You could generally tell, at Inter Milan's secluded and otherwise quiet training ground, when Mario Balotelli had arrived for work. It was the noisy revving of the engine he seemed to enjoy as he steered his car down the drive towards the club buildings.
He favoured flashy, low-slung sports cars, and would usually emerge from the cockpit dressed in plenty of bling.
The image of Balotelli, who joined Manchester City, the English Premier League side, from Inter just before his 20th birthday, as a prosperous, ostentatious and bumptious individual, was one he cultivated as a teenager. But even if he had not, he would have drawn attention to himself in Italian football. He is one of very few black Italians to have played for the Azzurri, the national team, and as such has been obliged to carry all sorts of baggage.
Some of this has been vile, like the racist chanting he was regularly subjected to by crowds at Serie A matches, some of it was meant to be benign, with commentators from well beyond professional football hailing Balotelli as a symbol of the successful integration in Italian society.
That in itself could also be burdensome, because it put an extra obligation on the young man to show how well he could integrate into his workplace, and the highly-scrutinised strata of society that footballers occupy.
"Balotelli has made some mistakes, but you have to remember how young he is," Al Sulley Muntari, his former Inter colleague, said.
Muntari has been close to one of the several conflicts of Balotelli's prodigious rise in the game, one that focused on his distinct cultural roots.
He was born in Sicily to Ghanaian parents, and, at the age of one, moved to the Italian mainland with his adoptive parents. His West African lineage encouraged Ghana persistently to request he made himself available to the Black Stars' their national team.
Muntari, a Ghana international himself, found Balotelli reluctant but at the same time apprehensive about his perception among those in charge of the Italian team, who he was inclined to choose ahead of Ghana. He had played for their under-21s but also been in trouble with them for missing appointments, and it was clear that Marcello Lippi, the then Italy coach, did not view him as candidate to go the World Cup in South Africa.
With Lippi's departure, some of those clouds have lifted.
Balotelli won his first senior cap under Cesare Prandelli earlier this month and the new Italy coach hopes the player will have recovered sufficiently from the knee injury that keeps him out of Manchester City's Europa League play-off against Timisoara of Romania tonight to make his first competitive appearance for the Azzurri next week.
It should be the second of many caps, because across Italian football there are few strikers as exciting on the ball as Balotelli.
Balotelli has speed, power, balance and close control that allows him to attack from both flanks. He delivers an excellent dead ball too and on the field lacks for nothing in daring.
Roberto Mancini, who worked with a very young Balotelli at Inter and endorsed City's £24million (Dh136m) bid for him, talks up his versatility and compares him to the best strikers in the game.
"I think Mario can turn out even better than Fernando Torres [the Liverpool and Spain striker]," Mancini told reporters, "because where Torres can play in one position, centre-forward, Mario can go right, left or through the centre."
Mancini knows that he as a strategist will be judged on this signing, on his ability to bring the best out of the former Bad Boy.
"I think he is going to be more suited to the Premier League than the Italian championship," Mancini said. "The defenders here do not know much about him. When they do, they will see he is a game-changer."
sports@thenational.ae
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Healthy tips to remember
Here, Dr Mohamed El Abiary, paediatric consultant at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai, shares some advice for parents whose children are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan:
Gradual fasting and golden points - For children under the age of 10, follow a step-by-step approach to fasting and don't push them beyond their limits. Start with a few hours fasting a day and increase it to a half fast and full fast when the child is ready. Every individual's ability varies as per the age and personal readiness. You could introduce a points system that awards the child and offers them encouragement when they make progress with the amount of hours they fast
Why fast? - Explain to your child why they are fasting. By shedding light on the importance of abstaining from food and drink, children may feel more encouraged to give it there all during the observance period. It is also a good opportunity to teach children about controlling urges, doing good for others and instilling healthy food habits
Sleep and suhoor - A child needs adequate sleep every night - at least eight hours. Make sure to set a routine early bedtime so he/she has sufficient time to wake up for suhoor, which is an essential meal at the beginning of the day
Good diet - Nutritious food is crucial to ensuring a healthy Ramadan for children. They must refrain from eating too much junk food as well as canned goods and snacks and drinks high in sugar. Foods that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and proteins, like fruits, fresh meats and vegetables, make for a good balanced diet
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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SPECS
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%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
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Results
- Brock Lesnar retained the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns
- Braun Strowman and Nicolas won the Raw Tag Team titles against Sheamus and Cesaro
- AJ Styles retained the WWE World Heavyweight title against Shinsuke Nakamura
- Nia Jax won the Raw Women’s title against Alexa Bliss
- Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon beat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
- The Undertaker beat John Cena
- The Bludgeon Brothers won the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos and New Day
- Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle beat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
- Jinder Mahal won the United States title against Randy Orton, Rusev and Bobby Roode
- Charlotte retained the SmackDown Women’s title against Asuka
- Seth Rollins won the Intercontinental title against The Miz and Finn Balor
- Naomi won the first WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
- Cedric Alexander won the vacant Cruiserweight title against Mustafa Ali
- Matt Hardy won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
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