It feels like just yesterday when one of European football’s most striking personalities was making headlines both on and off the pitch en route to Manchester City’s first league title in 44 years. Fast forward to 2019, and at 28 years of age, Mario Balotelli is eager to show that he can continue to grow and compete at the highest level.
The latest chapter of his French adventure has carried him from one seaside city to the next, trading the red and black of Nice for the white and blue kits of Marseille. He has quickly settled in and rediscovered his scoring touch under Rudi Garcia after making the switch on a six-month deal.
A robust return of 33 goals in 51 appearances tells the story of how a move to France paid dividends following disappointing tenures at Liverpool and Milan from 2014-2016 (two goals in 36 total appearances). A step away from the dominating fan and media pressure in both England and Italy gave Balotelli the opportunity to mature and get back to the on-field basics that catapulted him onto the biggest stage in the first place.
Despite the ease with which he seemed to produce goals in his first two campaigns with Nice, the Italian’s renaissance came to a screeching halt on the back end of 2018. An abysmal stretch of zero goals in 10 matches compounded his misery after his effort to force a move to Marseille at the start of the campaign fell flat. Newly appointed manager Patrick Veira soon found no reason to place Balotelli anywhere near the center of his plans.
Just when it seemed the curtains were closing, a change of scenery has proved to be just what the doctor ordered. Three goals in his first four matches have aided in Marseille’s climb up the table into fourth position, and bright showings have earned an overall 7.24 WhoScored rating (up from 6.33). Balo is once again brimming with confidence and he looks more like his old self through high risk, high reward efforts and strong play with his back to goal.
Mario Balotelli is back to his best! ? pic.twitter.com/Qrpz3Vuo7E
— Goal (@goal) February 18, 2019
Italy future in the balance
In May of 2018, Balotelli received the long-awaited news that he would feature again for the Azzurri thanks to new manager Roberto Mancini’s selection, his first involvement since Italy’s group stage exit at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Calls for Balotelli’s return had grown to a discernible roar and the prospect of him reuniting with his former Inter and Manchester City boss on the heels of standout play in France was plenty to salivate over. His three-year stint in England under Mancini saw him exhibit some of his best football, and his form translated to the national team most notably in 2012 when his stunning performance fueled Italy’s upset victory against Germany in the European Championship semifinals.
Mario Balotelli vs Germany at the EURO 2012. pic.twitter.com/Hr7XOsrPLA
— Football Great Goals (@footygreatgoals) September 30, 2018
Their time together in England brought success for everyone involved, but the relationship between Mancini and the striker has always been complicated at best. Nevertheless, new beginnings brought a rejuvenated perspective for the 54-year-old tactician.
“In the last four years I’ve had a detox,” Mancini joked to Italy’s Canale 5 when speaking about his decision to reconvene with the attacker. “Joking aside, I’ve found him open and with a desire to work…the rest depends on him and what happens in his head.”
Balotelli will certainly need to keep a level head if he is to secure a role in Italy’s quest to return to the upper echelons of the international game after he fell out of favor in the fall due to subpar fitness levels and a poor performance against Poland.
Mancini faces the challenge of striking the right balance between experience and youth, no easy feat when convening only a handful of times each year. Failing to qualify for a World Cup will always be a reason to hit the reset button, even more so for a nation who boasts such an extensive history of success, and the future is now for many promising players.
A host of exciting under-21 talents have come up through the ranks of late, including Federico Chiesa, Nicolo Zaniolo, and Patrick Cutrone. Their emergences offer reason for optimism for the Azzurri moving forward and leave players such as Balotelli who have been in and out of the squad with a steeper hill to climb.
Where Balotelli stands to gain, however, is in the fact that Italy have been grasping at straws in terms of finding a consistent performer in the main striker role. Lazio’s Ciro Immobile and Torino’s Andrea Belotti were tipped to be the answer up top, but they have both failed to replicate their club success when donning the famous blue tops.
Mancini recently expressed his dismay at watching a career that has had its fair share of ups and downs.
“I’m sorry to see Balotelli waste his talent the way he does, but I think he can keep people entertained by scoring goals,” the coach told Radio Anch’io Sport in December.
It appears he is hitting his stride at precisely the right moment with Euro 2020 qualifiers looming in late March. Time will tell if his upturn in form can continue to entertain Marseille fans and sway Mancini once more.
An avid Roma fan, Wesley Davidson works in youth soccer in Austin, TX, and contributes to FloFC. You can find him on Twitter.