5 Reasons for Liverpool Fans to Love Mario Balotelli

All eyes were on Italian striker Mario Balotelli on Sunday as he made his home debut for Liverpool.

Sadly, both his performance and Liverpool's team display was far from impressive, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

The Italian cut an isolated figure at times and had just one target during his 71 minutes on the pitch, and that was off target, as per FourFourTwo Stats Zone.

Nonetheless, it's early days for Balotelli's Liverpool career, and fans will be hoping he can get his goalscoring tally underway as soon as possible—with four more games over the next fortnight, there should be plenty of opportunity for that.

If Balotelli can find form and Brendan Rodgers can get the best from the enigmatic 24-year-old, Liverpool could have a new cult hero on their hands. But for that to happen there must be a lot of hard work along the way.

Until then, here are five reasons for Liverpool fans to like Balotelli already.

He Doesn't Like 'The Sun' Newspaper

Shortly after his move to AC Milan in 2013, Balotelli refused to answer a question for a reporter from The Sun newspaper, due to the way they reported stories on him during his time at Man City.

"Listen, your newspaper, from when I got to England, it always talked bad about me, so I don't want to speak with your newspaper. Sorry," said Balotelli.

It's a mutual hatred of what Liverpool fans call "The Rag."

He Scored Against England

Pool/Getty Images

Most Liverpool fans aren't too big on England, to say the least—especially when Roy Hodgson's in charge, and now Wayne Rooney's the captain.

So for some, seeing Balotelli powerfully head the winner past Joe Hart in the World Cup in Brazil would have been enjoyable.

Mourinho Can't Manage Him

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Jose Mourinho claimed the 6'2" striker was "unmanageable" during his time at Inter Milan, according to Jim Boardman of The Anfield Wrap (h/t CNN).

"I could write a book of 200 pages of my two years with Mario. The book would not be a drama, it would be a comedy," said Mourinho during a interview with CNN in 2012 .

Scousers love a laugh and don't like Mourinho, so anyone the Chelsea boss can't work with works for us.

Liverpool Loves Characters

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As explained by Matt Sproston of This Is Anfield, Liverpool have a certain "DNA." Their history is littered with characters:

"

What really sets us apart are the characters that make up the stories. Brilliant, uncompromising and non-conforming, our history is littered with them. John Houlding, Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Ronnie Moran, Joe Fagan, Rafa Benitez and Kenny Dalglish off the pitch and Scott, Liddell, Smith, St John, Yeats, Dalglish, Souness, Kennedy, Thompson, Barnes, Fowler, Carragher, Gerrard, Suarez and many, many more on it.

 

"

Affection for Liverpool

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Since joining the club a fortnight ago, Balotelli's social media has been filled with affection for Liverpool.

His Instagram account has featured numerous fan-made images and graphics of the player, and he's tweeted his support for the club and love for the fans.

"

YNWA! COME ON LIVERPOOL! 👊✌☝

— Mario Balotelli (@FinallyMario) August 25, 2014"

"

Great win! Wonderful experience to play my first match in Liverpool FC shirt #Honor fans were fantastic👍👍travel safe back home #LFC #YNWA❤️

— Mario Balotelli (@FinallyMario) August 31, 2014"