Dubai Blue said:
I'm in full agreement that Balotelli is nowhere near world class. He can, on occasion, be very, very good. But his poor, ineffectual performances far outweigh the times when he actually makes a difference. He was absolutely shite last night. Hardly any movement, and only fleeting glimpses of interest in actually working hard to get on the ball. He strolls around like he can't be arsed and thinks he can just turn it on whenever he wants, but his track record shows that he can't.
His level of intensity is woeful and he's comfortably the most frustrating player I've seen at City because he has the ability, knows he has the ability, but can rarely be arsed to actually put it into action. He has this 'too cool for school' attitude, but he's 24 now; it's time to grow up.
There was a Balotelli vs Welbeck debate on here a few weeks back, and it's clear that Mario is light years ahead in terms of ability. But you know exactly what you're getting out of Welbeck every single game he plays. He'll give you consistent 6/10 performances, with the occasional 7/10 thrown in. Nothing spectacular, but the team can work around it if they know what to expect. Yes, Balotelli will give you the odd magical 9/10, but more often than not he's down in 3s and 4s. And that constant question of "Which Mario will turn up today?" can really damage a team's morale.
Try as they might to love him, the dippers will be sick of him by the end of the season. I guarantee it.
That's exactly what frustrates, not me in particular, but most of the people.
He's been provided of extremely rare physical and tecnhical tools by Mother Nature and he's fully aware of that, he really is, nonetheless, he's wasting them because he lacks work-ethic and still gets paid millions.
Is there anything more frustrating for ordinary people, who can barely make ends meet, than watching someone who's refusing to get better and still makes tons of money?
He could play with intensity if he wanted, the motor is there, but he doesn't want to, which is disheartening.
I feel the same way when I watch Monfils playing tennis. Have you ever watched him once? Same as Mario, he's a "freak" who lacks work ethic and doesn't know how to behave. Such a waste.
Regarding Pirlo's words, they are nice, especially the part when he gives him a big smile at Italy's training camp, I would too probably, Balotelli seems kind of funny, I could have a laugh or two.
Concerning racism, it is true that many supporters in Italy are racist, like in many other countries, I won't deny it, but that goes far beyond Balotelli, it's an hystorical issue. In addition, having political parties like Lega Nord, which want to create an indipendent state within Italy's borders, doesn't help. Salvini (one of their leaders) once said, if I recall correctly, "I won't watch and support Italy because of him", not specifically those words but this is what transpired from them and more in general "I won't support the NT if there are players with non Italian extraction". That's the point, they're stupid and they got many followers in the North and if those followers happen to watch Mario playing for the opponent team they'll buu him for sure because of their political's preferences and then probably beacuse he's black too, but that has nothing to do with Mario, he's just the most unpopular and sought-after of a numerous group.
However there are many other people too who can't stand him and make chants against him, not racist ones, just because he's been very disrespectful to them.
His ego is bigger than his talent and that doesn't get along with football, which is first and foremost abnegation and passion for your colours and supporters, that's the beauty of it. Against Barcellona (3-1 in the CL's semi), when he was 20, Inter's players were unbelievable, they were spitting blood all over the court, it was countagious and everyone attending the game could sense that, remarkable effort. Eto'o, someone who proved to be "quite good" in his career, played the fullback full-time, I mean SAMUEL freaking ETO'O playing the fullback! I applaude that, I applaude Tevez's passion every time I see him with Juve but they're not the only ones of course.
Balotelli was the discordant note as always. He entered that game in the last 15 minutes or so and walked around at leisurely pace until it ended and after getting whistled by fans because of his laziness he threw Inter's jersey on the ground, simply embarassing.
During the world cup he posted a pic on twitter with 23 Balotellis on an sticker album. Are you serious?
"Why always me?"
Because you're a dipstick, show some pride, no wonder people criticize you. This is what really pisses people off not the colour of your skin, which is only a partial reason, it's his attitude that has to change.
He likes playing the Calimero's role, the small and black chick, the babes in the wood, he likes being in the spotlight and be the VICTIM of "disgraceful" injustices plaguing the world, like racism. He deserved this treatment, he's been asking for it, as you sow so shall you reap.
He should just shut up and play, time to grow up kid!
P.s. He's a diver too.
