Mario Balotelli

Biography

Balotelli was born in Palermo and is the son of Ghanaian immigrants Thomas and Rose Barwuah, who then moved to Bagnolo Mella, Brescia. In 1993, at the age of three, the Barwuah family agreed to entrust Mario to the Balotelli family; the legal move was successively formalized by the Court of Brescia. They resided in Concesio, a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. According to Law 91 of 5 February 1992, Balotelli had to wait until his 18th birthday in order to request Italian citizenship, as his adoption was never made definitive, which he officially gained on 13 August 2008.

Club career

He is regarded as one of the games promising prospects of the moment, featuring in the international football press.At the age of 15, Balotelli was promoted to the senior side of his then-club Lumezzane, making his senior debut in a Serie C1 league match against Padova.

Internazionale

2006-07

Milan giants Internazionale signed Balotelli for €340,000. Balotelli showed his potential for Inter Milan in their U-17 squad, known as the Allievi Nazionali, then joined the Primavera U-20 team at the age of 16, of which he quickly became a key player. He then scored a tie-breaking penalty in the Primavera league final in a 1-0 win over Sampdoria. These performances have prompted high praise from several high-ranking people including Inter chairman Massimo Moratti.

2007-08

On 16 December 2007 Balotelli made his first team debut replacing David Suazo in a 2-0 Serie A win against Cagliari. Three days later, he featured in the starting lineup in a Coppa Italia match against Reggina and scored two goals in a 4–1 win.

On 30 January 2008 "SuperMario" Balotelli gained national news after he scored two goals against Juventus in the return leg of the Coppa Italia quarter-finals, being instrumental in a 3–2 away win for the nerazzurri. He then scored his first Serie A goal on 6 April 2008 in a 2–0 away win against Atalanta. He scored his second Serie A goal only a week later, after a one-on-one with Fiorentina goalkeeper Sébastien Frey. On 11 May 2008, in a home match against Siena, which would have given the league title in case of a win, he first took a corner, assisting Patrick Vieira's goal, and then scored one himself, but it was not enough to give his team the scudetto as the game ended in a 2-2 draw and Roma reduced the gap to just 1 point behind the nerazzurri with a win. However, the following week, Balotelli played in Inter Milan's final game of their 2007-08 Serie A campaign, defeating Parma 2-0 and successfully clinching the 2007-08 scudetto.

2008-09

On 26 August 2008 in the Italian Supercup Final against Roma, Balotelli came on late in the second half as a replacement for Luís Figo, scoring in the 83rd minute. Inter went on to win the final 6-5 by penalties after the match ended 2-2. Balotelli then signed a 3-year contract at an age of 17 years and 10 months. On 4 November 2008, Balotelli scored his first Champions League goal against Anorthosis, and he became the youngest Inter player ever to score in Champions League at 18 years and 85 days (until that day the record was of Obafemi Martins, at 18 years and 145 days).

International career

Due to Balotelli's legal problems, he did not manage to answer a number of call-ups received by Italian national Under 15 and Under 17 teams in the past, as he was still considered a Ghanaian immigrant.

On 7 August 2007, five days before his 17th birthday, he received his first senior International call-up from Ghana Coach Claude Le Roy for a FIFA International friendly match against Senegal in the New Den Stadium in London, England on 21 August 2007, but declined the offer citing once again his willingness to play for Italy when he becomes eligible. He also stated his willingness to represent Italy at the international level once he will be able to acquire an Italian passport.

Italy U-21 coach Pierluigi Casiraghi stated his intention to call up Balotelli once he obtains the Italian citizenship. On 13 August 2008 he was awarded the Italian citizenship and has stated in a press conference on the same day his desire to play for the Italy under-21 team. On 29 August Casiraghi finally called him to join the azzurrini for the upcoming matches against Greece and Croatia.

He scored his first international goal against Greece U-21 in a 1-1 tie, then two goals against Israel in the qualification play-offs for the 2009 Euro U-21.

Honours

• Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti (Under-20 Italian Championship)
  • 2007
• Torneo di Viareggio
  • 2008
• Serie A
  • 2007-08.
• Supercoppa Italiana
  • 2008