I would like to point at first that I am not a bandwagon Balotelli fan. Also I do believe he has been a very immature player a lot of his very early career. The timing of this post is because this could be the biggest weekend of his career to date (even bigger than all those league wins he's been a part of). Still reading? Let me explain then.
Racism in football has been one of the biggest battles. This is especially true in Europe because of immigration problems. During low economic periods especially, Europeans tend to get xenophobic. Mario Balotelli has been very out-spoken in his opposition of racism which is one of the many factors responsible for his move from Italian club football. The thing is, he is still playing for Italy nationally and he is being cut no slack by people that are supposed to be supporters.
The reason why this will be such a big weekend/week/tournament for Balotelli, for Italy, and for black football players is as follows: At 21, Mario Balotelli is the first black player to play in a major tournament for Italy. He scored the two goals to send them to the final. Scoring a goal and Italy winning, or even him just playing a significant role will be monumental for his fight against racism. Then the ball is in the court of his "supporters." What we have seen over the course of the tournament is a player that is finally maturing. He was truly inspired in the match against Germany with a work rate that we have not seen from him to date. Though I am not a Manchester City fan, it would be nice to see this translate to a consistent performer.
But going back to the bigger picture, since I am not a Spain nor an Italy fan, I am hoping for an Italy win solely to see what happens next for Mario Balotelli in Italy if he wins them a trophy. I see a bright future for the guy and hope that his fans can be at least partially won over so they don't ruin what could be an exciting career in the making. There are no guarantees though as we've seen with the recent Ashley Cole and Ashley Young saga. Mario is different though because he is committed to not simply allowing supporters to be condescending and will do something as drastic as leave a match if he doesn't get some respect.
So here's to hoping Super Mario can make a difference!
Daniel
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