Luis Suarez’ exit from Anfield signaled a major change for the Merseyside club. Personnel-wise, a crop of new signings litter the training ground nowadays, and the polarizing presence of the Uruguayan is no more. However, the antics-driven media fracas which hung over Liverpool like a cloud (literally, it’s always cloudy on Merseyside) is back with the arrival of Mario Balotelli from AC Milan.
18 months ago, Balotelli was sold to his boyhood club by Manchester City and Roberto Mancini, who after years of trying to tame the young Italian’s mercurial personality, threw in the towel. Balotelli was instrumental in the 2011-2012 premier league title, but was known more for making the wrong sort of headlines.
The stories go on and on about the striker, about how he drove his car into a Brescia women’s prison, how he once set his house on fire with fireworks, and how he inexplicably showed up at an Inter Milan press conference to congratulate the club on hiring a new manager with cameras rolling and all. Thus, one has to wonder if life at Liverpool will be any simpler than it was for him in Manchester.
Is he a rotten egg or is Mario Balotelli in the mold of ‘misunderstood genius’? His behavior off the field has been nothing short of bizarre, but on the field his talent is unquestionable. It is expected that Brendan Rodgers will utilize his new striker next to Daniel Sturridge, reverting to the two-forward formation the Reds played in with Saurez.
Balotelli will pick up a chunk of Suarez’ absent goal output, but the issue will be finding enough playing time for everyone. When Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic return, Liverpool will have a plethora of attacking options. Keeping Balotelli happy is a must however, since his discontent could derail a title challenge altogether as it did in 2012-2013.
However, it will be easier to keep Balotelli happy in England than in Milan. Balotelli is desperate to play on a contending squad, and there is hardly a racist presence in England. The best book I’ve read this year has to be I Think Therefore I Play, which is Andrea Pirlo’s autobiography.
Pirlo, a very well-spoken individual in his own right, sees Mario as a symbol for the fight against racism in not just Italy, but the entire world. Pirlo puts Balotelli’s life struggles into perspective, how he just wants to be loved and play football. I felt I had made up my mind on the striker years ago, but listening to what Pirlo says about him sways him toward the ‘misunderstood genius’ crowd.
Being one of the only African-American Italian players in Serie A, Balotelli’s stints in Italy have been marred by improper fan conduct and hateful gestures directed at him. For me, Balotelli is going into a very positive situation at Liverpool. At Manchester City, players are not loved as they are at Anfield. He had the bad-boy-for-hire image at the Etihad, and while the home crowd cheered him, they didn’t adore him.
Even through all the turmoil he insinuated at Liverpool, Luis Suarez was still loved by home fans until the day he left (well, you know…). It should go the same way for Balotelli who, for what it’s worth, has never bitten another player on the pitch. At 24, it is time for the Italian to become more a leader, something Brendan Rodgers will make crystal-clear to him.
With talents like Raheem Sterling, Coutinho, Adam Lallana, and the presence of Steven Gerrard, Balotelli is in a place to succeed, but only if he puts his situation into perspective. At Liverpool, the team won’t be built around Balotelli; he will be the one who has to adapt, but it is also him that could be the final piece in the post-Suarez Liverpool era puzzle.
His work rate has always been in question and doesn’t share the same knack for hunting the ball down like Luis Suarez does. Even so, it was a no-brainer for Rodgers to bring in Balotelli at that price. His age almost guarantees that his value won’t dip given his abilities, and he could even feature as early as Monday against Manchester City (what a debut that would be!).
It seems we’ve been saying it for years now, but Balotelli has all the potential in the world. Of all the clubs Balotelli could have gone to, Liverpool may be the best choice for him. Brendan Rodgers proves time and time again that he is an excellent man-manager who gets the most out of his players. As long as he keeps the Italian happy, Suarez could be a forgotten name in Liverpool in a few months’ time.
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