Mario Balotelli Fallout

The future is (or was) quite bright for Mario Balotelli, but immaturity and arrogance might make the young Italian, a bust.

The Italian U-21 superstar has had an ambiguous presence since moving into the Italian spotlight. His promotion and subsequent brillance in the Primavera U-20 at age 16 was able to catch the eye of the Inter chairman, Moratti. In his 1st two starts for Inter he scored consecutive brace's, with the latter brace coming against Juventus. Thus, the legend of Super Mario was born.

With the legend growing so did his head. Lack of work ethic both on and off the field would lead to less playing time for the talented kid. When the self-proclaimed Chosen One entered the fray, there was only so much room for two massive egos.

Already at the onset of the '09-10 season he was already on a tight leash, and was expected to pick up his effort. He never quite got the message, which Mourinho reiterated his laziness, "Nothing has changed, neither Balotelli's way of training nor his attitude."

Clearly, his gesture Tuesday after the triumphant victory over Barcelona was sending a message to Inter Milan. During excitement of a great victory, Balotelli promptly walked off the pitch hearing boo's and jeers from the crowd, in which he then slammed his jersey down in disgust. Good ol' Materazzi claimed to have a physical altercation with the teenager outside the locker room, according to ex- Milan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Balotelli's actions have sent a clear message to Inter, he wants out. Not only does he want out, but he might go to their cross town rivals, AC Milan. Mourinho believes in Super Mario's talent and skill set but he is not worried about any departure," His brother (and agent) has made it clear that Mario wants to go out on loan but I will wait until the end of the transfer window after which he will understand that he has to stay. Maybe then he will change his attitude and return to the first team fold."

Balotelli is young, arrogant, brash, and without discipline. It is unlikely that a coach will be able to control him on the field, however if a coach is able to have him focus on training, and let him loose on the pitch he might make for a spectacular young prospect.

I find it ironic that Balotelli would refuse to play for his native land, and choose to wait for his citizenship in Italy. Italian fans spew racist chants constantly and ensure him that he is not welcomed and certainly not an Italian. I believe its very possible the young, fragile mind of Balotelli has made him defensive towards any outside influence and thus a hard player to coach.