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| | Thursday 4 December, 2008 | | Blog: Totò II? | |
Mario Balotelli is something special but, as Dave Taylor ponders, is he running the risk of becoming a fully-fledged Antonio Cassano clone?
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Inter's Mario Balotelli first caught the eye at the Viareggio youth tournament last February. His celebrated scissor-kick in the Tuscan air marked him out as something special and Super Mario has enjoyed a rapid rise in reputation ever since.
His sensational goals coupled with superb performances subsequently grabbed the attention of clubs inside and outside of the peninsula. But, after reportedly demanding a first team place or a move, has the fame gone to his head?
The reality is that if Balotelli wants some regular playing time then he is going to have to earn it – no matter how good he is. After all, does he expect Jose Mourinho to just continually drop the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cruz and Adriano? Patience young Mario, your time will come.
“If he trained at just 50 per cent then he would be one of the best in the world,” remarked Mourinho recently when asked about his child prodigy. “However, he doesn’t even train at 25 per cent.”
It’s that sort of attitude that reminds me of another teenager who had the world at his feet which leads us to one key question – is Balotelli becoming an embryonic Antonio Cassano?
In his recent biography, one of the Sampdoria striker’s many outrageous quotes seems particularly relevant to Mourinho’s summing up of Balotelli. “I know I haven’t given 100 per cent physically or mentally to this game,” he admitted. “At best, I gave 50 per cent. Maybe a tiny bit more in the good years. But so what?”
This could so easily be Balotelli talking in a few years time if he doesn’t keep his eye on the ball. Now, according to his book, we know where Cassano spends his extra, shall we say, vigour, but why is Balotelli only using a fraction of his ability?
It doesn’t help when the Inter teenager holds the likes of Cassano, Ronaldo and Cristiano Ronaldo as his heroes. And following in the footsteps of FantAntonio may not be the wisest move.
Cassano by now should have around 50 Italy caps, instead he has just 15. It’s obvious that a tremendous potential has gone to waste. With his mercurial talent he should be on a big stage, with a big club such as Inter, Juve or Milan.
It’ll be a massive loss to not only Inter, but also Italian football, if Balotelli later finds himself in the same position as Totò does today. Fabio Capello couldn’t tame Cassano, will Mourinho be more successful with Mario?
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I never would have thought Mario Balotelli would become this sort of a player, demanding a place in the first team or else he leaves is a bit extreme. But I guess his reason for setting such an ultimatum because he feels his talent is being wasted with him just sitting out matches.
I can understand where the frustration is coming from and he knows that there are teams out there who would rush to sign him. After all, he only needs to look across town to another kid who is in his age group and getting regular games. Alexandre Pato has had a great start to his career with Milan and maybe Balotelli imagined he would be Pato’s Nerazzurri counterpart.
But I can't possibly imagine Balotelli turning into Cassano. Cassano is a person who has immense talent but throws it all away with insane acts – he threw his shirt at a referee for goodness sake!
Farhad, Luton, UK
Balotelli must bide his time. After all he is only 18 and looking at the rest of the Inter forwards he could find himself in a regular starting position sooner rather than later. Cruz is no youngster and won't play every game anyway and Crespo will likely move on in the January transfer window.
However, a player in his position and his age should be relishing the chance to displace the likes of Cruz or Adriano from a regular starting position, not complain that they are starting ahead of him. After all with a squad containing the likes of Ibrahimovic, Cambiasso and Mancini nobody has a right to simply demand a place.
However, it is too early to evaluate whether Balotelli will end up like Cassano who should be plying his trade at a bigger club than Sampdoria, but if there is one man for this job then it could be Mourinho.
Ed, Littlehampton, UK
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