Liverpool fans in particular and EPL fans in general were all set to miss the maverick antics of Luis Suarez as the Uruguayan packed his bags for the Nou Camp but the Merseyside club have replaced him with arguably an even bigger maverick – Italian Mario Balotelli.
Liverpool fans have gotten used to raving about a certain Luis Suarez for some time now. He did bring a lot of baggage with him but his commitment to the team and the passion with which he played the game meant that the Liverpool fans were ready to overlook that fact. It was all going according to plan for the Reds in the summer transfer window until Suarez got himself banned for his antics at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Suarez apparently ditched common sense and decided to quite literally take a bite out of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini in their countries’ group match. The repeat offense earned the Uruguayan a four month ban from all football and when Barcelona offered to meet his release clause, the striker has quickly shipped off to the Nou Camp.
This, however, left Brendan Rodgers with the impossible task of replacing Luis Suarez, the golden boot winner of the 2013-14 season.
The Reds plundered in the goals last season and scored a remarkable 101 of them. The sale of Suarez to Barcelona has put the spotlight on Danny Sturridge. The English No.9 was on top form last season and finished second in the top scorerai??i??s list. This season he is expected to be the main man for Brendan Rodgers. Liverpool made a very astute signing in Rickie Lambert and added much needed variety to the Reds’ attack.
The loss of Luis Suarez was always going to be hard to take and Brendan went on record and said that he would like to have four proven strikers this season. With Fabio Borini battling injuries and a shaky start to his Anfield career it was always obvious that the Reds would be looking to bring another top quality striker this transfer window. Ambitious inquires were made for Karim Benzema, Radamel Falcao and Edinson Cavani.
After many unsuccessful inquiries Liverpool turned their attention to 24 year old Mario Balotelli. What better person to replace Luis Suarez than Mario Balotelli? Balotelli is known for his crazy antics on and off the field. It would take every ounce of Brendan Rodgersai??i?? famed man management skills to get the best out of the mercurial Italian.
Balotelli is well known for his maverick attitude wherever he has gone. Mourinho tried to tame him in his days at Inter Milan. “Madness” seems to be Balotelliai??i??s middle name as he angered the Inter Milan faithful by attending a show on TV wearing an AC Milan jersey. He also had to be physically hauled away by Javier Zanetti for refusing to let Samuel Etoai??i??o take a penalty that the latter had earned. Next up it was the turn of the Italian Roberto Mancini to try to tame Mario in his days at Manchester City. At City, Balotelli was involved in training ground bust ups with Kompany, Richards and Boateng. Mancini finally ran out of patience when Balotelli attacked him on the training ground. He was immediately shipped off to AC Milan.
It is obvious that Mario Balotelli is no saint on or off the pitch. But what we have to take into consideration is that Mario is just 24 years old and has a lot of time on his hands to improve and become a world class forward. Most of his acts of madness when he was at Inter Milan and Manchester City were done when he was really young. His time at AC Milan as a senior figure has helped him become more matured. No other player in Serie A has scored more goals than the 26 goals that Mario has since joining AC Milan. So the talent is there for everyone to see. At 24, Balotelli isnai??i??t getting any younger. This is probably his last chance at the big stage to make a name for himself.
Anfield went crazy every time they saw Luis Suarez in action. No one knew what to expect from the Uruguayan, not even the opposition defenders. Thatai??i??s why he was so successful at getting people off their seats. There was some insanity in everything Luis Suarez did. It was a roller coaster ride. Now with Balotelli coming in that insanity is back at Anfield and the Reds will be hoping that Super Mario can produce some of the magic that Suarez produced.
~ written by Guest Author Gautham Vinod
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