kayode OGUNDARE
@kaybaba99
September 7, 2014
The news was rife all summer that Mario Balotelli could be on his way to Arsenal and I remember tweeting that I just don’t see the Italian playing under Wenger because they share different football philosophies and, while Arsene Wenger comes across as urbane, polished and intelligent, Mario is brash, rabble-rousing and, at best, a maverick. In the end, Balotelli ended up at Liverpool!
I understand Brendan Rodgers’ need to bring in a ‘world-class’ striker after the departure of Luis Suarez but, after all said and done, will Balotelli be worth the trouble?
Let us tick off the player’s merits against his shortcomings. One, he’s young and this means he has a lot of years ahead of him which could help with his value in case of a sell-on situation. Two, he’s got a lot of Premier League experience which is vital, considering this was one of the reasons Tottenham stuttered last season despite their rash of big-money signing. Three, he’s a fighter who puts his all into a game even though he has a tendency to drift off disinterestedly for large parts of games. In this regards, he’s like the recently departed Suarez in that he plays with the heart and, like Suarez, he often presses the self-destruct button when his passion gets the better of him. Fourthly, and this is from an economic point of view, he comes cheap for a player of his status. £16millionfor Italy’s No 1 striker is an absolute steal and Rodgers must be congratulated for driving such a bargain.
On the flipside, what are those things which makesBalotelli a poisoned chalice for any club? Straightaway, I’ll say his kind of game runs contrary to what Rodgers stands for. The manager has been able to build Liverpool into a closely-knit team where every unit functioned as an integral part of a whole. And this, no doubt, explained why every Liverpool player performed to the utmost of their ability. Last season, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling, John Flanagan, as well as Daniel Sturridge and even Luis Suarez returned mind-blowing performances. Balotelli, sadly, is a loner who thrives when he’s left to his own devices.
Secondly, and this is speaking for myself, I don’t rate Balotelli as highly as others seem to rate him and that could be because I suffer from an error of judgement, which I seriously doubt. Former Liverpool captain, Jamie Carragher had this to say about the club’s latest purchase: “I admit he still has to convince me as a player. People talk about his behaviour off the pitch — that doesn’t worry me too much and, in truth, I think some of it is quite funny.It is what happens when he crosses that white line that is important, and he has yet to show me he is as good as some people have claimed. We faced each other a few times when he was in England and I never saw a lot from him at Anfield. He was subbed in his three appearances there and sent off after 18 minutes as a substitute.”
For all his notoriety or fame, whichever you like, his numbers with Man City don’t just suggest he’s worth the investment. He scored 20 in 54 PL games during his three seasons stay at the Etihad. This is a far cry from the 31 scored by Luis Suarez last season alone and even less than Daniel Sturridgescored in his first full season with the Anfield side. So, even for his goalscoring prowess, Balotelli will still not be the go-to player in my opinion.
Lastly, every manager needs a player that you can bank on when the chips are down. Jose Mourinho’s account of an experience he had while managing Balotelli at Inter Milan will drive my point home here.
Mou recalled that: “I could write a book of 200 pages of my two years at Inter with Mario, but the book would not be a drama – it would be a comedy. I remember one time when we went to play Kazan in the Champions League. In that match I had all my strikers injured. No Diego Milito, no Samuel Eto’o, I was really in trouble and Mario was the only one.Mario got a yellow card in the 42nd minute, so when I got to the dressing room at half-time I spend about 14 minutes of the 15 available speaking only to Mario.I said to him: ‘Mario, I cannot change you, I have no strikers on the bench, so don’t touch anybody and play only with the ball. If we lose the ball, no reaction. If someone provokes you, no reaction, if the referee makes a mistake, no reaction.’ He said ok. The 46th minute – Mario got a red card!”
Talking about it now, it may sound funny but I can relate with Mourinho’s frustration on the day. He did all what you expect a manager whose back is to the wall to do, yet the player goes out and did the very thing you begged him not to!
Rodgers is no doubt aware of the combustible package he’s bringing to Anfieldand I guess he has a Plan B on his table for when Mario will show his true colours which is just a matter of time.
Like his manager Mino Raiola said, this could be Balotelli’s last chance to play for a top team. if he passes up this opportunity, according to Raiola: “it’s either it works at Liverpool or it’s a bust. Mario will no longer have the excuse of age again.”
Will a leopard change its spot?
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