Everyone has had their say about Mario Balotelli, the Inter Milan striker who has heap of talent. However he is somewhat of a hothead and he gets in trouble almost every other week because of his on-field antics. His abilities are undeniable however he play acts and he also doesn't try his hardest when he's on the field sometimes. I remember earlier in the year when he got fouled for a penalty kick and he just stood over the ball even though Eto'o was suppose to take the pk himself and there was basically a 25 second stand-off until Dejan Stankovic had to pull Balotelli out of the box so Eto'o could take the pk.
I'm the first person to hate on someone when they act cocky on the pitch or show that they are better than the game. However I read an article today that made me realize something about the kid (Football-Italia) And he still is a kid.
When we see footballers on the tube, we except them to handle themselves in a professional manner, they should be respectful to the game and to other people. But we are talking about a 19 year old kid, who probably all his life has been one of the best players in his age group and also is starting games for a great club too. I've met people who played footy while they were 19 that were as cocky as this kid, the only thing is that Super Mario is on tv every weekend on Fox Soccer Channel so his actions are super magnified. Some people have to realize that the kid isn't even of the age of 20 and he is still learning things about himself that he doesn't even know. He has to deal with racist chants that even he shouldn't deal with in a young age. I don't support racist chants of any kind obvious because I've been a part of it but when you're 17, 18, or 19 I don't think that things like that should happen, no matter how bad he acts on the field.
Jose Mourinho has tried to motivate this kid by telling him when he plays bad and says at times he is uncoachable. I'm sure he knows more about the game than me but he has to realize that the youngster won't be consistent every week. He'll have his days and he'll have his off days he's not going to be great every week. Was Messi great every week when he was 18 or 19? Even Kaka? Being that age you'll have your days where you're great. Even a kid as cocky as Balotelli will over think things and he'll do what he can to win. You can question his commitment but I don't think that he never wants to lose. You can't be that good otherwise.
I might have been rambling on but the moral to my story is that give this kid some time. He's cocky and he even said that he's a bit impulsive at times. But being 19 years of age with lots of money, I'm sure women (Italian women at that ;) ) , and endless talent, why wouldn't you be cocky about yourself. I'm sure that if I had that then I would be as cocky as he is. If we are having this same discussion about four years time then I'll say that the kid is lost but when you see LeBron James doing river-dancing on the side-lines while beating a team, I think that some of Mario's antics are pretty tame. However the kid will need to learn from some of his mistakes before he'll get the respect from the fans. It's undeniable about his skills but he is going to need to do some growing up...
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