Everybody knows Mario Balotelli is talented and has massive potential. Whether you like him, love him, hate him or despise him, nobody can deny that he is a great player. However, just how good is he now and how good can he become?
If you read my blog regularly, you'll have noticed I posted(lipumafootball.blogspot.com) a list of who I believe are the top 20 players in the world, not too long ago. On that list, I had Mario at number 7, just below Gareth Bale and just above Edinson Cavani. Some people might say I'm absolutely crazy for putting him that high, some might agree with me and some people might even say he's higher than that. I thoroughly believe Mario is a top 10 player in the world and would even argue he is a top 5. However, you could argue he's not top 10 or 15 or even 20. According, to EA Sports, he's not even top 50, which is going too far, in my opinion. The world of football is so gifted and so talented and competitive that ranking players is just pointless. What Mario is for a fact, is a phenomenal player who, at the age of just 23, has accomplished more than players in their 30s. He won the Treble with Inter when he was only 19, he won the Premier League at 22 and was a runner-up in the Euros also at 22 years old. In each of those titles, he played a vital role in his team's success. Now, he could even win the World Cup before he's even 24 years old. Talk about a resume. Besides players like Pirlo, De Rossi and Buffon, it's not hard to argue that Mario Balotelli is the best Italian player and looks like he will be for a long time. He is on pace to becoming one of the best players the world has ever seen and when he says winning the Ballon d'Or is one of his goals, you can't blame him for going for it. Messi and Ronaldo may be way beyond Mario's level, but Mario is - believe it or not - still considered a "young, developing talent". He's an incredible, 25 for 25 on penalties due to his unflappable confidence and his slight pause just before he strikes to the ball. Mario's thought of as a typical, Italian number 9, who just stands in the box and finishes. But Mario is so much more than that. He has incredible creativity and finesse to his game. From his iconic "scorpion pass", to his backheels, his reverse-footed chips across the field to a flying winger, his "Ronaldo-like" free kicks or his blasts from 15 yards outside the box into the upper corner. Many people also don't know that Mario has loads of pace. See him run full speed in a straight line and he'd be able to keep up with Jesus Navas, no problem. As if there wasn't anything else to add, there is. He is an extremely versatile forward, as he can play as a lone target man or on the left or right wing. He can either way wait as far up as possible for a midfielder to give him a long, deep ball to chase, like what Montolivo did versus Germany in the Euros and it created one of the most famous goals(and celebrations) we have seen; or, Mario can drop back into the midfield and help build up the play, much like what Messi does. Mario Balotelli can do it all. He is almost an identical copy of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in how well-rounded of a forward he is. Seemingly enough, Mario can become even better than Ibrahimovic, and, in a way, he has already accomplished more than Zlatan has in his career. Mario Balotelli has all the tools to become, I'm going to say it, the best player in the world. Even beyond Messi, Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic or Bale. Messi can't go up for headers, Ronaldo can only play on the left wing, Ibra can do it all, but is possible to be better than and Bale has proven he can carry a team, but only has one season of true greatness under his belt and hasn't won anything yet. The only thing holding Mario back is the rage being held inside him and is released when defenders tackle him in a dirty way or when he can't finish chances. Imagine a Mario Balotelli with the calmness of Andrea Pirlo. There is no doubt that would be the most lethal striker in the world, but it's all up to Mario himself to make it happen.
There is no doubt that Messi and Ronaldo are the two best players in the world and by no means am I saying Mario Balotelli is better than either of them, but Mario absolutely has the qualities to his game to be better than them. At the age of 23, Mario is still 2-4 years from his prime and if he is this good now, the thought of him only getting better is ridiculous and makes you wonder just how much talent can be fit into one person. Goals, wins, trophies and most importantly, time, will tell what Mario will become. From now to the end, it will be pure entertainment. On the pitch and off of it. It will always be him.
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