Now that he’s left, it’s given me the time and more importantly the patience to objectively unravel Mario Balotelli.
Football, though referred to as a sport which has lived through many like a soul, injecting myriad emotions and reactions, has failed to pump the same breath into those who become mere spectators from once being watched as players. The explicit nature of reactions towards the sport and in it often constitute a moral code where what is expected and accepted is sketched on the white pages and all else on the darker side. Mario Balotelli, an interesting figure in today’s footballing world, has often found himself locked in the dark forbidden pages of football. The ephemeral nature of the sport often highlights achievements, however Mario has much more to offer the memories of those who love the sport.
Mario never had much love towards normality from an early age. Born in a family of immigrants, he had health issues that were considered life-threatening as an infant. He wasn’t allowed to familiarise himself with consistency as his parents moved to a different city when he was only two. At age three, the parents couldn’t keep up with the demanding illness and decided to look for foster care which led to Balotelli finding himself being raised by two motherly figures (both with completely different mindsets and approach to life). The process of relating to home and parents wasn’t very forgiving to him as his mind was being moulded by differing ideas and surroundings. He famously intimated an account, when at an early age, he used to wash himself with bleach to not look out of place in his family. He later on drifted from the confusion and opted to adopt the name Balotelli, which comes from his foster parents.