5THE INDEPENDENT SATURDAY19FEBRUARY 2011 l l l l l l

The Mario Balotelli story Sport4 l l l l l l SATURDAY19FEBRUARY 2011 THE INDEPENDENT

Sport The Mario Balotelli story

What makes the City striker such an arresting character? Ian Herberttalks to those closest to him and uncovers the man behind the myth

REVEALED: THE COMPLEXAND WONDERFUL WORLD OF MARIO BALOTELLI

Mario Balotellicast his eyearound thePrestbury man-sion once occu-pied by Robinho– the airyrooms, outlying

fields and rack of remote control panelsall took his eye – and wondered if thehome comforts of a Cheshire life might bejust the thing for him. It was his Italianfriends, knowing him as they do, whoasked the Manchester City striker howhe would deal with all that rural isolation.“We couldn’t see what he would do outthere all alone,” says one of them. “Thereare hours to kill for a footballer and wesaw it becoming so solitary for him.”

They were right. Balotelli heeded theadvice and has settled instead in a ninth-floor penthouse flat, where the little con-gratulatory notes stuck to his door by theneighbours – and their bottles of winepresented at Christmas – attest to theway he seems to be settling. At first, Citytried to find out the 20-year-old’s intereststo help him fill his days. They learnt of hisinterest in wildlife and the Italian isconsequently now more acquainted withKnowsley Safari Park than any other Pre-mier League footballer. But Balotelli hasfound his own way. “He has never wanted

his life to be run for him,” says his sister,Cristina, an accomplished journalist nowhelping him navigate his way through thepitfalls attached to English celebritystatus. “He does things his own way.”

The emotional draw towards his oldhome life and to his parents back inBrescia has hardly been surprising, giventheir huge role in helping him through hischallenging early years – a full picture ofwhich can be revealed by The Independenttoday. The couple he has come to callfather and mother are Franco Balotelli, aretired former warehouse supervisor inthe pasta trade, and his wife Silvia,originally a nurse by profession and anindefatigable foster mother throughmuch of her married life.

But the surname he carries on his No45 shirt at City is one which was legallydenied him until 2008, such was theprotracted nature of his wait to be legallyadopted by the Balotellis from hisGhanaian parents, who rarely showed upduring those years.

The Balotellis – whose own threechildren, Corrado, Giovanni and Cristinawere growing up when they learnt aboutMario – thought their days of fosteringwere behind them when social servicespleaded with them to care for the child,who was only two and a half but hadundergone a series of operations at a local

hospital. Franco had already retired fromthe warehouse and the couple were notwealthy. But they returned from a familyholiday resolved on making him a part oftheir lives. The court decree under whichhe was fostered was renewed every twoyears until he was 18, which did not helpthe sense of permanency which theBalotellis created for him.

Balotelli’s first memory of his newhome was running and sliding down along corridor, shattering several of hismother’s vases along the way, and it wasthe absence of attention and affection inhis life until that time which seems tohave dictated his pattern of behaviour.“I’d be in the bathroom drying my hairwhen he’d appear at the door, turn thelight off and run away,” Cristina recalls.“It was the attention he wanted.”

The relationship with his adoptivemother – in Manchester this weekend,just as she was after defying snow-delayed flights to join him in Manchesteron Christmas Day and witness his firstCity hat-trick against Aston Villa threedays later – has become one of extra-ordinary depth. “For a long time, he couldnot sleep without her there to hold hishand,” his sister adds. “He hated to bealone. To an extent, that’s how he still heis. He has always needed company,though we see the difference that

Manchester is making, in giving himindependence and helping him tomature.”

His mother’s firmness when neededinstilled discipline into his life. Balotellitells a story of how one day she forbadehim from attending football training inMompiano because of his behaviour. Buthe crept out and made the journey fromBrescia anyway – taking 50 minutes on

foot. By the time he arrived, his motherhad called the coach of the team – whosent him straight back.

Franco Balotelli has been the one withthe endless patience, driving his adoptiveson to football, scouts, karate, judo,basketball, athletics and swimming. Hewas also the one who, within a year or soof the young boy joining the family, wouldbe found in the midst of endless afternoonfootball matches with him in the parks ofBrescia. The striker would have triedathletics or martial arts, had a career infootball not been forthcoming for him. Hisbrothers, both much older than him, havealso followed and supported him closelysince his career began at Lumezzane,near Brescia, at the age of 11.

Though his family life became a settledone, the colour of his skin has been amore intractable problem. The racism heexperienced as a player at Internazionalewas overt – Juventus were ordered toplay a match behind closed doors a fewyears ago, such was the racist abuse – butas a child it manifested itself in Balotellifeeling that he was invisible. “Two thingswere close to my heart, like all boys at acertain age: girls and getting attention,”he reflected in one of the few interviewshe granted in Italy. “But it was like I wastransparent. I’m no Clooney but Icouldn’t explain it why I was ignored. My

friends explained. They told me peopledidn’t like blacks.”

Football has offered some greatsources of strength against that affliction.Lilian Thuram, another black player withexperience of Italy, has been one, thoughBalotelli has never revealed what advicethe former Juventus defender offered.Balotelli has spoken out against racismwhen he has needed to, though hiscrusades have been reserved for a differ-ent, eclectic mix of causes which haveabsorbed him over the past few years.

One of them is a Brazilian refuge fordestitute children and women in theBrazilian favelas, where Balotelli spentthe Christmases of 2007 and 2008. Cristi-na recalls the latter as a time when hewas at his happiest. “His friends andbrothers went out there too and I remem-ber he was so animated, playing footballbarefoot on the beach. It showed his loveof being with those who are close to him.It showed his love of being free, amongpeople who don’t judge him and whom hefeels are as straightforward as he is.”

The same can be said of the WWFsummer camp he joined at Sicily’sZingaro Nature Reserve two years ago –not the typical close-season break for anInter player. Absorbed by the time he washaving with friends of his own age there,he cancelled his flight home and made the

day-long train journey with them all,instead. “The most distinctive part of hispersonality is his playful character,” saysCristina. “He loves to joke and playaround.”

The type of absorption which will con-tribute much to his contentment in Man-chester seems to be unscheduled, likethat long trip north through Italy. It wasthe same last May when he encounteredtwo young representatives of the cam-paign to stop the use of child soldiers at ahotel in Milan, ahead of a conference. Itturned into a two-hour private conversa-tion with Bosnian Zlata Filipovic (wholived with the bombs during an adoles-cence in Sarajevo) and the Sudanese JohnKon Kelei (who was kidnapped and forcedto fight in his own country for sevenyears). The plight of child soldiers hasbecome a cause Balotelli has taken upagain this month.

It is a story which confounds the sim-plistic characterisation of Balotelli as aperpetually angry individual with nothingto smile about. “There are contradictionsin him but like many people, often thebullishness is there to cover a weakness,”his sister reflects. Another friend says:“Those who come to know him realise thekind of person he really is. Manchesterhas not been the easiest city to get accus-tomed to and is not as busy as London.

‘For a long timehe could notsleep withouthis motherthere to holdhis hand. He just hated to be alone’Cristina Balotellion her brother’sdifficult early years

As these previously unpublished family photographsof Mario Balotelli show he supports various causesincluding a children’s refuge in the favelas of Salvadorde Bahia in Brazil. ‘He loves being with people whodon’t judge him,’ says his sister

You do feel a bit like a fish out of water atfirst. That’s because Italians are used to abetter climate and a different language.”

Different cars, too. His family’s advicethat he own a right-hand drive model hasbeen heeded after an altercation with aBMW in his left-hand drive Audi R8. TheManchester Christmas markets, wherehe bought the memorable five-pointedwoolly hat he wore the night City playedEverton, have long gone and there’s notbeen much call for the quad bike he enjoysbut life does seem to be developing.

So now for the biggest challenge – toshake off the knee injury which has sotruncated Balotelli’s season and emergeas a genuine force, starting against NottsCounty in the FA Cup tomorrow. City senthim to the Green Mountains of Vermont,under the care of knee specialist BillKnowles, as much for the focus onrecovery that isolation brings, as forKnowles’ own work. Mancini, desperateto find any way to get him fit, knows thatlife off the field counts for nothing until heis delivering on it.

“He is a young man learning to liveaway from home,” his sister concludes.“Success for him and the team on the fieldwill make so much difference but he hasjust needed time to adapt. He has settledand now he is just desperate to provewhat he can do when he plays.”

B E H I N D T H E S C E N E S

‘He is a man ofcontradictionsand like manypeople thebullishness isthere to cover a weakness’Cristina Balotellion her brother