After being away from football for just over 55 months (1701 days), Mario Balotelli has returned to Serie-A, Italy’s top league.
As one of the best players in the league and Italy’s top striker, Balotelli has previously competed for the Italian national team in a FIFA World Cup.
Super Mario had a fantastic start to his football career at Inter Milan, and from 2012 to 2014, he was at his best, wearing an Italian shirt.
He gave Italian supporters false hope that he would be leading their attacking line for many more tournaments to come after making an impression against England with a header at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He was Italy’s final No. 9 player to compete in a World Cup.
He rejoined Roberto Mancini at Manchester City after winning the Italian treble with Inter in the 2009–10 campaign. There, he won the Premier League before going back to the Lombardy region, this time for AC Milan.
Balotelli then returned to the Premier League to play for Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers. He then played for Nice and Marseille in France for a few years before going back to Italy for stints at Brescia and Monza.
Even though the major clubs lost interest in him, his talent has always been evident. He received a FIFA Puskas Award nomination in 2022 for a goal that perfectly encapsulated Balotelli.
He actually captivated the defender with a string of incredible step-overs before outshining the goalie with a daring yet brilliant rabona finish that smashed into the far bottom corner.
Eager to return to Serie A, Genoa, who were at the bottom of the league and had nearly all of their strikers injured, turned to the free agent market, where Balotelli was waiting.
Italy’s 2006 World Cup champion Alberto Gilardino took a chance on Balo and is hoping he will add skill and experience to a team that needed a lot of reorganization.
The match against Parma was his first Serie A opportunity since he and Sandro Tonali played together for Brescia four and a half years prior. He was given about twenty minutes to contribute from the bench against Como as the Grifone looked to tie the score.
“I’m happy for Mario, he’s really motivated. He’ll need to train hard and get some minutes under his belt, but I’m convinced that he can offer us a lot if he gets back to full fitness. It’s up to him”,
Alberto Gilardino, Genoa manager said.
The Italian national team is inextricably linked to Balotelli’s name. He made his debut at the young age of 20, and after his memorable performance against Germany at UEFA EURO 2012, he went on to score 14 goals in 36 games and earn legendary status.
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