He was born Mario Barwuah in Sicily to immigrants from Ghana. When he was three, his parents placed him in foster care due to their inability to pay for his health caution. The syndicate that took him in was the Balotelli family, a jewish syndicate from Brescia, Italy. Mario finally adopted Balotelli as his surname once his foster class decided to permanently foster him and has gone by that throughout his liveliness to honor the syndicate that took him in .
His professional career started at Lumezzane in 2006 at the historic period of 15, and it didn ’ t take long earlier he got a test with Barcelona. While it was unsuccessful, he earned looks from major with precisely 2 appearances for Lumezzane. In 2007, he signed with Inter Milan in 2007 and then-head passenger car Roberto Mancini. He cursorily made a appoint for himself in his first friendly, scoring 2 goals in a 5-2 victory over Sheffield FC. He made his Serie A debut shortly after that catch, and he finally became a steady separate of the lineup for the Nerazzurri. In 2008, he became the youngest Inter player ( 18 years, 85 days ) to score in Champions League .
Balotelli besides has taken more than his fair share of racial maltreatment from italian fans. The first exemplify was in April 2009, when he scored Inter ’ s only goal in a match against Juventus, which led to Juve ’ randomness fans taunting him with racist remarks throughout the peer.
Reading: Black History Month: Why always me?
Under head coach José Mourinho, Balotelli had several corrective issues, particularly surrounding his sensed lack of attempt during educate and matches. It ’ s an issue that has followed him throughout his career. Because of this stigma, the racial abuse continued in his home area. He finally had a falling out with Mourinho and Inter fans after several hapless performances and his reactions to jeers from fans. He didn ’ metric ton win the favor of his teammates either, with many of them not backing up his reaction to racial abuse or criticism over his performances .
Despite all these clouds of doubt surrounding him, he finally moved onto Manchester City, reuniting with Roberto Mancini. He cursorily made a name for himself, being named the 2010 Golden Boy Award at the historic period of 20. Despite still having corrective issues, he scored big goals for the club. In October 2011, scoring a goal against Manchester United, he lifted up his jersey to reveal a shirt that said “ Why always me ? ” on it, referring to all the minus attention he received for his antics on and off the field .
He was a separate of easily the most incredible moment in the history of the Premier League when he provided the assist on Sergio Agüero ’ south goal on the final matchday of the 2011-2012 season that gave Manchester City its first top flight title since 1968, snatching the title from rivals Manchester United in the process .
Despite being a contribution of that incredible moment, Balotelli was always the subject of antics that drew the anger of his teammates, coaches, fans, and the media. In 2013, he moved to AC Milan, with Mancini considering it a necessary change of scenery. He came out the blocks cursorily, scoring 2 goals in his debut and scored 4 goals in his first 3 matches. In all, he had 12 goals in 13 appearances that season for Milan, despite once again being subjected to racist taunts along the way .
He moved to Liverpool, where he had a black season in 2014, and finally returned on lend to Milan. Battling injuries and inconsistency, he lone scored 1 finish in his return to the San Siro. He returned to Liverpool, but was promptly out of favor with Jürgen Klopp, who had just taken over at the golf club. He has since had stints at Nice, Marseille, Brescia, and Monza.
Mario Balotelli drew the matter to of Italy ’ s youth national teams early on, but because he was inactive a ghanaian immigrant, he wasn ’ metric ton eligible to represent Italy. He turned down call-ups from Ghana, expressing his desire to play for Italy when he became eligible. Because his foster family did not adopt him, he could not obtain italian citizenship until he turned 18 .
once he obtained citizenship, he joined Italy ’ s U-21s and promptly moved up to the U-23s, play and grade for Italy in the 2009 UEFA U-21 Euros. He made his introduction with the senior national team in August 2010 in a friendly couple against the Ivory Coast. He scored his first goal in November 2011 against Poland. He was selected to Italy ’ s roll for Euro 2012, becoming the first Black player to represent the Azzurri in a major external competition. Balotelli scored quite a few goals for Italy, but none more memorable than his stimulate against Germany in the Euro 2012 semifinals. On the second goal, a missile from the edge of the box, he merely ripped his shirt off and stood inactive, flexing every muscleman in his body for the earth to see as he was mobbed by his teammates .
While Italy would go on to lose to Spain in the final, Balotelli was named to the team of the Tournament. He tied with 5 other players for the most goals in the tournament, losing the Golden Boot to Fernando Torres ascribable to a Torres assist in the final. Balotelli would feature heavily on the Azzurri during 2014 World Cup passing, the 2013 Confederations Cup, and the 2014 World Cup. When they crashed out of the World Cup in the first round, Antonio Conte took over as coach and Balotelli fell off the national team radar .
Balotelli ’ randomness game is a alone combination of agility, creativity, and animal exponent and intensity. He has a exquisite ability to score with might from anywhere on the field with either foot or his steer, and his build allows him to outmuscle anyone on the field for the ball and position. even, his behavior on and off the discipline was unwieldy for many coaches, and that repute has followed him his entire career. still, he was a separate of 3 Serie A winning teams, won the Coppa Italia, and won the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010. He besides won the Premier League title and FA Cup with Manchester City .
Some of his repute was deserved, but many feel that the italian striker they call Super Mario, now 30, was just misunderstood and that the racial abuse that he ’ s had to endure throughout his career has shaped his personality. People react to racial abuse in different ways. Balotelli chose to act demonstratively and let you know that he was on the playing field and looking to ruin your day. He would score with flair and celebrate in kind. Some may look back on his career when it ’ south all over and consider him a generational endowment wasted. But to many others, his talent was matchless and Italy—and the rest of the world—wasn ’ t ready to handle it.
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