From bad boy to altar boy, Balotelli needs to re-discover balance

Roberto Mancini cannot possibly have imagined he would see this sentence in print; but Mario Balotelli, the man regarded as probably the maddest, baddest and most dangerous man to know in the Premier League, played for Italy against Croatia last night and left many onlookers wondering if he could do with being, well... a bit more nasty.

The ‘Why Always Me’ character, loved and hated in equal measure across England, has been replaced by a respectful, sanitised version in international football.

Although he showed flashes of class in a 1-1 draw he also wasted chances and quickly ran out of energy as the Italians threw away a first-half lead to leave their chances of qualification in the balance.

In fact, when the normally strutting striker was substituted in the second half it led many Italian journalists to question whether he will even start in Italy’s final group game against the Republic of Ireland on Monday.

Italian manager Cesare Prandelli has shown remarkable faith in the young Manchester City striker in recent times; not only choosing him in the squad despite all the sideshow that normally ensues but also choosing him, at the age of just 21, to start up front alongside Antonio Cassano in both Italy’s opening games.

It’s a big, big burden to wear the number nine shirt of the Azzurri, especially for a player winning only his tenth cap, so perhaps he simply needs a rest to re-charge his batteries for the quarter-finals, should Italy make it that far.

Or maybe, just maybe, he needs to relax and be himself once more.

Balotelli began building his new persona by making a pre-tournament pledge to behave himself; a vow that, so far at least, he has kept true to — both on and off the field.

But the only problem is that when you take the devil out his play, sometimes Mario isn’t so super any more.

He was influential against Croatia, particularly in the first half when he seemed to be Italy’s go-to man and made a habit of finding space in interesting areas. But his finishing was not of the highest class, dragging one shot wide and then shooting straight at Pletikosa when he had plenty of time to concentrate on achieving a better angle.

In the second-half he lifted another powerful effort over the bar, and again it was hit too centrally; it seems Super Mario is taking his role as a straight man a little too literally.

Throughout the match he did his job; neatly, tidily, linking up play and making himself available. But there was none of the edge to his performance that we have become used to; and only the occasional strop at a poor decision, or throwing the ball away in disgust, gave any clue that this really was Balotelli at all.

This is the player, you’ll remember, who has barely been off the front or back pages in England since moving to Manchester City from AC Milan. This season, for instance, he was banned for four matches for stamping on Tottenham’s Scott Parker and then received another extended ban for a red card at Arsenal, his fourth in a City shirt.

That act of petulance prompted Mancini to consider selling him and FIFPro’s general secretary Theo van Seggelen to suggest; “I think professional help is the only solution.”

No wonder Mario is behaving himself in Poland and at Italy’s training camp in Krakow where there have been no fireworks being let off (reference intended) and no darts being thrown at youth team players.

When he left Poznan last night, Balotelli, by contrast, looked a subdued and lonely character, walking alone through the mixed zone (the area where players conduct post-match interviews) looking miserably at the floor and glowering at anyone who dared approach him.

Even his manager admitted the player lacked energy, saying: “I think he gave a lot in terms of running into space high up the pitch but he was struggling in the second half and in fact he struggled even to get off the pitch. Di Natale gave us more options. Cassano was still getting into good space and making good passes and we thought with Di Natale we could have players running into space.”

Who knows if that means Balotelli faces the chop or whether he was simply being rested to prepare for Monday; and perhaps it was just the result that had got to him — after all Italy did more than enough to win the game but ended it with a draw that leaves their chances of reaching the quarter-finals hanging on securing a victory over Ireland.

But it could just as easily be down to the levels of concentration required for Balotelli to behave himself, having been controversially dropped from the Italy squad in February for his attitude and behaviour.

At the time, former Italian manager Marcelo Lippi was brutal in his assessment of the player, saying: “I hope that he will wake up soon. He’d be better off letting his talent on the field speak for itself.”

That’s fair enough; and maybe Irish fans will be happy to see him subdued and playing it safe in Poznan. But let’s not turn Mario Balotelli into an identikit modern footballer with no charisma and no spark; because this is a player who has the potential to entertain and to amaze — and that’s what the world wants to see.