Why Mario Balotelli Is the X-Factor to Spark AC Milan's Rise Back to the Top

Yes, you read that right.

Mario Balotelli is back at AC Milan only a year after leaving the team for Liverpool.  The 25-year-old never settled at Anfield, and Liverpool had been looking for a way to offload the dissatisfied striker.

Now Balotelli, who scored 26 times in the season and a half he spent with Milan from 2013 to 2014, is back in red and black, and he could very well be a difference-maker.

Sometimes more famous for his exploits off the field than his play on it, Balotelli has reportedly agreed to a stringent code of conduct as a condition of returning to the club he cheered for as a boy.  According to Corriere della Sera (h/t Football Italia), Balotelli will, apart from the usual expectations, be prohibited from divulging inside details of the club on social media.

He will also reign in his outlandish tastes in hairstyles and clothing as well as stop smoking and curtail his his alcohol consumption.  His failure to do so will reportedly incur fines.

How well he adheres to this code will be a major key to the success of this move.

Balotelli has always been one of the most frustrating players in the world.  Until the emergence of Domenico Berardi two years ago, he was indisputably the most natively gifted attacker in the Italian player pool.  But time and time again, his head has gotten in the way of his talent.

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Whether it's been off-field incidents or losing his cool on the field, Good Mario's flashes of brilliance have been overshadowed by the sullen face of Bad Mario stalking the pitch and picking up cards.

But Good Mario can be very good.  Milan fans saw as much when he marauded for 12 goals in 13 appearances after arriving on the last day of the winter 2013 transfer window.

The unfortunate accompaniment of those goals?  Seven yellow cards to go with 10 more—and a red—in 2013-14.  According to WhoScored.com, he's been sent off four times in league play—three of them at Manchester City—and once more in the Champions League for Inter.  Since 2009, he's been booked 41 times for four teams in league play.  Last year for Liverpool, he had more bookings (five) than goals (one).

But if Balotelli can finally keep his attitude in check, that talent could still explode.

So far, it appears Balotelli has kept to his new code.  On Sunday, Milan co-vice president Adriano Galliani expressed his belief to the Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Samuel Stevens of the Independent) that Super Mario was a changed man.  He characterized him as the first man to enter Milanello for training and the last to leave.  He even joked that he was "thinking of giving him the keys."

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If Balotelli does truly focus, the impact he can have on Milan could be significant.

At the moment, the starting striker positions in Sinisa Mihajlovic's 4-3-1-2 formation are occupied by Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano.  The two talented attackers are unlikely to lose those spots anytime soon, but it's foolish to think the two will play all 38 games together.  Injuries, suspensions and loss of form will mean Mihajlovic will have to tinker from time to time.

A locked-in Balotelli would represent fantastic depth for the Serbian coach.  That's something Milan needs right now.  Jeremy Menez and M'Baye Niang are recovering from back and foot injuries, respectively.  There is currently no timetable for Menez's return, while Niang is not expected back for several months.

The only other available forwards at the moment are Alessandro Matri, who will likely leave the team at the end of the transfer window, and Alessio Cerci, who is still trying to recover the form that made him so sought after in last summer's transfer window.

If Bacca or Adriano fall victim to the injury bug or require rest, he could step seamlessly into the starting XI and do a decent job.  Even when the two South Americans are in the lineup, an on-form Mario would be invaluable as a super sub.

There are a lot of potential roadblocks between Mario Balotelli and a successful season, but if he overcomes them, he could be a valuable piece of the puzzle that can bring Milan back to the upper reaches of the table.

Time will tell how this low-risk, high-reward move will play out.