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Balotelli: The Remarkable Story Behind the Sensational Headlines
Mario Balotelli has a reputation like no other in football. Since exploding onto the scene at Inter Milan in 2007, he has won league titles in both Italy and England, moving between Europe's elite clubs with Liverpool his latest stop. Yet for all his undoubted talent, he is better known for his off-field antics—not least his infamous run-ins with both the police and fire brigade. Once described by José Mourinho as "unmanageable," match-winning performances at the highest level have continued to convince clubs to enlist his mercurial services. With exclusive access to friends, family, teammates, and coaches, acclaimed football biographer Luca Caioli talks to the people best placed to explain the mystery that is Mario Balotelli. Luca Caioli is the best-selling author of Messi , Ronaldo , Neymar , and Suarez . A renowned Italian sports journalist, he lives in Spain corresponding for SKY Italia and Corriere della Sera.
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2015
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19 people want to read
About the author
Luca Caioli
154 books65 followersLuca Caioli (Milan, 1958) is the author of several novels and biographies that have been translated into forty languages and sold a million copies. Throughout a career of over thirty years as a journalist, he has covered the main sports events for the most prominent European media. He currently lives in Madrid.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 30, 2018
Not very well written and provides little insight from Balotelli himself
October 17, 2020
A good insight into Balotelli’s background, would of been rounded off perfectly if the author made the emotional connection to his current behaviour.
October 10, 2024
Mario Balotelli is a talented and promising footballer, but various factors hold him back, some of which he can control and others that he cannot. His performance on the pitch is erratic, and he has trouble following orders, but he is unstoppable when he is on form.
Caioli provides a balanced and favourable portrait of Balotelli in the book using mainly secondary sources and interviews with those who know Balotelli well in the football industry. There is no interview with Balotelli directly, but he is quoted throughout. What emerges is a player who lives and breathes football but is also a young black man in a country that is struggling with its own identity and deep-rooted racism. Balotelli grew up in northern Italy and the teams and management of the northern Italian league are explained in detail, including the rivalries and competition between the clubs.
Balotelli was born in Italy and has spent his life there, however, because he was born to Ghanaian parents who weren’t Italian citizens he could not claim citizenship until he was eighteen. He was classed as Ghanian. The laws in Italy are linked to parentage, not geography. It is a challenge and a burden that many children of immigrant parents face, and it impacts their choices and freedoms growing up. It impacts Balotelli’s opportunities to play for Italian teams and to leave the country as he does not have the correct visa. He was born Mario Barwuah, but he took the Balotelli name of his Italian foster parents, who helped to raise him and who he considers his parents.
Caioli is fair with his portraits of the players and people around Balotelli. He spends a lot of time on the managers and owners, who have shaped Balotelli, and he does not shy away from occasions of misbehaviour or poor judgement on Balotelli’s part. He tries to put these in the context of the pressures around him and points out when he believes Balotelli was made a scapegoat.
Laura Bennett's translation is mostly easy to read, and she has kept certain phrases or nicknames in Italian, such as the Azzurri for the Italian national team and Nerazzuri for Inter Milan, which means you can get a sense of Caioli’s voice.
Caioli provides a balanced and favourable portrait of Balotelli in the book using mainly secondary sources and interviews with those who know Balotelli well in the football industry. There is no interview with Balotelli directly, but he is quoted throughout. What emerges is a player who lives and breathes football but is also a young black man in a country that is struggling with its own identity and deep-rooted racism. Balotelli grew up in northern Italy and the teams and management of the northern Italian league are explained in detail, including the rivalries and competition between the clubs.
Balotelli was born in Italy and has spent his life there, however, because he was born to Ghanaian parents who weren’t Italian citizens he could not claim citizenship until he was eighteen. He was classed as Ghanian. The laws in Italy are linked to parentage, not geography. It is a challenge and a burden that many children of immigrant parents face, and it impacts their choices and freedoms growing up. It impacts Balotelli’s opportunities to play for Italian teams and to leave the country as he does not have the correct visa. He was born Mario Barwuah, but he took the Balotelli name of his Italian foster parents, who helped to raise him and who he considers his parents.
Caioli is fair with his portraits of the players and people around Balotelli. He spends a lot of time on the managers and owners, who have shaped Balotelli, and he does not shy away from occasions of misbehaviour or poor judgement on Balotelli’s part. He tries to put these in the context of the pressures around him and points out when he believes Balotelli was made a scapegoat.
Laura Bennett's translation is mostly easy to read, and she has kept certain phrases or nicknames in Italian, such as the Azzurri for the Italian national team and Nerazzuri for Inter Milan, which means you can get a sense of Caioli’s voice.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews