Mario Balotelli, who is currently plying his trade with Adana Demirspor in Turkey, is set to receive his first Azzurri call up in three years. But does he deserve it?
It has been a difficult few years for the Italian striker, following his departure from Olympique Marseille in 2019. He spent one season with home town side Brescia, where he suffered racial abuse from some of the home fans, before joining Serie B side Monza, after a few months training individually.
A brief but decent spell with Silvio Berlusconi’s Monza ended in 2021, and in the summer he joined the newly promoted Adana Demirspor, looking to re-vitalise his career after a tough couple of years.
Balotelli has done well in Turkey this season; the 31-year-old Italian striker has scored seven goals and provided two assists in 18 Super Lig matches, helping the team to sit 6th in the table, ahead of Istanbul Basaksehir and Galatasaray.
He is looking good with Adana Demirspor, being quick and technical on the ball, taking a number of powerful shots from the edge of the box and involving his teammates in the play well.
Considering Italy’s struggles finding a consistent goalscorer, with Ciro Immobile failing to replicate his Lazio form with the Azzurri and Andrea Belotti currently out injured, now seems like a fair chance to give Balotelli another chance to shine for the national team again.
I always liked Balo, but if he is the answer, I don’t know the question…
No.
This man is better than Emerson. At least he can move forward.
I would give Gianluca Scamacca a start,
It’s not that he’s done enough, it’s that nobody else has stepped up. Nobody wants to watch Immobile cost us going to the World Cup. I’m not optimistic about Balo, would rather they give Scamacca a chance, but it’s worth a try.
If he refrains from his antics his mere physicality is a big plus, but when he’s on he’s on!
Scamacca is on a scoring run and he’s gonna get benched by this clown. At least call Gabbiadini who has been absolute fire in recent weeks.
Scamacca is a good option yes no one can discredit his talent and potential
Immobile is magnificent for club but rarely reproduce that form for country
Balotelli has and will always excel in the azzurri jersey. I thinks it’s the only reason he plays football . These 3 can definitely get the job done against any opposition. If they meet Portugal. Which one of these strikers could match cr7 aura. I’d say only balotelli. I’m not worried about World Cup playoffs any more .
Now I actually have hope that Italy can get a 5th star. Qatar we’re coming to win
💥💥💥🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹
What about Kean, Scamacca, Raspadori, Zaniolo and Lucca? Every one of them is better than Balotelli and Immobile.
Raspadori and Lucca better than Immobile? OK, that’ll do.
You have to look at the reality. Kean barely plays at club level amd he is too young for this kind of responsibility. Scamacca is the future for Italy but has no international experience. The 4-3-3 demands a real centre forward for it to work. The false 9 has been tried and was a disaster. Pedro and Balotelli have the physical qualities for the position. By the time we go to the World Cup, Scamacca will be ready. It was a serious mistake to even try to play the 4-3-3 without a real focal point.
He is also playing Warzone with streamers these days.