Liverpool's Mario Balotelli: Why Always Him?
Ever the centre of controversy, Mario Balotelli has once again found himself in troubled waters.
Branded "pathetic" by BT Sport pundit Robbie Savage for missing Liverpool's FA Cup clash vs. Blackburn Rovers, the Italian posted on his official Instagram account evidence suggesting an elevated temperature—justifying his absence from Brendan Rodgers' 18-man squad.
There is an accepted, oft-mentioned character report that follows Balotelli: He is an arrogant, petulant, unpredictable, gifted-yet-lazy footballer whose countenance oozes indifference.
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At every turn, the 24-year-old's narrative has been directed down this alley (without regard for its protagonist). Confusingly enough, Balotelli has done little to dissuade the project's verisimilitude—he may represent a willing participant more than a detractor.
Doing himself no favours in terms of widespread likability, Balotelli is no doubt making money from the likes of Puma through his "bad boy" reputation.
It is possible the Italian international has shrewdly taken on this ruffian persona for monetary gain, but the answer is likely less devious and more attributable to capitalising on public perception.
A lighting-rod, marmite footballer, Balotelli's name is used when days are slow and other talking points are found uninteresting. Driving his car into women's prisons, playing with fireworks and throwing darts out of windows—the young forward's hijinks have been chiefly juvenile, but demonising him because of his slothful playing style is hardly reason to besmirch.
Supporters, managers and those covering football love hard workers: Players like former Anfield striker Luis Suarez (who have supreme technical ability but run themselves ragged nonetheless) are what many want from their stars.
Balotelli was the worst possible "plan B" for Suarez last summer. Watching the Uruguayan run around the pitch like a starved lion for three-and-a-half seasons then be served with the meandering Italian was never going to suffice.
Matt Lawton of the Daily Mail suggests Liverpool are not interested in keeping their misfit "No. 9" past this season. Balotelli has a contract until the 2017/18 season, so leaving this summer seems premature—but it could be a net positive.
Bought for £16 million, why Rodgers ever thought Balotelli was going to work in 2013/14's system is beyond comprehension. Having watched the forward at Inter Milan, Manchester City and AC Milan, the Reds should have known a pressing, high-octane style was not going to suit Balotelli, but they signed him regardless.
The point here is: Knowing he was not compatible with the Reds' playing style, why purchase the Milan man in the first place? Shirt sales and publicity are possible solutions to the mystery—as household names around the globe tend to make clubs money on their arrival—but no concrete football reasons existed for the move.
Balotelli struggling to find minutes (whether by injury, illness or Rodgers' tactical intuition) at his new employers plays into the established narrative; as the jump from being on the bench to "an obvious malcontent" is not daunting.
Possibly the most frustrating element in Balotelli's current trajectory is his unquestioned talent. Clubs and managers suffer the tabloids, the antics and—to certain degrees—his temperament because they hope one day everything will click into place.
His brace eliminating Germany 2-1 in the Euro 2012 semi-finals, the then-21-year-old Italian appeared all but certain to become one of Europe's great centre-forwards—in the mould of Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Robert Lewandowski—but since that pinnacle summer, Balotelli's path has become unnecessarily cluttered.
Three years and three clubs later, where does the schismatic striker go now?
One can debate the modern-day stature of Liverpool, but for all intents and purposes the Anfield contingent are a massive club, and Balotelli's chances at the "summit" are running thin.
Is he as ill-disciplined as we are led to believe? No.
Is he as fractious as we are led to believe? No.
But does that matter? Probably not.
What matters is perception. What matters are optics. What matters apparently is the way Balotelli celebrates, or not, after scoring.
The trivial banalities of stories make projecting Balotelli's future difficult. When talking heads take definitive stances on him, they know at least half the population will agree—creating situations where the striker cannot win, only vilifying him further.
In the right system, with the right manager and in the right head space, Balotelli can become a fantastic footballer—but that triumvirate coming to fruition before his celling collapses appears more unlikely by the passing day.
Balotelli once asked, via his T-shirt: "Why always me?"
Your answer, Mario: You are supremely talented, but cannot seem to get out of your own way; in moments when you do what is required, we—the media—simply cannot restrain from whipping the whipping boy.
*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase.com where not noted.
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