Mario Balotelli’s Spot Kick Tantrum

By: Daryl | October 30th, 2009
   

balotelliYou know how Mario Balotelli is supremely talented but a little immature? Well last night we saw both sides again.

In the opening minutes of Inter vs Palermo, Balotelli worked some magic in the box and was pulled down for a penalty. A penalty Balotelli wanted to take. So much so that he stood over the ball in his massive neckwarmer and refused to move, even with designated pen taker (and much more senior player) Samuel Eto’o ready and waiting to fire home.

Inter captain Javier Zanetti played nanny, and dragged Balotelli out of the area by his hand. Tantrum-tastic stuff, which you can see after the jump…

The good news is that after this early bit of immaturity, Balotelli decided to grow up. At the 2:00 minute mark of the above video, you can see Balotelli (after a talking to from Zanetti) run over and give Eto’o a congratulatory double high five.

Even better, Balotelli went on to score two goals in the first half as Inter won 5-3 to go four points clear at the top of Serie A.

I love it when children’s stories have happy endings.


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  • This is the first bit of good Balotelli "somewhat maturing news" I have yet to see - and we all know how Mourinho dealt with Ibra after last season
  • MAD
    "Everyone is against you, everyone hates you, blah blah blah blah"

    Calciopoli and a Serie B landscape proves this right...
  • MAD
    PS I noticed that there was no apology for misrepresenting me.

    But then again, I guess I should be used to it by now. I should just happy that you haven't called me a racist, this time.
  • MAD
    Actually what I wrote was that Daryl hates Mario. Feel free to comment on what I have actually written, rather than the imaginary conversations that go on in your mind. Wake me when that happens.

    From what I have read, I doubt that Daryl watches very much football outside of BsPL. This smells 442-tastic.

    This page in general is very BsPL-centric, and with Chris here it's going to be anti-Inter.

    There's some dude named Rob that writes on the weekends, but I am not sure that he's aware that there are countries in Europe other then England and Spain.
  • MAD, hell must freeze before anyone but us Inter fans acknowledge that our winning the league for 3 years running is anything more than a fluke.

    Meh, let them whimper. We will just get on with the business of winning number 18.
  • MAD
    PS This is the second time that Daryl had to write up a blog piece about what a terrible, evil person Mario is.

    How come Javier Zanetti appearing in every game Inter has played - league, international, or Cup - for three years straight at the age of 36 a week or so ago got no air time here? Was that too positive a story about Inter to talk about here?
  • MAD
    **who by the way is close to twice Mario’s age and you get much ado about nothing**
  • MAD
    His head is fine.

    The Juve contingent and the Offsides Main Pge writers will bash anything positive that has to do with Inter. That's why people like alessio had to comment here 3 times on such a silly thing. It's like a political pundit shouting down his opponent because he doesn't have a leg to stand on.

    The kid made a sweet move, made two players look silly, forced one guy to commit a stone cold penalty and wanted to take a pen. His "tantrum" was to stand on the field.

    Compare this to John Terry a couple of weeks ago - who by the way is close to Mario's age and you get much ado about nothing.

    By the way, I am the one that alessio said this about:

    "Funny, that’s not what I see. I seem to recall a certain Interista complaining about Juve “fixing” the Supercoppa Italia. It was Lazio v. Inter. It was in China."

    And of course he's lying. What I said was, that Inter v Lazio for the Italian Supercoppa was like a Juventus game: Lazio scored an offsides goal that counted and we got one taken away.

    Mario's detractors can't do anything but bend the facts to their advantage.
  • MoMONEY
    Outrageous talent is an understatement. I really think he may be the most talented youngster around. Shame his head isnt on straight... You think Arsene Wenger could straighten him out? Would be an incredible fit at Arsenal...
  • Ed
    Haha, I love that he was literally led away by Zanetti holding his hand.

    And sure, it wasn't quite John Terry stomping up and down after conceding a second to Villa, but it wasn't exactly an advertisement for fair play either.
  • what a fucking twat.
  • Vin
    That was a tantrum? Haha, some people on this site are ridiculous. Any chance they have to take a shot at a specific player or team, they will take.

    How is wanting to take a PK that you created a tantrum? It is baffling to me some of the stories (and titles) which are allowed to be put up on this otherwise wonderful site.
  • Many footballers have the temperament of adolescents. Balotelli is more like a 6 year old child. Props to Zanetti for treating him like one. I only wish he dragged Balotelli away by the ear instead of by the hand.
  • bobby_digital
    that was hardly a tantrum... give me a break.... i was expecting alot worse, that was nothin, you guys go overboard when it comes to mario..and that was a legit penalty.. he split two defenders and then gets his back leg taken out... and what happened is normal. anyway who has played the game will know when you are in that situation, many of times where you earn the pk and want to take it, but someone else steps up...

    im actually happy mario did that..it shows his hunger and desire.. id love to see super mario come play for the arsenal..inter fans dont appreciate the lad
  • yaniv
    decent idea, but its also a team sport.. Its not all bout tallys etc etc.. D team decides before hand who'll take d pen, n that should b final.. If mario missed it, he may take d blame, but if he misses it n d team loses d match, d team takes d blame n d consequence of losing d match.. I dont wanna comment on his behaviour, so i'll leave it at that..
  • Assuming the player isn't injured in winning the penalty, I really like that idea Ian.

    Especially because so many players run up their goals scored tally, through taking penalties that others have won.
  • Ian
    One thing I'll say (not in Balotelli's defense because yes, he's a jackass) - I do think that the player who earns the penalty should have to take it. That's the only way that it really accomplishes what it's supposed to. The fact that a poor shooter can earn a penalty then have it taken by a great finisher has never quite made sense to me.
  • Adam
    Did he hurt his hand with that high five?
  • Tommy Wong
    Balotelli is a gangsta. Ppl can't handle it. He's one bad ass mothatrucka. Materazzi + Balotelli = Vincent Vega + Jules Winfield ala Pulp Fiction.

    Joking aside, Balotelli as a player, not a professional, is one of my favorite to watch and enjoy.
  • kabir
    alessio is always bashing inter... no inter fans ever say anything about juve
    do i spy a douche?
    i actually dont want to offend, it just annoys me that everyone has to hate balotelli, i think he's a great player who is criticized too much. is it such a big deal he wanted to take a penalty he earned? im on his side. plus it was a great game
  • alex
    anyone know who nery castillo is??

    mexican national who did the same thing who plays for shaktar donest and took the penalty away from his teamate and missed!!!

    karma is a B*$*#
  • I think he has matured quite a bit this season. People complained about his overly arrogant goal celebrations - he stopped doing them.
    People complained that he is too selfish on the ball - he started passing more (he had a hand in all the first-half goals).
    Plus, the poor kid had a raging fever and an allergic reaction to his flu shot.

    It was stupid to stand over the ball like that (and yes, the penalty was soft) but in the list of stupid things Mario used to do, this is pretty far down on the obnoxious scale.
  • People say Balotelli has the same attitude Cassano had as a youngster. They're wrong, Balotelli is worse.
  • The pen was as soft as they come.
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