Euro 2012: 10 Questions We'd Love to Ask Mario Balotelli

Love him or hate him, you just can't ignore Mario Balotelli.

The enigmatic Italian has been entertaining Premier League fans both on and off the pitch ever since he arrived in Manchester in August 2010. Before that, he was doing the same to Italians while playing for Inter Milan.

The Italian squad's preparation for Euro 2012 was dominated by stories surrounding 'Super Mario,' and it seems impossible to keep him out of the headlines.

Balotelli may annoy some, but for others it is refreshing to have a real personality in football, especially one like Mario—you never have any idea what is going on in that guy's head.

So what would you ask the Italian if you had the chance? Here are the 10 questions that we would love to ask Balotelli if we had the chance.

What's so Great About the A.C. Milan Shirt?

You needn't have much public relations training to know that being caught on film putting on the shirt of your rivals is not a good way to get yourself over with your team's fans.

That didn't enter the mind of Balotelli in March 2010, when he appeared on the Italian television show Striscia la Notizia. When Balotelli was presented with an A.C. Milan shirt he appeared delighted, and was was later shown wearing it.

Many people saw Balotelli's wearing of the shirt as a betrayal...but maybe he just thinks red and black stripes really set off his eyes?

What Was the £5000 Really For?

Within days of moving to Manchester City, Balotelli was involved in a crash while driving his Audi R8 to the club's training ground. When police arrived on the scene, they found that the Italian had £5,000 cash in his back pocket.

When asked why he had so much money on him, Balotelli answered “Because I am rich.” It must be one of the greatest answers that anyone has ever had ready for the police, but it raises the further question—what was the money really for?

Where Did You Learn to Play Darts?

While most sportsmen like to relax with a game of golf when away from the pitch, Balotelli prefers to enjoy a nice game of darts.

Unfortunately for the Manchester City youth team, Mario doesn't play the game in the conventional way.

This became evident in March of last year, when a group of youth team players were targeted by a dart-wielding Balotelli who apparently couldn't find a dartboard.

The incident came about only days after Balotelli had been dropped for the Italian squad, due, not surprisingly, to his discipline problems.

Mario played a slightly more conventional game of darts at the Tudor pub in Manchester. Balotelli played the owner of the pub in a £50 match and lost.

If he'd trained by aiming at a board instead of a youth team, maybe he'd have had more luck.

Have You Learned How to Put on a Bib Yet?

It's happened to all of us. You wake up bleary-eyed, and stick your head into the sleeve of your t-shirt or your left leg into the right-leg of your jeans.

Fortunately for us, we aren't being filmed when it happens.

Mario wasn't afforded the same courtesy, and we all got to see him failing again and again at putting on his training bib.

What Were You Playing on Your Ipad?

No player wants to be on the bench (with the exception of Carlos Tevez). Sitting there watching your teammates have all the fun while you just twiddle your thumbs.

Mario had a simple remedy for this bench warming boredom, though. While away with Italy for a Euro 2012 qualifier against the Faroe Islands, Balotelli wasn't too interested with what was going on in the match, so he turned his attentions to his iPad.

This raises the interesting question of what he was watching. Was it a film? Was he playing football manager?

Maybe he was watching previous matches of the Faroe Islands looking for a weakness in the defence?

Then again, maybe not.

Did You Really Light a Firework in Your Own House?

One of the most famous tabloid stories regarding Balotelli came in October 2011 when a fire in the striker's home was attributed to a firework being let off inside the house.

The fact that had the tabloids drooling was that Balotelli was made Manchester's ambassador for fireworks safety just days after the incident.

Balotelli blamed the fire on friends, saying:

"

I didn't set any fireworks off, it was a friend of mine. I didn't know anything about it until I heard shouting coming from the bathroom...my friend apologised to me for the damage to my house. It was a really stupid thing for him to do.

"

While Balotelli may be telling the truth, who wouldn't love to know if it really was Balotelli who set off a firework indoors?

In the meantime, we can all learn from these words of wisdom from Manchester's ambassador for fireworks safety.

"

It is important message that children should not mess with fireworks. They can be very dangerous if they are not used in the right way.

"

He should know.

Can You Come to My Local Please?

While Balotelli may attract a lot of negative press, we shouldn't forget the good news also attributed to the striker.

One such instance of good news came last Christmas when, as a holiday treat, the Italian went into a local Manchester pub and put £1000 behind the bar for the customers.

Which begs the question—can you come to my local please, Mr. Balotelli?

What Were You Thinking Against Arsenal?

While Balotelli can amaze us at times on the pitch, at other times his antics make you wonder why anyone would want to pay so much for his services.

Probably the worst match of the Italian's career came toward the end of last season, when Manchester City were playing Arsenal in a crunch match for the title.

Balotelli committed a series of horrendous tackles in the first half, which he finished with a red card in the dying minutes of the game.

The most shocking challenge was a studs-up challenge on Alex Song for which he should have definitely received a straight red.

He then went in for two poorly timed high challenges on Bacary Sagna, for which he received his first yellow card.

In the second half he was seen shouting at teammate James Milner because the Englishman didn't alert him to the presence of a defender.

Then, in the final minutes, Balotelli finished off a terrible game as it should be, getting sent off for another unnecessary tackle on Sagna.

Luckily for Balotelli, his teammates let him off the hook and managed to seal the title at the 11th hour against QPR.

This still doesn't excuse him for such a terrible performance in such an important game.

Why Didn't You Shoot Earlier Against Spain?

Euro 2012 is the perfect opportunity for Balotelli to move on from a poor season at Man City and prove why he is a top European striker.

Unfortunately, in his country's first game against reigning champions Spain, Balotelli spurned a great chance to do just that.

After playing brilliantly to win a challenge and drive towards the Spanish goal, Balotelli, instead of shooting, decided to take another touch, allowing Sergio Ramos to come across and nick the ball off him while he plodded towards it.

Thousands of Italian fans were left thinking, why didn't you shoot earlier?

He showed some good touches apart from that, and will be looking to have more of an impact against Croatia on Thursday.

Why Is It Always You?

When Mario Balotelli scored last October against Manchester United, he pulled up his shirt to reveal the words "WHY ALWAYS ME."

This suggests that Super Mario doesn't quite understand why there are so many headlines regarding his antics.

Really? Balotelli may seem slightly out of touch occasionally, but surely he must know that doing the things that he does he is bound to attract attention.