Why Always Club Football?

The controversial young Italian international has generated miles and miles of columns.

People always seem to be talking about him - be it his attitude or his talent or his girlfriend; it just never stops. His iconic celebrations and comic behaviour have often marked him out in footballing circles, and he has become both a figure of fun and admiration.

His iconic t-shirt, "Why Always Me?" posed a simple but obvious question as to why people were always picking n him. Clearly, its atrociously unfair and the English media were the biggest culprits as they sought to hound him out for every minor thing he did. They constantly ignored the fact that he had a very difficult upbringing and that his life was (and still is) oh so difficult.

But is it really?

Just over a fortnight away from his 24th birthday, the young striker is still to boast of the career that his supreme talent would allow him to. Tall, intelligent and extremely strong on the ball, the young man has everything to become one of the world’s best strikers.

Having been coached by illustrious names such as Jose Mourinho and Roberto Mancini should’ve ensured his path to the top by now, but for some reason he is still languishing on the headlines of Italian newspapers.

He had a subdued World Cup (apart from a tactically perfect strike against England) and even his club performances have been dipping - although he has maintained a good scoring rate of 18 in 41 appearances.

His disputes with his managers have well and truly made him an undesirable figure to have in the dressing room, and his apparently boisterous attitude have made team-mates cringe.

However, when he pulls on the Azzuri shirt he is a terrific footballer. He truly loves his nation more than anything and his obvious hurt at losing the 2012 European Cup in such painful style belied the passion for football the young player has.

Calls for him to knuckle down and focus on his career fall on deaf ears, as he is apparently completely sick of public opinion. His club career doesn’t seem like it will ever kick off, and he will probably become a journeyman with a respectful but not exactly splendid goals-coring rate.

But as an international striker, I firmly believe that he will come good, and Cesare Prandelli is clearly a believer of the same, as he designed his team to ping balls to their main man at the top throughout their ill-fated tournament. Had the Azzuri had another more offensive player, they could have surely done better.

So while he will never stop being the Balotelli we love to hate, he may truly have a great international career.

Avanti Azzuri, Avanti Balotelli!