This was a fair post Meez. I'm going to respond or expand on my points. Urge you to read it all
I compared him to Cassano based on the way they act, their mentality. Read my post again.
Yes, you can bring up race all you want and that's part of the problem. Every time something happens to the "black man" it's always someone else's fault. Someone else is to blame. Let's play the blame game.
So here's my thing. Everything w/ Balotelli in italy comes back to race. It's underlying issue. To deny it's presense is ignorant. It's like sweeping it under rug, if we pretend it doesn't exist it doesn't exist.
IMO the problem is Balotelli is black big strong and fast and doesn't play like it. And so people shower him w/ racism (In a sense, seedorf had the same issue, he played much more 'white' traditionally, slow technical passer than a physical player ala muntari).
Mario has always performed better in two striker systems playing off the main guy. The numbers back it. The results back it. Even in 2012/13, allegri used him on wings w/ Pazzo and that got great sults. It's simply how he plays.
But people see him and see drogba (inherant racism) and get pissed he plays like Cassano, who IMO is a player much closer in stylr.
Yes it's frustrating. Balo SHOULD be a #9 based on physical charactertistics + technique but he's simply NOT. He doesn't see the game that way. Football is about instincts at that level . His instincts aren't there to make runs. He wants to play w/ ball at his feet off the main guy.
So everything he's criticized for this stuff i fin it unfair in subconscious stereotyping. Maybe he 1 day becomes a CF, but i don't see it. He's just not that guy.
You're asking why this matters? It's because it drove his entire below value sale. He had a bad world cup. He was subject of all the italy criticism, and Berlusconi who only cares about 1 thing, popularity, had to sell him.
All the racial stereotyping of him being x,y,z did matter and ultimately cost milan business.
IMO he was horribly managed. It's plane as day if you wanna maximize him use him w/ a partner who fits.
Now if you don't wanna do that, by all means sell him and find players who fit. Honestly I don't think he hit pippo's vision. But the fact milan's basis for sale was the entire world cup smear campaign. Iunno, it pisses me off racial undertones around italy drove business.
My point was, the problem WAS Balotelli. Yes, he's physically gifted. Yes, he could be one of the top players in the world, but he never ever will be. Not because of the white man or because of racism, but because of himself. PERIOD.
Why do you think he keeps getting sold from one team to the next for less and less money? I know what you're going to say, "Because he's a black man and all white man owners must be racist", but that's not true. He's a headcase. People are willing to take a risk on him because he's still so young, but do you really believe he's going to suddenly develop the mental fortitude of Maldini? LOL.
and for the record, I never said racism did not exist, all I said was that you cannot apply it to every single situation that involves a black man, and Balotelli is a man who causes his own problems. Only he can fix his own personal demons, not the white man.
Put the blame where the blame belongs in this case. That's why Balotelli keeps getting away with his childish actions because everyone poo poo's him.
I think Mario is immature and italy is not the best place for him.
Both can be true. He can be both immature, and their can also be a lot of racism going on.
and to be honest, i don't mind him being sold. I dislike the conversation around it, or the dishonestly of the reasons. If it were up to me, I would have kept him and built a team differently and supported him. He's the type of guy who thrives under support