It has certainly been an interesting debut season at Manchester City for 2010 Golden Boy Award winner Mario Balotelli. But, love him or hate him, he has without doubt had an impact on English football.
Signed on his 20th birthday for £24 million by his former Inter Milan manager Roberto Mancini, fans were disappointed when the young Italian injured his knee in a pre-season friendly that ruled him out of action until October. And, in a stop-start season due to a mixture of injuries and disciplinary problems, the press have already started labelling the young striker a flop. But, Balotelli is still a young player in only his fourth season of first team football. Mancini knew he was signing a raw, young talent far from the finished product, so is this label really fair?
In the midst of all the on-field drama, Balotelli has scored 10 goals in 25 appearances in a City shirt including a hat trick against Aston Villa. If you were to look across the city to another expensive former prodigy, Wayne Rooney scored 11 goals in 28 Premiership games in his debut season giving Balotelli a slightly better strike rate.
But, when comparing disciplinary records, the similarities end. Whilst both players are known for their run-ins with authority, Rooney earned 8 yellow cards over 49 appearances in his first season, whereas Balotelli has accumulated 11 yellows and 2 red cards so far.
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Yet Manchester City and particularly Mancini knew they were signing a troubled and enigmatic player when they moved for Balotelli. Having had an uneasy childhood, being signed in a multi-million pound deal, being paid a reported £100,000 a week and moving abroad all by the age of 20, it has all been a lot for the young forward to take in. His various misdemeanours, whether it be his tens of thousands of pounds in parking tickets, the dart-throwing incident or even his infiltration of a women’s prison in Italy, whilst inexcusable, are all part of the learning curve. And, following his provocation of Manchester United fans and their captain Rio Ferdinand in the aftermath of City’s recent FA Cup semi-final victory, he could well have found himself a special place in the hearts of Manchester City fans.
But to criticise Balotelli at this early stage in his career is somewhat unjust. An exciting player with undoubted talent, City fans were expecting a marquee player to match his marquee price tag. But, if they were hoping for another inspirational talisman in the mould of Carlos Tevez then Balotelli was always going to disappoint. Between the strops, red cards and apparent allergic reactions to grass there have been some moments of brilliance from the young eccentric. And, with the right nurturing he could grow into a great player as with Sir Alex Ferguson and Eric Cantona or Jose Mourinho and Didier Drogba. But, having tried at both Inter and now City only time will tell if Roberto Mancini is the right manager the bring out the best in Mario Balotelli.