Balotelli Back-Heel Earns Substitution, Mancini Ire

Mario Balotelli's attempted back-heel against the Los Angeles Galaxy earns him an early bath, and a few words with the manager.



Has Balotelli finally pushed Mancini too far? Hard to say, but Dzeko is inching closer and closer to a starting spot on my opening day fantasy Premier League team.

As an aside, it's probably worth watching Mike Magee's goal from the match. A blast from distance!

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7 comments:

  1. well now that you have let the cat out of the bag about dzeko. he will be on my team. i remember his last coach said that city fans do not need to worry, because he has always had to adjust for one year. his last two stops he did nothing the first year, then got over 20, according to his last coach. so i am taking a gamble.

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  2. Balotelli... Class-less. It's like he thinks he's from a superior planet. Remember when the cop pulled him over and he had close to 40,000 English pounds in cash on his passenger seat, and the cop asked him why, and he said, "Because I can"? What a whack job.

    I bet he's total poison in the locker room. It's a good thing I'm not a City fan.

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  3. Get Rid Of Him How long can a team keep putting up with his load of crap He is nothing but a parasite and or a distraction to the team Someone needs to put him in his place but he doesnt care thats why he does it right. Hes a professional footballer and thats a privilage unfortunatley he doesnt understand

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  4. Anonymous5:55 AM

    Everyone knew what he was like before they signed him. A huge liability. Stuff like that is exactly why Alex Ferguson keeps winning. And Brian Clough before that. Good managers understand how people work, not in a particularly deep way, just in a way that bad managers don't.

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  5. Anonymous8:10 AM

    @Geoff, all the players speak good about him & you were not there when the cop pulled him over, find something else to hate or dislike. Didn't watch the match but from reports Citehs attack became flat after he was substituted, still a better choice than Dzeko for the starting game. & you were not there when the cop pulled him over, find something else to hate or dislike. Didn't watch the match but from reports Citehs attack became flat after he was substituted, still a better choice than Dzeko for the starting game.

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  6. @ Anonymous: Fair enough. After re-reading my post, that really was harsh for anyone, no matter who they are. My bad - I don't hate the guy. I do think he's disrespectful, I think he really has a superiority complex, I think he actually could use some good friends in his life to help him along, and I bet he's not as highly rated by his teammates as you suggest. That's how I should have put it, rather than popping off after I watched the clip.

    At some point though, City's got to figure out how to manage him. Here's the article about the cash in his car and other violations. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/911622/mario-balotelli-driving-city-mad-with-fines?cc=5901

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  7. Anonymous11:50 AM

    If you watch the replay he was not trying to show boat or do anything disrespectful, he thought the whistle had blown for offside. Player often do silly and skill full stuff after the whistle had blown. Now, could you say that he should take a normal shot just incase he didnt hear the whistle? Sure but I think this will all blow over. I would be pissed too if I was subbed out and yelled at for a mistake.

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