There appears to be a brutally simple answer to the question Mario Balotelli had printed onto his own t-shirt earlier in the season.
“Why always me?”
Do we really need to spell it out, Mario? Do you honestly not get it?
This guy could write a manual on unprofessionalism. Actually, he looks to have enough material for a couple of sequels as well. The game is up now. As Manchester City slumped to the defeat that more or less tossed up their Premier League title hopes into the trash, Balotelli’s career at the club hit a low from which it is unlikely to recover. Don’t expect to see him again in City blue any time soon.
Roberto Mancini was always locked into the Balotelli story. He was the manager who brought him to England, knowing exactly what was coming from their experiences together at Inter Milan. But Mancini felt compelled to cut the cord after witnessing another damaging display from his most reckless, most turbulent, most exasperating player. On the back of another red card, and a ferocious challenge that may earn him an even longer ban if it is investigated by the authorities, the boss explained he won’t be picked any more. "I've finished my words for him. I've finished,” Mancini muttered. “At this moment, I'm very sorry for him because he continues to lose his talent, his quality.”
There could be no starker warning for a player whose career is being played out on a tightrope. Whether he gets to the other side intact and ever finds a stable enough platform to maximize his skill, is debatable. Will he fall? Will he land his dream move to AC Milan? City do, after all, have another high profile striker alarmingly overloaded with baggage. Even if he does, will that work out? Goodness knows. At 21 years of age, there ought to be time for a second chance. With Balotelli, and his distinctively bizarre brand of behavior, it is difficult to predict anything.
Balotelli’s actions are in sharp contrast to City’s captain, Vincent Kompany, whose actions, as a man as well as a footballer, have been consistently impressive this season. As he left the Emirates pitch, knowing full well the consequences of a costly loss to an impressive Arsenal team, Kompany maintained his dignity but looked like a man who realizes how some players in the squad have done so much to undermine the hard work of others.
City’s season is now defined by the image of two egotistical strikers, players apparently unable for one reason or another to put the team first. It’s hard to erase the pictures of Carlos Tevez strolling around the golf course in the Argentinian sun whilst his teammates were slogging their way through the winter fixtures. It’s impossible to forget the sight of Balotelli, despite his many goals and his collection of zany off-field antics, throwing himself into horrible tackles, receiving numerous disciplinary cards, and giving off his best rebel stare.
Gary Neville, the Manchester United stalwart who was observing events from inside the Emirates Stadium, summed it up pretty succinctly. "Every time I've been to the circus, there's always been a clown," he said dryly of Balotelli. It didn’t need adding, but was blindingly obvious given the gap that has widened between the top two in Manchester.
United's sheer relentlessness when it comes to winning is really a phenomenon. Their continuity - in terms of what Sir Alex Ferguson demands, which is embodied in the stalwart players who continue to pass on to the next generation what is required - is priceless. City have all the money in the world but they can't buy that kind of heritage. It needs to be built.
Ferguson stressed before the weekend that he “wouldn’t allow” dissent, before paying tribute to the players who fly the flag for United’s values. "We have a lot of experience in our team, and the knowledge of players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand will be vital in the coming weeks, but we have also got young lads breaking into the side who are looking at those players and working out what they are doing right to have lasted so long. They are great examples for young players to learn from."
All that, and the luck of generous referees too? United, once again, apparently have it all as far as English football is concerned.
After Mikel Arteta’s hammer blow cut City to the core, there was a revealing moment when the television editors cut to the visiting dignitaries in the directors’ box. A band of extravagantly wealthy men, who have invested so heavily in this project, looked grim faced.
While acknowledging that sport is evidently (and thankfully) about so much more than who has the richest backer, City’s difficulties in finding a short cut to create a team capable of usurping United must leave the owners deeply frustrated. They continue to provide finance to give the football men the best possible chance to build a conquering team. However, it is clearly easier said than done.
When Mancini gathered his team together for the pre-season last summer, the collection of attackers told a compelling story of how ruthless the regime was in its attempt to fast-track the route to success.
On the books, and surplus to requirements, was approximately $90 million worth of forwards (Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, who were loaned out to Tottenham and Real Betis respectively, and Craig Bellamy, who left for a cut price deal to Liverpool). That left Tevez and Balotelli, who have been so desperately unreliable, Edin Dzeko, who has not set the world alight, and Sergio Aguero, the only one who has been an unqualified success.
City thought they had put together a dream team, but they have ended up with a couple of nightmares.
