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Jose Mourinho is not a bad judge of a player. And even though he is letting him go to City, the fact he persistent with Balotelli for so long despite all his problems suggests he is a real talent. The Portuguese certainly believes so, but has repeatedly questioned if the youngster is “willing or able to take his god given gifts with both hands.”

Do the Telegraph not even know Mourinho has been at Real Madrid for two months, or is he still making transfer policy at Internazionale?

Having watched those clips (yeah, Samaras) I'm hoping we seal this deal. He appears to be strong, quick, skillful and be able to hit the ball so it travels like a rifle bullet.

Could be interesting to see the conversation between Balotelli and Kolarov before free kicks.... "After You....no, after you!"

Mancini playing with fire in temptation by Balotelli

Controversy over Italian striker may seem racist but others say the 19-year-old still has plenty of growing up to do. Ian Herbert reports

Wednesday, 28 July 2010


It took Manchester City's previous expensive striker of African descent 28 days of the last football season to plunge himself into a storm of controversy. To judge by his track record, the club will be lucky if the prospective next one waits that long. If Emmanuel Adebayor's mind was a simmering ball of anger waiting to vent itself on the Arsenal fans who he felt had betrayed him, then Mario Balotelli, who City are confident of signing, is a timebomb ready to immolate any who stand in his way.

City may discover soon enough if the 19-year-old has been a victim or a perpetrator during his short and controversial career at Internazionale and, more significantly, whether manager Roberto Mancini can tame him. The history is a complicated one and bound up in the question of the Italian nation's seeming inability to embrace a multi-ethnic identity. At a casual glance, all that needs to be said is that Balotelli has been subjected to offensive terrace songs, of which at least one was openly racist. A particular favourite with supporters of Juventus is, "If you jump up and down, Balotelli dies", though the really revelatory one is: "A negro cannot be Italian."

Earlier this year, Juventus were fined for anti-Balotelli chants for the second time in the season. The striker was born – and later abandoned by his Ghanaian parents – in the Sicilian capital, Palermo. Though he holds an Italian passport, was raised by adoptive parents in Brescia from the age of two, speaks with the accent of his region and has been a rising star of Italy's Under-21 team, his nationality seems to have made him the source of more abuse than any other black footballer in Italy. At least that is the received wisdom among the more thoughtful observers in a nation whose lexicon has come to include the term the "Balotelli generation" – coined by the Italian civil service to define the half-million children of immigrants born in Italy who qualify by law for Italian citizenship on their 18th birthday.


That is not every individual's view of Balotelli's experiences, though. Despite questions in parliament about the chants (which are by no means limited to Turin), some – including his former Inter manager Jose Mourinho, suggest Balotelli is abused because of his behaviour, rather than the colour of his skin. After the last Juventus fine, the club's Ultras, the hardcore fan base, pointed out that Balotelli's behaviour – including tricks and step-overs which prompted a rash challenge from Tiago that led to the Portugal midfielder's dismissal – were the cause of the abuse.

The fans, presumably supported by Facebook's three anti-Balotelli groups with total membership of more than 45,000, pointed out that although he was abused, Inter's other black players – Patrick Vieira and Sulley Muntari – were not. They reinforced their point four days later, when Juventus played Lazio, by displaying a banner that read: "Seedorf, Davids, Sissoko: true champions, true idols". The message was clear: the racial abuse is not 'real' racism.

Viewed from these shores, the argument appears perverse. Racist abuse for a good reason? But that Seedorf should actually have taken the point reveals Balotelli's habit of dividing opinion.

"You have to stop calling this racism, because it isn't racist," Seedorf said. "It's the same kind of abuse that other, non-black players get when fans sing about their mothers. The fact is that certain players stand out because of their behaviour on the pitch. Balotelli needs to understand that if he continues to behave this way he will continue to elicit similar reactions everywhere he goes."

Even Mourinho, the first to defend his players and seek an advantage from a situation like this, declared "the abuse was childish and ignorant but it wasn't racist. It's not as if they were abusing him because Balotelli is of African descent. They were abusing him because he's an opponent, and a very talented one at that, one whose skill had just led to a Juve player getting sent off."

Mourinho, in fact, never took to the player. He disliked his swagger in training, his giggling with his friends and sent "Supermario" – as some fans had come to know him – back to the youth team. Roma's Francesco Totti would side with Mourinho. After Balotelli claimed the Roma striker had racially abused him in May's Coppa Italia final, Totti, sent off for kicking Balotelli, insisted the teenager had taunted him with the words: "Yo, granddad! You are finished."

City will certainly be taking on an intense and complex individual if the stumbling block to a deal – Balotelli's wage demands of £3m a year – can be overcome. His adoptive sister Cristina told the French newspaper L'Equipe that "Mario always needed love and affection. He wouldn't go to sleep without his mother holding his hand" and on the pitch he has certainly been acutely aware of abuse. Mourinho clearly had his fill of this.

"Nothing has changed," he said just before leaving for Real Madrid. "Neither the way Balotelli works nor his attitude. His effort in training is 25 per cent; if it was at 50 per cent he would be one of the best players in the world. I don't like the atmosphere he is bringing to the team and the way he works during the week. It's not the right attitude for a young player. He lacks concentration and motivation. He must change."

But Mancini feels differently. "When you are young, you make mistakes," he said this week. "That is true of all of us. I do not think Mario is a hard player to work with. I think he is a fantastic player." With the challenging personality of Carlos Tevez to handle already, Mancini will have his work cut out but evidently feels it is worth the effort.

Balotelli's bust-ups

January 2009 Internazionale manager Jose Mourinho criticises his striker. "It's not the right attitude," Mourinho said. "He must change."

April Racially abused by Juventus fans in making his debut for Italy Under-21s.

November Mourinho says Balotelli's display in a match against Roma "came close to a zero rating."

January 2010 Fined £7,000 by the Italian FA after sarcastically applauding Chievo fans' racial abuse.

February Left out of squad against Chelsea in the Champions League after falling out with Mourinho. Criticised by team-mates and own agent.

March Wears Milan shirt on TV show.

April Apologises after flinging Inter shirt to the ground during Champions League victory over Barcelona.

May Balotelli claims Roma's Francesco Totti racially abused him in the Coppa Italia final. Totti, sent off for kicking Balotelli, denied the claims, saying the youngster taunted him with: "Yo, granddad! You are finished."

From The Independent

Guy Debord wrote:Mancini playing with fire in temptation by Balotelli

Controversy over Italian striker may seem racist but others say the 19-year-old still has plenty of growing up to do. Ian Herbert reports

Wednesday, 28 July 2010


It took Manchester City's previous expensive striker of African descent 28 days of the last football season to plunge himself into a storm of controversy. To judge by his track record, the club will be lucky if the prospective next one waits that long. If Emmanuel Adebayor's mind was a simmering ball of anger waiting to vent itself on the Arsenal fans who he felt had betrayed him, then Mario Balotelli, who City are confident of signing, is a timebomb ready to immolate any who stand in his way.

City may discover soon enough if the 19-year-old has been a victim or a perpetrator during his short and controversial career at Internazionale and, more significantly, whether manager Roberto Mancini can tame him. The history is a complicated one and bound up in the question of the Italian nation's seeming inability to embrace a multi-ethnic identity. At a casual glance, all that needs to be said is that Balotelli has been subjected to offensive terrace songs, of which at least one was openly racist. A particular favourite with supporters of Juventus is, "If you jump up and down, Balotelli dies", though the really revelatory one is: "A negro cannot be Italian."

Earlier this year, Juventus were fined for anti-Balotelli chants for the second time in the season. The striker was born – and later abandoned by his Ghanaian parents – in the Sicilian capital, Palermo. Though he holds an Italian passport, was raised by adoptive parents in Brescia from the age of two, speaks with the accent of his region and has been a rising star of Italy's Under-21 team, his nationality seems to have made him the source of more abuse than any other black footballer in Italy. At least that is the received wisdom among the more thoughtful observers in a nation whose lexicon has come to include the term the "Balotelli generation" – coined by the Italian civil service to define the half-million children of immigrants born in Italy who qualify by law for Italian citizenship on their 18th birthday.


That is not every individual's view of Balotelli's experiences, though. Despite questions in parliament about the chants (which are by no means limited to Turin), some – including his former Inter manager Jose Mourinho, suggest Balotelli is abused because of his behaviour, rather than the colour of his skin. After the last Juventus fine, the club's Ultras, the hardcore fan base, pointed out that Balotelli's behaviour – including tricks and step-overs which prompted a rash challenge from Tiago that led to the Portugal midfielder's dismissal – were the cause of the abuse.

The fans, presumably supported by Facebook's three anti-Balotelli groups with total membership of more than 45,000, pointed out that although he was abused, Inter's other black players – Patrick Vieira and Sulley Muntari – were not. They reinforced their point four days later, when Juventus played Lazio, by displaying a banner that read: "Seedorf, Davids, Sissoko: true champions, true idols". The message was clear: the racial abuse is not 'real' racism.

Viewed from these shores, the argument appears perverse. Racist abuse for a good reason? But that Seedorf should actually have taken the point reveals Balotelli's habit of dividing opinion.

"You have to stop calling this racism, because it isn't racist," Seedorf said. "It's the same kind of abuse that other, non-black players get when fans sing about their mothers. The fact is that certain players stand out because of their behaviour on the pitch. Balotelli needs to understand that if he continues to behave this way he will continue to elicit similar reactions everywhere he goes."

Even Mourinho, the first to defend his players and seek an advantage from a situation like this, declared "the abuse was childish and ignorant but it wasn't racist. It's not as if they were abusing him because Balotelli is of African descent. They were abusing him because he's an opponent, and a very talented one at that, one whose skill had just led to a Juve player getting sent off."

Mourinho, in fact, never took to the player. He disliked his swagger in training, his giggling with his friends and sent "Supermario" – as some fans had come to know him – back to the youth team. Roma's Francesco Totti would side with Mourinho. After Balotelli claimed the Roma striker had racially abused him in May's Coppa Italia final, Totti, sent off for kicking Balotelli, insisted the teenager had taunted him with the words: "Yo, granddad! You are finished."

City will certainly be taking on an intense and complex individual if the stumbling block to a deal – Balotelli's wage demands of £3m a year – can be overcome. His adoptive sister Cristina told the French newspaper L'Equipe that "Mario always needed love and affection. He wouldn't go to sleep without his mother holding his hand" and on the pitch he has certainly been acutely aware of abuse. Mourinho clearly had his fill of this.

"Nothing has changed," he said just before leaving for Real Madrid. "Neither the way Balotelli works nor his attitude. His effort in training is 25 per cent; if it was at 50 per cent he would be one of the best players in the world. I don't like the atmosphere he is bringing to the team and the way he works during the week. It's not the right attitude for a young player. He lacks concentration and motivation. He must change."

But Mancini feels differently. "When you are young, you make mistakes," he said this week. "That is true of all of us. I do not think Mario is a hard player to work with. I think he is a fantastic player." With the challenging personality of Carlos Tevez to handle already, Mancini will have his work cut out but evidently feels it is worth the effort.

Balotelli's bust-ups

January 2009 Internazionale manager Jose Mourinho criticises his striker. "It's not the right attitude," Mourinho said. "He must change."

April Racially abused by Juventus fans in making his debut for Italy Under-21s.

November Mourinho says Balotelli's display in a match against Roma "came close to a zero rating."

January 2010 Fined £7,000 by the Italian FA after sarcastically applauding Chievo fans' racial abuse.

February Left out of squad against Chelsea in the Champions League after falling out with Mourinho. Criticised by team-mates and own agent.

March Wears Milan shirt on TV show.

April Apologises after flinging Inter shirt to the ground during Champions League victory over Barcelona.

May Balotelli claims Roma's Francesco Totti racially abused him in the Coppa Italia final. Totti, sent off for kicking Balotelli, denied the claims, saying the youngster taunted him with: "Yo, granddad! You are finished."

From The Independent

After reading through all that i feel even stronger than before that Balotelli is the ultimate transfer gamble on our part, one i don't think we would be willing to take if it wasn't for the presence of Mancini.

Mancini is so far the only coach who has managed to get the best out of Balotelli, Mancini is probably the only guy who could handle him atm and luckily for us he is our coach. Add to this the nature of our league being generally non racist and the fact that in general us city fans tend to fully back our players through times of difficulty rather than slamming them, i think the chances of him succeeding here are very high.

He has all the talent to become one of the finest strikers of this generation, the boy just needs to get his head screwed on right, i think Bobby, us fans and the nature of our league will allow him to do this.

I firmly believe Balotelli will quickly grow from a boy to a man here, everything is in place here for him to be very very successful.

He reminds me of a certain precocious talent we had that fucked off to Chelsea

Have to say I'm buzzing more and more of the idea of this guy coming to City, seems to be the live spark and Genius that we need and with any spark you've got to keep it in control just enough to stop it from burning out of control without smuthering it. I think (actually hope more than anything) that Bobby has him weighed up and knows exactly how to keep him in check.

The comments by Mourinho probably say more about Mourinho than Balotelli, he seems to only enjoy working with players he can clinically control and instruct on the pitch, anyone with a spark of imagination and creativity will find themselves snubbed out and restrained which will eventually fustrate them and loose motivation, he then turns on them.

IanBishopsHaircut wrote:He reminds me of a certain precocious talent we had that fucked off to Chelsea

You didn't just compare Balotelli to Studge.. please tell me you didn't..

That's like calling Messi comparable to Nery Castillo.

Blue Blood wrote:

IanBishopsHaircut wrote:He reminds me of a certain precocious talent we had that fucked off to Chelsea

You didn't just compare Balotelli to Studge.. please tell me you didn't..

That's like calling Messi comparable to Nery Castillo.

Was talking about attitude rather than ability

IanBishopsHaircut wrote:

Blue Blood wrote:

IanBishopsHaircut wrote:He reminds me of a certain precocious talent we had that fucked off to Chelsea

You didn't just compare Balotelli to Studge.. please tell me you didn't..

That's like calling Messi comparable to Nery Castillo.

Was talking about attitude rather than ability

Phew. Attitude i agree with.

Carry on :D

Twobob wrote:Have to say I'm buzzing more and more of the idea of this guy coming to City, seems to be the live spark and Genius that we need and with any spark you've got to keep it in control just enough to stop it from burning out of control without smuthering it. I think (actually hope more than anything) that Bobby has him weighed up and knows exactly how to keep him in check.

The comments by Mourinho probably say more about Mourinho than Balotelli, he seems to only enjoy working with players he can clinically control and instruct on the pitch, anyone with a spark of imagination and creativity will find themselves snubbed out and restrained which will eventually fustrate them and loose motivation, he then turns on them.

I agree. I was very very sceptical indeed but the more I think about it, the more I can see this being a very special signing. I think I'll get more of a buzz from this than any others if it happens. I've got a feeling about this.

Ted Hughes wrote:

Twobob wrote:Have to say I'm buzzing more and more of the idea of this guy coming to City, seems to be the live spark and Genius that we need and with any spark you've got to keep it in control just enough to stop it from burning out of control without smuthering it. I think (actually hope more than anything) that Bobby has him weighed up and knows exactly how to keep him in check.

The comments by Mourinho probably say more about Mourinho than Balotelli, he seems to only enjoy working with players he can clinically control and instruct on the pitch, anyone with a spark of imagination and creativity will find themselves snubbed out and restrained which will eventually fustrate them and loose motivation, he then turns on them.

I agree. I was very very sceptical indeed but the more I think about it, the more I can see this being a very special signing. I think I'll get more of a buzz from this than any others if it happens. I've got a feeling about this.

Like I said earlier, this is either or signing. Either he will turn out to be legend for us or Mancini will probably have to look for new job. Personally i think it's too much of a risk but have to admit that there's huge upside there IF it works out.

Blue Blood wrote:In general us city fans tend to fully back our players through times of difficulty rather than slamming them

Seriously? I would've thought we're among the most fickle, impatient fans in the country when it comes to supporting players.

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:

Ted Hughes wrote:

Twobob wrote:Have to say I'm buzzing more and more of the idea of this guy coming to City, seems to be the live spark and Genius that we need and with any spark you've got to keep it in control just enough to stop it from burning out of control without smuthering it. I think (actually hope more than anything) that Bobby has him weighed up and knows exactly how to keep him in check.

The comments by Mourinho probably say more about Mourinho than Balotelli, he seems to only enjoy working with players he can clinically control and instruct on the pitch, anyone with a spark of imagination and creativity will find themselves snubbed out and restrained which will eventually fustrate them and loose motivation, he then turns on them.

I agree. I was very very sceptical indeed but the more I think about it, the more I can see this being a very special signing. I think I'll get more of a buzz from this than any others if it happens. I've got a feeling about this.

Like I said earlier, this is either or signing. Either he will turn out to be legend for us or Mancini will probably have to look for new job. Personally i think it's too much of a risk but have to admit that there's huge upside there IF it works out.

I was thinking about that too though. I'm not sure this will be seen as such a Mancini fuck up if it doesn't come off, as say Ibrahimovic, because Balo is so much younger & the possible rewards are so much better. I think the powrs that be will see this as a reasonable gamble & will have discussed it. Ibra on the other hand would be a neck on the chopping block job.

Do you know what is mobbing? Well, Balotelli usually suffers about it when Josè Mourinho was his manager at Inter! I'm really optimistic for his new adventure at Eastlands, this is for sure!

Colin the King wrote:

Blue Blood wrote:In general us city fans tend to fully back our players through times of difficulty rather than slamming them

Seriously? I would've thought we're among the most fickle, impatient fans in the country when it comes to supporting players.

Generally I always felt that as supporters we were either/or BIG time. There has always been fan favourites, some of them not only for their contributions on the pitch, like Kinkladze, Goater, Horlock, Morrison etc etc who have special place in supporters hearts which they wouldn't have been able to gain elsewhere. Some of them were not half as good as we always seem to remember. Then again, I think we are pretty ruthless bunch when some player is not liked. I mean players like Samaras, Bradbury, Nicky Summerbee, Edghill were quite poor but not even nearly as bad as some people will tell you (well Bradbury was but you get my point).

He'll certainly be some impact player to bring off the bench.

There are lots of things to worry about: attitude, difficulties with teammates, work ethic in training, he's not capped for Italy yet despite so many appearances for Inter, he's inconsistent etc.

At the same time he's someone who's had more than his share of red card challenges against him due to his provocative behaviour. I can live with that but I'd worry that he'd get less protection here and might end up getting injured.

the purchase of balotelli will be more of a long term investment his not gonna turn into a superstar overnight that will take time i just hope people will be patient with this guy the potential is enormous.

Renato when mancini was at inter did mancini play balotelli as a centre forward or as a "winger striker"?

Ted Hughes wrote:

Niall Quinns Discopants wrote:

Ted Hughes wrote:

Twobob wrote:Have to say I'm buzzing more and more of the idea of this guy coming to City, seems to be the live spark and Genius that we need and with any spark you've got to keep it in control just enough to stop it from burning out of control without smuthering it. I think (actually hope more than anything) that Bobby has him weighed up and knows exactly how to keep him in check.

The comments by Mourinho probably say more about Mourinho than Balotelli, he seems to only enjoy working with players he can clinically control and instruct on the pitch, anyone with a spark of imagination and creativity will find themselves snubbed out and restrained which will eventually fustrate them and loose motivation, he then turns on them.

I agree. I was very very sceptical indeed but the more I think about it, the more I can see this being a very special signing. I think I'll get more of a buzz from this than any others if it happens. I've got a feeling about this.

Like I said earlier, this is either or signing. Either he will turn out to be legend for us or Mancini will probably have to look for new job. Personally i think it's too much of a risk but have to admit that there's huge upside there IF it works out.

I was thinking about that too though. I'm not sure this will be seen as such a Mancini fuck up if it doesn't come off, as say Ibrahimovic, because Balo is so much younger & the possible rewards are so much better. I think the powrs that be will see this as a reasonable gamble & will have discussed it. Ibra on the other hand would be a neck on the chopping block job.

There's definately a big risk here which is possibly why it is taking to long to work out the contracts etc, but Mancini and Balotelli should both have big hard ons for making Maurinho eat his words and really make it big time - which can only be a good thing for us!

Do you know what is mobbing? Well, Balotelli usually suffers about it when Josè Mourinho was his manager at Inter! I'm really optimistic for his new adventure at Eastlands, this is for sure!

I think I know what you mean and if so this is why i'm buzzing about Balotelli so much :-)