The Super Mario Balotelli thread....

[jec1]

Supermario has outpeformed the young Portugese phenom we have in our youth system

Who? Nuno Coelho? he isn't a striker, he's a defender!

I'm absolutely convinced mario is a star in the making. He's got the size, skill and athleticism.

[Jager]

Originally Posted by jec1

Who? Nuno Coelho? he isn't a striker, he's a defender!

I'm absolutely convinced mario is a star in the making. He's got the size, skill and athleticism.

No, we have a young Portugese player in our system from an early young age, so I'm not sure if he is getting any "play" back home in Portugal.

[z187]

Originally Posted by Jager

No, we have a young Portugese player in our system from an early young age, so I'm not sure if he is getting any "play" back home in Portugal.

F.C. INTERNAZIONALE MILANO - OFFICIAL WEB SITE

I was unaware of a Portuguese player on Inter's youth squad

check the link, shows Inter's Primavera squad

Mario Bolatti is there, and also the forward Jose Manuel Barbosa born in 1990 from Portugal, never heard about him I wonder if Frank knowS?

thanks for the info, hope he is good the nt needs more strikers

cant wait to see mario play, Ive been hearing good things

and the guy is just as italian as anyone else, hes born and raised and has every right to play for italy

its weird how the law works over there, usually your automatically a citizen if you are born in the country.

[Jager]

Originally Posted by z187

F.C. INTERNAZIONALE MILANO - OFFICIAL WEB SITE

I was unaware of a Portuguese player on Inter's youth squad

check the link, shows Inter's Primavera squad

Mario Bolatti is there, and also the forward Jose Manuel Barbosa born in 1990 from Portugal, never heard about him I wonder if Frank knowS?

thanks for the info, hope he is good the nt needs more strikers

cant wait to see mario play, Ive been hearing good things

and the guy is just as italian as anyone else, hes born and raised and has every right to play for italy

its weird how the law works over there, usually your automatically a citizen if you are born in the country.

Fantastic law, you have to work for it, as opposed to just getting handed to you.

That is him, he struggled a bit, and has been overshawdowed by Mario.

We also have another young Portugese player, but he was loaned out this season...but I can't remember to who??

[Jager]

Correction, he is NOT Portugese, but Uraquayian.

His name is Sebastián Ribas...sorry for any confusion.

[z187]

thanks for the info. Inter sure seems to have a bright future, they got the strongest team in serie A and some great youth players like Mario etc

I think they will win the champions league in the near future

[Jager]

Originally Posted by z187

thanks for the info. Inter sure seems to have a bright future, they got the strongest team in serie A and some great youth players like Mario etc

I think they will win the champions league in the near future

As I told Joel, its only a matter of time. We just need some luck.

[Jager]

Moratti: "What I told Balotelli..."
Thursday, 31 January 2008 14:27:30

MILAN - Massimo Moratti spoke briefly to journalists on Thursday lunchtime beneath the Saras offices in Milan's city centre.

Here's what the Inter president had to say:

Dr Moratti, are you pleased with the victory over Juventus?
"I'm more pleased with the wonderful performances of the three youngsters, and I'm referring to Rivas, Pelé and Balotelli. Balotelli is starting to show what he can do, but we need to be careful because he's very young. He's very talented and on his part it would be a mistake not to take advantage of his full potential."

When they asked you what you thought of Pato's move to Milan last summer, you replied that Inter had Balotelli. You were right...
"No, no. Balotelli is strong, but you can't make comparisons in football. They have different styles of play. Balotelli has a promising career ahead of him if he avoids making certain mistakes."

Does he remind you a bit of the early Obafemi Martins?
"There are some differences. Martins focused more on his speed and sense of goal, while Balotelli has the right character to hold up the entire attack on his own."

How important is this victory over Juventus after all the disputes of recent days?
"You always need to look at the opposite. They might have started again if we hadn't won... But the Coppa Italia is always important. I could have thought that the players might have taken it less seriously, but they were all very serious, both Mancini and the team. Juventus also played a great game, and whatever the result, it was still a wonderful advertisement for football."

Mancini had the courage to take a gamble on Balotelli from the start, and he has handed debuts to many youngsters...
"Mancini has this kind of courage. He believes in certain players and he transmits this confidence to them."

Is the Tim Cup within your reach now?
"We're still far from reaching all three of our objectives."

Will your press blackout last for much longer?
"Who knows how long it will last? We will see in the coming days. It has been useful to help us reflect and rest a bit."

Everyone is saying that Balotelli mustn't get big-headed. Have you given him any fatherly advice?
"One of the first times I saw him train with the first team I just told him he had to work hard and take best advantage of his chance."

So he won't leave on loan?
"Absolutely not. We have never considered loaning him out."

Have you read that (ex-Milan defender) Alessandro Costacurta's son is an Inter fan?
(Smiles) "It means he has a nice father who left him free to choose..."

[Jager]

Sports.it : Adriano can stay at home
Gazzetta: Balotelli, Inter's answer to Pato.

Two headlines after Super Mario's two goal effort against Juve.

Only 17 still, don't want to build him up, but I just got a feeling about this guy....


Already better than Martins?

[lionel]

absolutely amazing how a 17-year-old won the the quarter-finals for inter against juventus in such a big/important match...

Sports.it : Adriano can stay at home

yes, definately.

Gazzetta: Balotelli, Inter's answer to Pato.

pato is older if I'm not mistaken, and 1 year makes a big difference when you're U20, so we'll have to wait to know who is better, atm I'd chose pato.

[D-Kin]

Ex-boss’ Balotelli warning Thursday 31 January, 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The former Coach of Inter sensation Mario Balotelli has tipped him for greatness, but warns of his fiery temperament.

Gifted 17-year-old Balotelli is the talk of the peninsula after hitting a match-winning brace against Juventus in the Coppa Italia quarter-final last night.

The Palermo-born starlet of Ghanaian origin has been dubbed ‘Italy’s Alexandre Pato’ by some sources, but his former boss at Serie C2 Lumezzane has revealed that he needs to be managed carefully.

“I was well aware that he would achieve great things and anyone who knows Mario knows that he has such great ambition to play at the highest level,” Michele Cavalli told Radio R101.

“But I have to say that he has a difficult character and that has to be taken into account.

“I won’t deny that we frequently had arguments and he also had disagreements with teammates.”

In spite of his warnings, Cavalli also tipped Balotelli for the top and believes that it isn’t unrealistic to compare him to Pato.

“He is blessed with the mixture of great agility and co-ordination and he can respond to things that others can’t,” he explained.

“My advice to Roberto Mancini? I would only say that he should keep playing him because Mario is a unique talent.

“The only difference between Balotelli and Pato is the investment. Inter were lucky to find such a player for a far smaller sum. Mario has a lot of room for improvement, but he could become better than Pato.”

channel4.com - Football Italia

[azzurri]

He doesn't have his Italian papers yet, and is also under 18. Y was he allowed to play against Juventus?

[Jager]

Originally Posted by lionel

absolutely amazing how a 17-year-old won the the quarter-finals for inter against juventus in such a big/important match...


yes, definately.


pato is older if I'm not mistaken, and 1 year makes a big difference when you're U20, so we'll have to wait to know who is better, atm I'd chose pato.

By saying Pato is older, you don't make a case that Pato is better. Actually if anything, you are more ammunition that Balotelli is already scoringi against Serie A teams.

Anyways, the comparison was to say that we have him, and Milan have Pato. Comparing is premature.

[Jager]

Originally Posted by azzurri

He doesn't have his Italian papers yet, and is also under 18. Y was he allowed to play against Juventus?

He's a member of our primavera team.

The Italian citzenship is only a technicality, as soon as he turns 18, its there.