Good Player Guide #5 - Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli

(Inter Milan / Italy)

Affectionately dubbed ‘Super Mario’ by the Interisti, Mario Balotelli Barwuah, 17, has burst onto the scene this season with some astonishingly mature performances that have belied his relative youth. After starring in the Viareggio tournament (a cup competition for Italian clubs’ youth outfits, personal highlights of which included a dramatic bicycle kick winner against Cisco Roma) the young Italian was given a fleeting Serie A debut against Cagliari in December 2007. Three days later he was thrust into action in the Coppa Italia against Reggina, with manager Roberto Mancini keen to rest some of Inter’s stars ahead of the Derby della Maddonina (Milan derby). Balotelli rewarded his manager’s faith with a couple of goals and a performance that had Inter fans rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of their very own prodigious striking talent to vie with Alexandre Pato at city rivals AC Milan.

When further opportunities presented themselves to Balotelli, again in the Coppa Italia, he proved he could mix it with the big boys of Italian football and announced himself to the wider public with another fantastic double against Juventus. As Inter’s season derailed somewhat following draws with Genoa, Lazio and a home defeat to Juventus, Balotelli was handed a starting place away to Atalanta in April. 74 minutes in and with Inter hanging on to a 1-0 lead courtesy of Patrick Vieira, the Nerazzurri's new whizzkid pounced to score his first goal in Serie A. Timing his run to perfection, he latched onto a flick by Dejan Stankovic, rounded the goalkeeper with a sublime fake and slotted into the net.

The following week, Fiorentina were the visitors to the San Siro and once again it was Balotelli making the headlines. This time it was Julio Cruz who played the through ball but the ending was much the same. The exquisite timing of Balotelli’s diagonal run, coupled with his cool finish left everyone who saw it in no doubt that this young man can make it right to the very top.

At over 6ft 2in, ‘Super Mario’ has the brawn (so often lacking in players his age) to go with the obvious technical ability he possesses. He is strong on the ball and his ability to make clever diagonal runs behind the defence coupled with an extremely composed attitude in front of goal has already drawn comparisons with Thierry Henry.

Mario Balotelli was born in Palermo, Sicily, of Ghanaian parents but was fostered from the age of three by an Italian family in Brescia, Northern Italy. Owing to legal complications he is yet to gain Italian citizenship, although he will be offered the opportunity to do so later this year when he turns eighteen on August 12th. Nevertheless, Balotelli considers himself Italian and has declined approaches by Ghana representatives to play for their national team, instead opting to await the inevitable call up to the Azzurri once he is officially eligible. He has already been called up for the Italian u15 and u17 teams but was unable to play due to the situation regarding his citizenship.

With Roberto Mancini stating that Balotelli is “not even at 50 per cent of his potential”, we can expect big things from the powerful young striker in the near future.

H.N. is a contributor to Just-Football, specialising in Italian football.