This is a confessional. Maybe not the kind you were hoping
for, but I’m sure you can find plenty of that kind elsewhere on the interwebs.
This one is about my love for someone who is part mythical, part icon, part
football, and yet 100% human. He changed my heart 180° when he came to Milan,
and I will never forget him. I honestly don’t think there is another player on
the planet like him, and his loss for me is being felt on so many levels. I
have to face the facts, I am in love with Mario Balotelli. And now he’s walking
out of my life.
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| Beast. |
A few years back, I was blogging for an Italian national
team site, and Balotelli was always coming up for discussion. I always
maintained the position that he was amazingly talented, but that he needed
psychological help and was thus too much of a risk for any team, perhaps even
the national team. I definitely didn’t want him at Milan. I couldn’t have been
more wrong.
First of all, at least half of the things written by the media about him
are actually untrue. You can thank the British media specifically for that. But the proof is
in the fact that while at Milan, he was relatively quiet and well-behaved,
compared to the monstrous psychopath they painted him out to be there. In fact,
his worst moment was probably earning a 3 match ban last year for talking to
the refs after once again being manhandled and not getting any fouls called (and
probably having been racially abused, too.) He was the most fouled player in Serie A, the
most racially abused, facing abuse when he wasn’t even present, even at a youth
match. In contrast, our captain, Montolivo, earned a two match Champions League
ban last season for a bad tackle that impacted the team far worse than anything
Balotelli did during his time at the club. But Balotelli gets all of the hate.
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| Most ironic photo ever. |
Balotelli is probably the most over-criticized player, too. Everyone
had something negative to say about him no matter how well he played. If I had
a nickel for every time I saw Milan fans screaming on Twitter that he was
underperforming or wasn’t putting in enough effort or “going to ground easy” when
he had 2-3 defenders constantly attached to him like leeches, then I could
afford to write the check to Milan to keep him and buy as many world class
players as we liked, too. Balotelli was always doing something positive for us.
He was defending, often going all the way back (and then criticized for not
staying in the box,) he was passing and looking to help his teammates, he was drawing
the defenders and drawing the fouls (well those just happened no matter what he
did, but he often didn’t get the calls.) His free kicks were the stuff fantasy
was made from, and his penalty record simply amazing.
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| According to the haters, Balotelli is a terrible teammate, never smiles, and never celebrates. |
Balotelli had the most shots in Serie A during his time at
Milan, but never gave enough “effort”, according to the haters. As the most fouled player, he really did keep it together very well. Still not enough for the shortsighted fans, but they will miss him on the
pitch this year when opponents just walk right through our defense/midfield/attack
to score goal after goal, with no one like him to stop them anymore. And the constant
racial abuse he took on the pitch was bad enough, but he also kept it together
to play for a club whose management also racially abused him, even from the
beginning, and whose CEO supported a racist for FIGC president instead of
supporting a former Milan player, let alone everyone else at the club. No one
could possibly know how Balotelli felt, playing at “home” for the club of his
dreams with “support” like that.
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| A fan there told me he trained the longest, then hung out to sign autographs |
But he became more than just a hero to me for withstanding
so much abuse, both physical and emotional, and still scoring 30 goals in 18
short months in Serie A, Coppa Italia, and the Champions League. I saw in him
such strength. Not just physically, he is obvously amazingly strong, virtually
unstoppable. He was also so strong mentally, despite what people think. He
smiled so much since he came to Milan, even if haters still criticize him for
not smiling (seriously, name one other player who gets criticized for his
facial expressions?) He had to shut out a world of overblown hate and criticism
just for being so awesome, and was still able to be a world class striker. At a
time when Milan’s commitment to football and winning was at an all-time low. If
that’s not emotional fortitude I really don’t know what is.
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| The man is clever and creative... and freaking awesome. |
I don’t know what exactly it was that changed me from
someone who questioned his purchase to one of his biggest fans who is now
devastated at his loss. Maybe it was when he wanted to drive a go kart, but his
contract stipulated that he couldn’t, so he drove his Ferrari on the track instead.
Brilliant. It wasn’t any one thing, actually. I think that by both seeing his fun personality come out through Twitter and Instagram, and watching him fight for
Milan week in and week out amidst the most harsh odds, I began to realize that
there was so much more to him than meets the eye. And I think that more than
any other player who has come to Milan in recent years that was a Milanista, I
saw more red and black, more courage, and more fight in him than any other
player.
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| What more can I say? He walks on water. 'Nuff said. |
While I’m glad that I fell in love with Super Mario, I’m
crushed that he is moving on. Not just because I became so attached to him, but
for what this move represents from management. I have yet to hear why he left,
maybe it was his choice. And I can’t say that I’d blame him if it was. But the
fact is that he is leaving, my heart is broken, and there isn’t another player
in the world that can fill his pink and blue shoes. Milan are losing their most
talented player, but they are also losing a true lion. Someone who fought for
Milan and gave us everything he had, only to receive hate and abuse in return.
He dispelled the myths, became a Milan icon, played brilliant football, and
showed us that he is 100% human. And now he is walking out the door. Neither
Milan nor I will ever be the same.
This post inspired by the music of
the Foo Fighters’ “My Hero”
Our next match is the
Trofeo TIM
Saturday, August 23
20:45 CEST (2:45pm EDT) Milan vs. Juventus
21:45 CEST (3:45pm EDT) loser of 1st game vs. Sassuolo
22:45 CEST (4:45pm EDT) winner of 1st game vs. Sassuolo