Adana Demirspor striker Mario Balotelli reiterated that he wants ‘to play for the national team’ again, taking shots at Luciano Spalletti’s current choices.
The 33-year-old has not appeared for the Azzurri since their 1-1 draw with Poland in the Nations League back in September 2018. His last appearance at a tournament came at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where he scored against England.
Balotelli’s club career has continued to be unpredictable and he’s currently in his second spell with Turkish side Adana Demirspor, having signed a one-year contract in the summer. The Italian striker has netted three goals in five appearances this season.
Speaking to TvPlay via Calciomercato.com, Balotelli underlined his desire to return to the Italy national team.
“If I’m well, I still consider myself the strongest. Did Raspadori and Scamacca play yesterday? How many shots did they take combined? Two? I want to recover and play for the national team.
“I always hope for the call. I met Spalletti and I’ve met him several times. We made some jokes when we met in a friendly with Napoli, but I have no relationship.”
A fairly volatile player, Balotelli has a strong history with the Azzurri, having netted 14 goals in 36 caps. He famously scored a brace against Germany in the Euro 2012 semi-final.
I know a lot of people don’t want to see him anymore, and he’s not getting any younger, but….
It could be tried. At least in a friendly. He has a point, the current attacking options are far from ideal.
I kind of like Raspadori though, but I don’t think he’s got enough weight on defense.
You want it, earn it.
Work hard, and make it impossible to ignore you.
this would be a huge mistake.
i have said this many he should have been called up given a try31 is not over the hill a slid copact player his shots are like a bulletwe cannot finish games they should try him for the friendlies
Scammacca will have 20 goals this season. Retegui will have over 15 goals, Raspadori will be over 10 goals. Balotelli couldn’t score 10 goals in serie B with Monza. Balotelli is a cancer on every team he plays on. Brescia could wait to get rid of him. Italy has 3 really good strikers must better then what they had in the last Euros when they won the tournament
Balo please… enough. Regret must be a tough pill to swallow when you could have have one of the best strikers of your generation. Truly, a sad, sad story.
Yes, bring him back. He’s proven scorer at international level. Mancini should have played him when he called him back for the training camp. We would not be in Pot 4 now!!
i dont care club goals all these players cant score in national teeam give ballorelli achancewe would have been in the world cup
Anyone who advocates for Mario’s recall has truly lost their mind. He’s a head case and lazy. He’s old and can’t even score regularly for club anymore. Time to move on from this loser.
Bring him back. The team should be designed behind him as a striker.