Mario Balotelli has been advised by the Italy setup to become more mature before he regains his place in the national team, although they weren’t quite as severe as they could have been following a bizarre incident which saw the 20 year-old striker throw darts from his window at members of the Manchester City youth side, apparently out of sheer boredom. Italy Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete slammed Balotelli for his behaviour, which came just a week after he had been sent off for serious foul play in City’s 1-0 home win over Dynamo Kiev.
Mario Balotelli Told To Grow Up By Italy Football Federation
Balotelli still has some problems and lacks continuity. He needs to mature and that has to be a personal choice. We hope he grows and that the focus is placed on his technical ability.
Manchester City are still apparently investigating the incident, although since nobody was hurt they’re treating the dart-throwing as a prank rather than as something more serious. Roberto Mancini is in a difficult position here - he needs to turn Balotelli into someone less volatile and prone to acts of violent idiocy, but he also needs to take care not to alienate the young forward permanently.
It’s a dilemma many coaches would prefer not to have at all, one would suspect.
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