Liverpool FC flop Mario Balotelli has said that the tactics of manager Brendan Rodgers should be equally blamed for his failure along with his own form.
Mario Balotelli completed a loan move to AC Milan after having enduring a torrid time at Anfield. The Italian, who had bagged 30 plus goals for Milan in 2013-14 season before singing for the Reds in summer of 2014, scored just once in the Premier League as he looked like a fish out of water in Rodgers’ formation and style of play at Anfield.
Balotelli blames Rodgers’ tactics for poor showing
Following his loan move to AC Milan, Balotelli was quoted saying by Gazzetta dello Sport in a lengthy interview published on Thursday:
“I accept my side of the blame, but Rodgers’ tactics were not suited to my characteristics either,” Balotelli said. “At the start, I missed a few easy chances, and then I had fewer chances to score, a bit of bad luck and injuries. It was a mess.
“But I never protested. I accepted the coach’s decisions and always behaved professionally. My attitude and lifestyle were absolutely normal at Liverpool. There have not been any problems with my private life this last year.”
Balotelli insists he is a changed man
.@FinallyMario is back! / Mario A? tornato! #weareacmilan pic.twitter.com/6YTW6ol0d9
a AC Milan (@acmilan) August 27, 2015
Hoping to have a fresh start at Milan, Balotelli said: “I have made a promise to myself, to Milan, to [coach Sinisa] Mihajlovic, to [agent Mino] Raiola and to everybody who cares about me,” the former Inter and Manchester City forward said. “I’m starting out from scratch.
“I know that I can’t get anything wrong anymore. I cannot assume anything and I have to win everything back. I accept any rule and I know I will get a game if I deserve it.
“But it’s not as if I’ve forgotten how to play football. I’m back, full of energy, willingness to work and enthusiasm. My game is not over yet. I feel like somebody who has just played the first half of his career, as a boy. Not everything went well and I wasted plenty of opportunities, but the game is not over yet.
“There is still a second half to be played and I’m going to play it as a man. I know that not many believe I can come back again, but it is my duty to try, and I am certain I will succeed.
“I’m 25 now — I’m not a kid anymore. I’ve already thrown away too many chances. And then there is life — that is something you cannot plan. It’s when something unexpected happens that it changes you.
.
“Those are the situations that mature you — the joy of realising you are a father, and the pain of losing a father.”