11 years ago today, former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli tried showboating but was immediately substituted by then manager Roberto Mancini
Follow Us
Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli attempted his famous trick shot in a pre-season friendly 11 years ago. On July 24, 2011, the Blues faced the LA Galaxy in a match that is now only remembered for the bizarre goal attempt that saw the madcap Italian substituted within minutes by a furious Roberto Mancini.
City had already taken the lead thanks to an early Balotelli penalty when, 28 minutes later, he was presented with a great opportunity to double the lead. A trademark David Silva through-ball had put the Italian through on goal, but instead of shooting, he chose to turn on the ball and attempt to score with a spinning back-heel, which went harmlessly wide.
The infamous skill saw the ball dribble wide and created a tense atmosphere at Dignity Health Sports Park with fans booing and Edin Dzeko instantly taking issue with his teammate. Balotelli quickly became the centre of attention for what many perceived to be an outrageous bout of unprofessionalism, prompting Mancini to haul him back onto the bench as a direct consequence.
Mancini explained the decision by remarking: “Football should always be serious and if you have a chance to score, you should score.” And even an entire decade down the line, you can rest assured that the footage still makes for a hilariously surreal watch.
Mario Balotelli reveals the ‘Truth’ behind the infamous incident and his Manchester City teammates’ reaction to that moment
The Italy international decided to reveal why he did his backheel shot. “I thought I was offside! Ba*****s,” he wrote in response to 433 posting the video on Instagram. “And plus, listen to the whistle before I could even shot! That’s why I did it,” he added.
The striker might have cleared the air on that, but his teammates were not happy about it at the time. “Everybody’s seen it, it wasn’t a great action and the coach took a decision to take him off, that’s a decision that’s been made and that’s a statement that the group is behind him.” ex-City player Nigel de Jong said.
Liverpool player James Milner, who came on for Balotelli in the match, also questioned his decision to try a backheel shot. “Obviously, I would like him to put that into the back of the net, but Mario is Mario, he does some strange things sometimes,” he told Sky Sports.
Do follow us on Google News | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Hyperlink these:
https://news.google.com/s/CBIwhuWAo00?
sceid=IN:en&sceid=IN:en&r=11&oc=1
https://www.facebook.com/firstsportz/
https://www.instagram.com/firstsportz/
https://twitter.com/SportzFirst
Stay Updated!
Sujeeth Shetty
(766 Articles Published)