That football is a team game is pretty obvious. Star players may make the difference but they cannot win games on their own. In this age of media-driven globalisation, an event such as Brazil 2014 provides a unique opportunity for stars to be born.
The temptation to consistently seek individual glory is immense. Narcissism apart, being a celebrity means huge financial rewards. Managing a dressing-room filled with real or aspiring ‘stars’ can become a nightmare as experienced by the Italian national team.
Brazil 2014 could have been an occasion for Mario Barwuah Balotelli to confirm his celebrity status. His two goalsin the semi-final of Euro 2012 helped Italy eliminate Germany and made history to the delight of his 7.5 million Facebook followers.
Coach Cesare Prandelli put the powerful striker at the heart of his technical plans even though Balotelli’s performance over the last season was not impressive. The 23-year-old has the skills and qualities to become a world-class player. He has been playing professional football since he was 16 and has won four national league titles: a Champions League, an FA Cup, a Coppa Italia and a runner-up medal in Euro 2012.
Balotelli amassed a nice fortune and his present financial net worth isestimated at €30 million. His temperament is his downfall and to date ‘Super Mario’ has already collected 70 yellow cards and eight red cards at club and country level. His coaches have described him as “uncontrollable” (José Mourinho) and “craaazy” (Roberto Mancini).
Born in Palermo to Ghanian immigrants, Balotelli was adopted by Jewish - Italian parents when still a few months old. He was brought up in Brescia and his youth was marked by serious health problems.
Balotelli admits that he never forgot that he is an abandoned child and has long distanced himself from his biological parents. His foster mother has taken their place and he professes that she is everything to him. His picture embracing her after the win against Germany in Euro 2012, captured the imagination of the public.
Mario Balotelli’s arrogance hides the fragility of a sensitive young man with a difficult upbringing
For years, Balotelli had been racially abused during football games. Time magazine, in 2012, dedicated one of its front covers to Balotelli under the heading ‘The meaning of Mario: what the phenomenon of Mario Balotelli says about football, race and European identity’.
An inside article entitled ‘The infamously mercurial brilliance of the soccer star’, explained how he had become a symbol of Europe’s multiculturalism, representing the increased affluence of a growing African population. The following year, the same magazine included Balotelli among the world’s 100 most influential people.
Just before the Italian team left for Brazil 2014, while at Coverciano, Balotelli was once again racially abused by a group of youngsters. He is a favourite target of neo-Nazi groups who hate him for being a ‘black’ Italian brought up by Jewish parents and who achieved substantial success.
The real question is whether Balotelli is a favourite target for abuse because of the colour of his skin or his controversial character and unpredictable behaviour.
Remember his ‘Why always me?’ t-shirt or his standing still, half-naked, flexing his muscles after scoring at Euro 2012? During the recent World Cup, the wild striker uploaded a Panini sticker album page of the Italian team on Facebook with just stickers of himself. Newspaper headlines were imprinted on his football shoes.
Balotelli seems to have become warped in his own success. It appears that he is living in a virtual world, created by his riches and the media.
Balotelli has great news value. He is the black, racially-abused, abandoned child who achieved fame and made good money, a symbol of African emancipation. His life is a soap opera where myth meets reality. Just like when his house caught fire after his friends let off fireworks, when he threw darts at youth players or when he supposedly gave a tramp £1,000 after big wins at the casino. He expressed all his eccentricity when he appeared on TV wearing an AC Milan shirt while still playing for Inter.
Still, Balotelli laments that his public image is not a fair reflection of who he really is.
When in Brazil, a few days before the World Cup kicked off, Balotelli was again in the news for having proposed marriage to his Belgian girlfriend, Fanny Neguesha. He subsequently made headlines for stating that he expected a kiss on the cheeks from the Queen were England to qualify from the group stage because of his scoring against Costa Rica.
When Italy were eliminated, Balotelli’ s dream turned into a nightmare. He became the scapegoat for his country’s poor showing. The ‘senators’ (longer playing colleagues such as Gianluigi Buffon and Daniele De Rossi) came out forcefully against him. Balotelli was isolated.
He sought refuge in his racist discourse. He levelled accusations against the ‘senators’, condemning their behaviour and emphasising that Africans would never blame one of their brothers for their failure. His tweeted: “Inside me I’m Ghanaian and I’m proud to be African. But, of course, I’m Italian. I was born in Italy.”
Balotelli has a complex personality. His arrogance hides the fragility of a sensitive young man with a difficult upbringing. His biggest limitation is his addiction to the media.
Prandelli now says that Balotelli “is no champion” while Silvio Berlusconi complains that he is the real loser of Brazil 2014, given that now no club wants to buy Balotelli.
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