It's probably safe to say that Manchester City and Italy striker Mario Balotelli didn't have the greatest week of his life. He managed to earn himself a spot in Roberto Mancini's doghouse by contriving to be sent off in the first half of City's 1-0 win over Dynamo Kiev, a result that saw them knocked out of the Europa League on aggregate. Mancini described Balotelli's behaviour as 'stupid' and he was dropped for the match against Chelsea before an injury to Carlos Tevez gave the 20 year-old a place on the bench. City lost 2-0. The red card also led to being snubbed by his national team as well, with Italy coach Cesare Prandelli refusing to call him up based on violations of the side's code of ethics. And I haven't even mentioned the now-infamous bib incident.
Mario Balotelli Asks Italian National Team Coach Cesare Prandelli For Help
All of that, apparently, was enough to make Balotelli realise that perhaps he had a little bit of a problem. Via Football Italia, Prandelli was quoted as saying the young striker - who Jose Mourinho had previously described as ‘unmanageable’ - came to him for help:
I have heard from Balotelli. He understands that he made a fool of himself.
He said to me: 'I need help. I always ruin everything but I care a lot about the national team.'
If true, that’s some refreshing self-awareness from a man many of us have assumed is pathologically incapable of such things. Is this the first step towards Balotelli’s eventual climb towards the blissful heights of not-being-crazy? Don’t count on it, but it is a positive sign.
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