Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/321747
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 1 JUNE 2014 50 Mario Balotelli, charismatic bad boy and world-class player Mario Balotelli is a charismatic bad boy who can make a difference on the pitch: he is Italy's most lethal attacking weapon and also the Squadra Azzurra's eccentric enfant terrible MIRIAM SCHMIDT THE 23-year-old striker polarizes views like almost no other likely star of the upcoming Brazil 2014 World Cup. And yet, in spite of that, or per- haps precisely because of it, expec- tations in Italy about the Milan for- ward are as high as public interest in his personal life. Every action, every tweet from Balotelli is fol- lowed and commented by the Ital- ian press. "Stop talking and talking and talking and live and let live!" an al- most desperate Balotelli wrote last year in his account on the social network Twitter. The son of immigrants from Ghana who moved in with Italian foster parents as a child, he some- times exposes the sensitive portion of himself. He has wept after being booed by spectators, for example, and said he wanted to look after his little daughter. Balotelli eventually admitted in February that a by then more than 1-year-old baby girl was indeed his daughter, after a long battle with his ex-girlfriend and a DNA test. And yet there is also a different side to Balotelli, an extroverted joker who loves fast cars and beau- tiful women, who picks up fights with referees and fans alike, who speaks his mind and is at the centre of one scandal after another. His looks are also eye-catching, partic- ularly his trademark mohican and his diamond studs. This is precisely the side that Balotelli would do well to leave at home ahead of the World Cup, ac- cording to Italy coach Cesare Pran- delli. The 56-year-old has made it clear that he will accept no more scandals, and his players will not be allowed to use Facebook or Twitter during Brazil 2014. Prandelli is prepared to imple- ment his strict code of ethics, as he showed in a recent friendly against world champions Spain. Midfielder Daniele De Rossi was sidelined af- ter misbehaving during a club-level match. Prandelli is ambitious ahead of the World Cup: he wants to lead the Azzurri to the title. He cannot afford troublemakers in the squad, and yet he can also not really do without the exceptional Balotelli. On a good day, the striker can settle a match virtually on his own, as he showed in the Euro 2012 semi-finals. Balotelli scored a brace against Germany, who were favoured by most observers ahead of the game, to lead Italy into the final. Balotelli's extraordinary quality is undisputed. His talent was ap- parent very early, as he played his first youth team games in Italy at the age of 15. The striker started his profes- sional career at Inter Milan, and he made his Serie A debut at 17. How- ever, the hot-headed player clashed with coach Jose Mourinho soon af- ter that, and he was sidelined from the squad for his poor performanc- es during training. In 2010, Balotelli moved to Man- chester City in the Premier League amid great expectations. However, things did not start well at all for him in England: in his first few games for his new employer, he managed to get sent off twice. And coach Roberto Mancini got angry as red cards piled up over the fol- lowing months. Balotelli caused a stir in Britain and kept making headlines off the pitch too. In early 2013, the Euro 2012 hero made a celebrated return to Italy. At AC Milan, he scored a brace in his very first match, but things were not perfect for Balotelli at his favourite club either. In Italy, the media were even tougher on the striker and his private life. Balotelli's greatest wish is to live "like a normal person," he said late last year. "Many times any gesture I make, even a simple tweet, (…) is used to create other meanings that do not interest me. It isn't like that abroad," he complained. Prandelli has been outspoken in his support for his young star and stood up for him. "Balotelli will learn. He needs lots of love," the coach said. Slowly, however, even Prandelli appears to be losing patience with his problem child. "He needs to grow up," the coach said recently, with an eye on the World Cup. Balotelli's coach at AC Milan, Clarence Seedorf, and Prandelli both say that the striker has both the talent and the ability to become a really fantastic footballer. In order to do that, however, Balotelli needs to focus on his sport and stop the headlines and the scandals. "We all hope he can explode and become the champion that he still isn't yet," Seedorf said. Cesare Prandelli will once again rely on veterans Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo and hope he can keep his star striker Mario Balotelli under control. Photo by: Marcus Brandt - dpa