Mario Balotelli’s first minutes at Genoa were expected after several weeks of discreet preparation apart from the professional group. The striker strongly desired by Alberto Gilardino had passed his medical examination successfully: “Mario Balotelli is a new player from Genoa. The Italian striker, born in Palermo on 09/12/1990, signed a contract with his new club. During his career, Balotelli won nine professional titles with his clubs. In the senior national team, he was top scorer and runner-up at the 2012 European Championship, making a total of 36 appearances and 14 goals. Welcome to Genoa, Super Mario”it is written in the official press release of the Genovese club. As a reminder, the former OM and OGC Nice striker signed a contract until June 2025 and he did not hide all his excitement and joy at returning to Serie A: “Honestly, I don’t really want to talk, but I’m excited and can’t wait to get started. What if I have fire inside? You will see well. Let’s hope for the best, I’ll give it my all. When will I be ready? I hope soon. A big salute to the supporters and see you soon at the stadium», he announced on the day of its officialization.
Coach Alberto Gilardino approved his arrival as a free player despite the numerous injuries which decimated the Genoese offensive department but it was necessary to wait several weeks before seeing Super Mario officially set foot on an Italian lawn again. Coach Gilardino did not call him up for the match against Fiorentina, he nevertheless did so against Parma and Como before the international break. The 34-year-old striker therefore marked his official return to the Serie A field after five years of absence – the last time being during the 2019/20 season when he wore the Brescia jersey. Unfortunately, after the excitement of the announcement, the sad truth surfaced. Still out of rhythm, Mario Balotelli is having a hard time existing at Genoa and his good years still seem so far away. However, the Rossoblù are decimated by the injuries of their attackers (Vitinha, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Junior Messias) and Balotelli therefore has a golden chance to prove himself and quickly assist the scorer Andrea Pinamonti, far too lonely at the start of the season.
The violent return to reality
Substitute at the kick-off of this match, the Italian international with 36 caps came on in the 86th minute in place of Jeff Ekhator, a few moments after Andrea Pinamonti’s opening score. He quickly received a warning 5 minutes after coming into play by committing a foul on Emanuele Valeri on a defensive retreat, while virulently contesting the referee’s decision. Mario Balotelli still needs to refine his physical preparation to regain sensations and reflexes: “Mario, upon arriving in this group, knows that he must align himself with the team and ensure that he can really return to doing what he has always managed to do: making a difference in matches. It doesn’t matter if it’s 15 minutes, 20 minutes, half an hour or entire matches. Having signed him at this moment is a challenge for us, but it is also a challenge for him, to be able to say that Mario Balotelli is back in Serie A and that he is a player who can still make the difference», explained to SportMediaset the Italian coach. His return to Italy did not leave followers of Italian football indifferent.
From Antonio Cassano to Cesare Prandelli to Nazionale coach Luciano Spalletti and other well-known Calcio protagonists, everyone was excited, confident and rave about the signing of Mario Balotelli in Genoa. After his first appearance against Parma and his yellow card, the former Liverpool, AC Milan and Inter player did it again a few days later against Como, where he played 18 minutes while receiving another penalty. from a yellow card in the 79th minute: “Mario continues his work path. Even today, after practice, he stopped to do something extra. He must continue like this, he is happy and has a great desire to do well. But he still needs to put more fuel into his body. We must support him in this experience, when he returns to Serie A, by making him live it in the simplest way possible.“, continued Gilardino. Almost a month after his signing, the observation is there: Mario Balotelli only played 22 minutes, touched less than 10 balls, attempted no shots and lost half of his duels. SuperMario.
