchester City has been finalized and sees young defender and promising young prospect Stefan Savic sign in what is thought to be a 10.6m pound deal. Not much is known about Stefan except to say that he has represented Montenegro at every level including the senior side last year, making his debut against Northern Ireland. Recently he played England and faced a few of his new team mates in that opposing side.
Savic did have a 10 day trial with Arsenal early last year and had agreed to join Stoke however it was FK Partizan and given the number 15 shirt.
Certainly this signing represents one for the future and I would not expect him to wrestle a start away from the current back line but certainly may be used in the League cup and the occasional covering for injuries certainly.
Savic did have a 10 day trial with Arsenal early last year and had agreed to join Stoke however it was FK Partizan and given the number 15 shirt.
Certainly this signing represents one for the future and I would not expect him to wrestle a start away from the current back line but certainly may be used in the League cup and the occasional covering for injuries certainly.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Clichy Signs
Manchester City have made their first signing with the capture of Arsenal and French International defender, Gael Clichy for a reported 7million pounds on a four year deal. The 25 year old was the last remaining member of the Arsenal ‘Invincibles’ from the 2003-04 season when they went all season unbeaten.
He became the youngest player to win a Premier League medal in 2004 aged just 18 years and 10 months. He is a pacy left back and will certainly compliment Richards on the right and make for a more balanced City team with both defenders liking to get forward.
Clichy has represented his National Team at all levels from the U-15’s all the way up to the seniors where he currently has ten appearances.
Hopefully Gael represents the start of many quality signings from Mancini and co over the coming weeks as we look forward to the next campaign and a realistic shot at the title and progression in the Champions League.
He became the youngest player to win a Premier League medal in 2004 aged just 18 years and 10 months. He is a pacy left back and will certainly compliment Richards on the right and make for a more balanced City team with both defenders liking to get forward.
Clichy has represented his National Team at all levels from the U-15’s all the way up to the seniors where he currently has ten appearances.
Hopefully Gael represents the start of many quality signings from Mancini and co over the coming weeks as we look forward to the next campaign and a realistic shot at the title and progression in the Champions League.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Bolton 0, CITY 2
Manchester City made the short trip up the M61 to the Reebok stadium but came back with a huge leap forward in their status. The 2-0 win obviously was another three points in the bag and three more points for our Premier League tally but, more than that, it meant that our final position in the league moved from fourth to third.
The difference means no qualification trips to eastern Siberia in July before entry into the Champions League and instead we can enjoy the sunshine of LA and Dublin instead. It certainly has been a stellar season for City who, only a few days ago, lifted the FA Cup. This is their first major trophy since lifting the League Cup in 1976 and the first time our name has been on it since 1969.
This added to our joint second place finish in the EPL (yes we have the same points as Chelski), Carlos Tevez sharing the Golden Boot award and Joe Hart getting the Golden Gloves and you may start believing that all Mancini touches does turn to gold.
Going into the final game of the season City were in a foot race with Wengers Arsenal for third place and it would be fair to say that City fans were still nervous. All those years of being ’Typical City’ are hard to dismiss and would have been well in character to win the FA Cup only then to swith off for the remaining games. To be fair it was Bolton who had the better chances early doors after Knight had blocked a lone Tevez chance. It was our own ‘Deeee-ceeent’ keeper that kept us in it before Lescott headed City into a half time lead. Silva, Barry, Yaya and Tevez all spurned chances in the second half but just minutes after coming on, Bosnian super sub Dzeko sealed the points, and Champions League for the ONLY team IN Manchester.
The difference means no qualification trips to eastern Siberia in July before entry into the Champions League and instead we can enjoy the sunshine of LA and Dublin instead. It certainly has been a stellar season for City who, only a few days ago, lifted the FA Cup. This is their first major trophy since lifting the League Cup in 1976 and the first time our name has been on it since 1969.
This added to our joint second place finish in the EPL (yes we have the same points as Chelski), Carlos Tevez sharing the Golden Boot award and Joe Hart getting the Golden Gloves and you may start believing that all Mancini touches does turn to gold.
Going into the final game of the season City were in a foot race with Wengers Arsenal for third place and it would be fair to say that City fans were still nervous. All those years of being ’Typical City’ are hard to dismiss and would have been well in character to win the FA Cup only then to swith off for the remaining games. To be fair it was Bolton who had the better chances early doors after Knight had blocked a lone Tevez chance. It was our own ‘Deeee-ceeent’ keeper that kept us in it before Lescott headed City into a half time lead. Silva, Barry, Yaya and Tevez all spurned chances in the second half but just minutes after coming on, Bosnian super sub Dzeko sealed the points, and Champions League for the ONLY team IN Manchester.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
CITY 3, Stoke 0
So it was same again lads with us playing Stoke for the second time in four days. This time though, there was no silverware up for grabs but three valuable points that would launch City into the much coveted third position in the Premier League and with it the last automatic qualification position for next seasons Champions League.
Such was the importance of the game for Mancinis men that even the FA Cup was not on show and City started with a strong side. It was the same dominating City that we saw on Saturday only this time without the ‘35 year without a trophy’ tag hanging around their neck and in front of their home fans. A slick one two with James Milner on the edge of the box allowed Captain Tevez to finally unleash a shot that Sorensen didn’t get anywhere near. City went in at the half with the lead and third place looking more likely by the minute. Seven minutes into the second half prolific super striker Joleon Lescott pounced! His Klingon technique got him in front of Sorensen to guide a Johnson freekick into the net for his first goal this year.
Carlos Tevez didn’t like that and soon put City 3-0 up with a superb freekick that had Joe Hart join in with the Poznan!
City were playing with smiles on their faces and were extremely comfortable, so much so that even Roberto Mancini got up from his seat to acknowledge the fans as they started to chant his name. There was certainly a party atmosphere during the game, from the crowd as well as the players and that would continue after the whistle with spectators being asked to keep seated for the players to return and allow them to thank them for their continued support.
Next up is the Sunday season finale away to Bolton. A win there (or a match with Arsenals points tally away to Fulham) and Manchester City will automatically qualify for the Champions League, rather than having to qualify with matches starting in July. A side note that with this win Mancinis men have secured the most points total and wins total for Manchester City in the Premier League ever.
Such was the importance of the game for Mancinis men that even the FA Cup was not on show and City started with a strong side. It was the same dominating City that we saw on Saturday only this time without the ‘35 year without a trophy’ tag hanging around their neck and in front of their home fans. A slick one two with James Milner on the edge of the box allowed Captain Tevez to finally unleash a shot that Sorensen didn’t get anywhere near. City went in at the half with the lead and third place looking more likely by the minute. Seven minutes into the second half prolific super striker Joleon Lescott pounced! His Klingon technique got him in front of Sorensen to guide a Johnson freekick into the net for his first goal this year.
Carlos Tevez didn’t like that and soon put City 3-0 up with a superb freekick that had Joe Hart join in with the Poznan!
City were playing with smiles on their faces and were extremely comfortable, so much so that even Roberto Mancini got up from his seat to acknowledge the fans as they started to chant his name. There was certainly a party atmosphere during the game, from the crowd as well as the players and that would continue after the whistle with spectators being asked to keep seated for the players to return and allow them to thank them for their continued support.
Next up is the Sunday season finale away to Bolton. A win there (or a match with Arsenals points tally away to Fulham) and Manchester City will automatically qualify for the Champions League, rather than having to qualify with matches starting in July. A side note that with this win Mancinis men have secured the most points total and wins total for Manchester City in the Premier League ever.
Monday, May 16, 2011
City, FA Cup Winners 2011
So pop quiz hot shot. What do these four dates have in common? April 23rd 1904, April 28th 1934, May 5th 1956 and April 26th 1969? Answer? They were all dates in history when the ONLY team to come from Manchester won the most prestigious club cup competition in history, the FA Cup. Now City fans can add May 14th 2011 to that list as on this day Manchester City ended their 35 year wait for silverware with one power strike from Yaya Toure.
City arrived at Wembley in good spirits, having already secured at least fourth spot in the English Premier league and with that the chance of Champions League football next season. This being the highest finish ever in the Premiership and the highest in the top flight since the 1976-77 season. This still with two games to go and third spot still within reach.
City welcomed back Captain fantastic Carlos Tevez from injury and from the first whistle it was all Blue going forward. City had a number of good chances with Toure shooting just wide from long range, Balotelli forcing a great save from Sorensen and Tevez shooting straight at the Stoke keeper, who spilt then collected the ball. However the best chance fell to Spanish sensation David Silva who only yards from goal uncharacteristically drilled the ball into the ground and watched it go harmlessly over the bar. It was at this point, I must confess, that I started to worry for our beloved Blues. As you all know, City haven’t the best history against Stoke. Also add the fact that with the FA Cup sometimes it is the lucky team that wins it and you could argue a case for Stoke to snatch it and Manchester City to yet again be held up and made fun of. (Just think of the headlines as United lifted the Premier title!)
Second half seemed more of the same with Tevez on a break laying a ball into the path of an unmarked Silva in acres of space, only for the ball to get caught up in his feet. Stoke had been left to try long throws into the box until Jones was put through one on one with Joe Hart. However Hart made himself big in front of goal and Jones could only see his shot rebound off the City keeper. That would be their best chance and it was City who then took the lead. Persistence in the box saw the ball fall at the feet of Yaya Toure who rifled the shot into the back of the Stoke net. It was his goal that got us to the final and defeated United, it was his goal that saw blue ribbons placed on the cup that was placed in Carlos Tevez’s hands. City were lifting their first major silverware since 1976 and I was over the Blue Moon!!
City arrived at Wembley in good spirits, having already secured at least fourth spot in the English Premier league and with that the chance of Champions League football next season. This being the highest finish ever in the Premiership and the highest in the top flight since the 1976-77 season. This still with two games to go and third spot still within reach.
City welcomed back Captain fantastic Carlos Tevez from injury and from the first whistle it was all Blue going forward. City had a number of good chances with Toure shooting just wide from long range, Balotelli forcing a great save from Sorensen and Tevez shooting straight at the Stoke keeper, who spilt then collected the ball. However the best chance fell to Spanish sensation David Silva who only yards from goal uncharacteristically drilled the ball into the ground and watched it go harmlessly over the bar. It was at this point, I must confess, that I started to worry for our beloved Blues. As you all know, City haven’t the best history against Stoke. Also add the fact that with the FA Cup sometimes it is the lucky team that wins it and you could argue a case for Stoke to snatch it and Manchester City to yet again be held up and made fun of. (Just think of the headlines as United lifted the Premier title!)
Second half seemed more of the same with Tevez on a break laying a ball into the path of an unmarked Silva in acres of space, only for the ball to get caught up in his feet. Stoke had been left to try long throws into the box until Jones was put through one on one with Joe Hart. However Hart made himself big in front of goal and Jones could only see his shot rebound off the City keeper. That would be their best chance and it was City who then took the lead. Persistence in the box saw the ball fall at the feet of Yaya Toure who rifled the shot into the back of the Stoke net. It was his goal that got us to the final and defeated United, it was his goal that saw blue ribbons placed on the cup that was placed in Carlos Tevez’s hands. City were lifting their first major silverware since 1976 and I was over the Blue Moon!!
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