| Mario Balotelli v Luis Suarez: Liverpool's striker gamble | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 22 2014, 03:24 AM (65 Views) | |
| yyyjia | Aug 22 2014, 03:24 AM Post #1 |
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After selling one of the most controversial players in the history of English football for £75m, you could forgive the Sergio Romo Kids Jersey powers-that-be at Liverpool for playing it safe for a while. Instead, the Reds are seeking to replace Luis Suarez with Mario Balotelli - a man once dubbed "unmanageable" by Jose Mourinho who tried to do just that when they were at Inter Milan together. Balotelli, 24, enjoyed cult status during his three-year spell at Manchester City and appears to be on his way back to England in a £16m move after only one full season at AC Milan, the club he supported as a boy. But other than a mutual love of scoring goals, and a regular habit of making the front as well as the back pages, what else do the strikers share? And what makes them stand apart from each other? Just shy of £150m has been cumulatively spent on their talents already, so despite a list of misdemeanours as long as the Anfield touchline, it does not take a genius to see that football's in-the-know managers see something different in this colourful pair. Balotelli's single Champions League success at Inter was blighted as Mourinho cast him aside for a lack of effort in training, but the mercurial Italian left the San Siro in 2010 with three league medals stashed in his expensive luggage. He dangled a leg at a loose ball on the final day of the 2011-12 campaign for his only assist in 54 league games at Manchester City, though it proved decisive as Sergio Aguero lashed City to the title - Balotelli's fourth league win by the time he turned 21. Despite boasting a glittering trophy haul to match the bling of his jewellery, on an individual level, Balotelli is unable to match Suarez, who at 27, is three years his senior. The Uruguayan shared the European Golden http://www.saintsshop.us.com/Jahri_Evans_Jersey Shoe award - claimed by the continent's top scorer - with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013-14 and was voted player of the year by both his fellow professionals and the Football Writers' Association. A season which included three hat-tricks and 31 league goals - despite missing six games at the start of the season through suspension - eventually tempted Barcelona into shelling out £75m for his services - despite that well-publicised biting incident at the World Cup. After arriving alongside Andy Carroll to fill the void left by Chelsea-bound Fernando Torres at Liverpool in January 2011, Suarez took 16 minutes to notch a debut goal from the bench. It was a sign of things to come. A further 68 followed in the league, complemented by 23 assists, but for all of his headline-grabbing contribution and average of a staggering 0.63 goals per game, Suarez's impact on Liverpool's win ratio is negative. The Reds won 61% of their 18 matches without him in the side, but only 48% when he was included. Purely on a statistical level, Balotelli also hindered Manchester City during his time in the Premier League. His presence saw City win in 59% of their matches compared to 70% when he played no part. The man who made his debut in Italy's third tier at just 15 has also been sent off for club or country in each of the last five seasons. "Obviously he has that baggage," former Liverpool midfielder Jimmy Case told BBC Sport. "But I always want a side to have one player who their opponents will know is capable of anything, no matter how well prepared they are." At 15, Suarez head-butted a referee while playing for his first club - Nacional - in Uruguay. It was a first of many blemishes on his CV. A bite for Ajax, the racial abuse of a player and a bite at Liverpool, and a match-saving hand-ball and bite for Uruguay are just some of what has followed. Throw in an obscene gesture made to Fulham supporters and a taunting dive when celebrating in front of Everton manager David Moyes in 2012 and his charge sheet is prolific. Balotelli, though no angel, prefers to keep his crime petty by comparison. He indeed described himself as shy to Oasis star Noel Gallagher in a BBC interview in 2012. Shy may be downplaying it several levels, but an image of him pointing a shotgun down a camera with the message: "a big kiss to all the haters", is as uncomfortable as it has got for the Palermo-born player. "I describe him as a box of fireworks," added Case. "You put your hand in the box and will you get a banger or something beautiful? Setting off fireworks in his bathroom http://www.nflgiantsofficialonline.com/GIANTS-JAMES-BREWER-JERSEY and throwing a dart at a youth-team player featured during Balotelli's time in Manchester, as did his decision to back-heel an effort wide when through on goal in a pre-season friendly against LA Galaxy. City manager Roberto Mancini failed to see the funny side and substituted his striker but, by and large, Balotelli was viewed more as a pantomime villain. Suarez, on the other hand, has earned widespread condemnation after his many incidents. |
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2:09 PM Jul 11