Liverpool FC forward Mario Balotelli turned 25 yesterday and his antics have been revealed in an article in the Independent newspaper by Liverpool author Simon Hughes. It includes the revelation that the player was not aware of names of some of his team mates till December last season and created disruption during training.
Mario Balotelli was signed by Liverpool FC from AC Milan in a 16 million GBP deal in the summer, a deal was described by the club as a “calculated risk”.
However, the risk seems to have backfired badly with Balotelli hardly featuring for Liverpool FC last season and looking like a fish out of water when played.
There were suggestions that the player failed to adjust to the style of play at Liverpool FC.
‘Balotelli did not know names of team mates’
However, a revealing report in the paper Independent says that Balotelli did not make an effort to fit in at Liverpool FC and did not know the names of his team mates till December.
The author Simon Hughes – known for covering Liverpool FC – writes:
“Balotellia s Liverpool career unravelled quickly. Staying up with friends late the night before a Champions League defeat to Basel in Switzerland was a bad way to endear himself to manager Brendan Rodgers. Then he was banned from driving after being caught speeding at 109mph on the M62 in December.
“By Christmas, indeed, Balotelli did not know the names of some of his team-mates a regulars who feature in the starting XI. It is reasoned he lost out on moments where relationships are developed because he missed home cooking so much that rather than eating at Melwood before and after training, he organised for lunch and dinner to be delivered to his Formby mansion from an Italian restaurant.”
Balotelli disrupted training sessions
Hughes explains one incident where Balotelli amused himself by scoring a a jaw-dropping goal from near the halfway linea in a training ground match a a One problem: the goal was at the wrong end.a
Hughes writes: “Two stories reflect Balotellia s listless attitude. During training Colin Pascoe, then Liverpoola s assistant manager, gathered the squad in a huddle close to Melwooda s perimeter wall. Thirty or 40 yards away, Jon Flanagan was hobbling by, an injured player facing almost a year on the sidelines. Balotelli started shouting towards him for no apparent reason, a Hey, heya a interrupting Pascoea s flow. For that, the Italian was threatened with banishment to the changing rooms.
“Later in the afternoon, Balotelli scored a jaw-dropping goal from near the halfway line. Witnesses stood open-mouthed: first-team players shook their heads in disbelief, youngsters smirked nervously at the brilliance in front of them. One problem: the goal was at the wrong end.
“At 1-1 during a 10 on 10 match, with Balotelli on the weaker team made up of likely substitutes for the weekenda s game at Arsenal as well as teenagers from the academy, he deemed it appropriate to turn around and fire a shot towards Brad Jones. The goalkeeper was helpless. Balotelli thought it hilarious, laughing away by himself in the centre circle.
“When Liverpoola s squad travelled to London on Good Friday, Balotelli was not present. His next appearance came almost a month later as a substitute when Aston Villa stubbed out the remaining light on both his and Liverpoola s miserable campaigns.”
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Well, it does seem that Mario Balotelli has still stuck to his antics. It does seem that it has, once again, led to his downfall at yet another football club.
Happy birthday, Mario.