Red Hot Mario Balotelli Leading the Charge for AC Milan and Italy

Since joining AC Milan, Mario Balotelli has been nothing but superb. “Super Mario” as he is called by the media, was on a slump earlier this year with Manchester City. However, Balotelli had a “renaissance” when he moved back to Italy.

Nothing was clicking for Balotelli when this season started. The Italian striker wasn’t playing his best during the first half of the season, and an altercation with City manager Roberto Mancini certainly didn’t help his case. After all the trouble in England, Milan came to Super Mario’s rescue. The Rossoneri signed the Italian international for a fee believed to be worth between 19-22 million pounds.

After joining his former club Inter Milan’s arch-rivals, Balotelli has been nothing but red hot. Super Mario has elevated his game to a level that hasn’t been seen from him before.

In his first game with the Rossoneri, a game where Balotelli was a last minute change in the line-up due to an injury to Pazzini during warm ups, the striker did not disappoint, netting two goals for Milan in a 2-1 victory over Udinese.

Since that game, the 22-year-old has stayed on pace to net seven goals in six matches for Milan.

Not only has Balotelli performed well for his club, but also for the national team. The Italian has kept a high-level of play in the international stage, which has played a significant role in the Azzuri’s rise to recent prominence.

Balotelli helped the Italy national team reach the Euro 2012 finals. The 22-year-old scored one goal against the Republic of Ireland in the group stage and two goals in the semifinals against favorites Germany.

After beating the Germans in the semifinals, Italy secured a spot for the tournament’s last game against defending champions Spain. Even though Italy were defeated 4-0 in the final, Balotelli’s heroics were enough to qualify Italy for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Super Mario also recently led the charge in a friendly against Confederations Cup hosts, Brazil. Balotelli scored the second goal for a successful comeback from down 2-0 to 2-2.

Had Balotelli been able to play against Barcelona, would the outcome have been different?