Mario Balotelli will sit out this weekend's game between Liverpool and Arsenal after being found guilty of retweeting something unfunny and racist by the unfunny and racist Lad Bible twitter account.
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Showing posts with label Mario Balotelli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mario Balotelli. Show all posts
Friday, 19 December 2014
Friday, 29 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #18
Germany's tournament, this. At least one of our staffers has been saying that for over a year now. So Italy would just roll over and let them pass through to the final then yeah? Err, not quite.
The first quarter-hour was Germany's. Mats Hummels probably should have scored from a corner, but rather snatched at his shot and it was knocked off the line by Andrea Pirlo. At the back, it looked like Hummels had Mario Balotelli in his pocket. Italy looked panicky every time the ball was played forward, but crucially, it didn't stick up there at the feet of Mario Gomez.
After weathering that, Italy grew into it and tested Manuel Neuer with shots from Riccardo Montolivo and Antonio Cassano. Moments later, Cassano wriggled free on the left and put in a great ball for Balotelli to head in powerfully. Germany were behind for the first time in the competition and were visibly rattled, losing their shape.
Germany were left open at the back as they looked for a way back in, operating with a very high line. All it needed was a well-weighted ball over the top for someone to run on to. Montolivo delivered the ball, Balotelli the run and he finished in emphatic style.
Loew made changes after the break, Miroslav Klose for Gomez at the break, Thomas Muller for Jerome Boateng later, and they did press forward. However, a back four of Balzaretti, Bonucci, Barzagli and Chiellini will eat all that up and more. They were fairly comfortable. And while Germany pressed, Italy countered. Twice Claudio Marchisio went close, once played in by Alessandro Diamanti and again when squaring to Antonio di Natale was the better option. Di Natale had a chance to win it and Balzaretti had the ball in the net from an offside position. Germany just couldn't get out.
They did get something in stoppage time as a needless handball gave Mesut Ozil the chance to pull one back from the spot, but it was all too little and all far too late.
Were Germany hampered by the injury that Bastian Schweinsteiger was struggling with in the lead-up to the game? He was conspicuous by his inconspicuousness throughout. The changes Loew made to his starting line-up didn't work, threw their usual gameplan away and disrupted their flow. This handed the early initiative to Italy which they exploited brilliantly. And it wasn't the Andrea Pirlo show. This was a real collective effort and Pirlo, though good as usual, was not running it all such as he did in the quarter-final against France. A one-man team they are not, such that anyone thought that in the first place.
Spain await in Sunday's final which throws up all sorts of tactical battles. The sides met in the group stages in a compelling 1-1 draw. Where's your money on this one?
The first quarter-hour was Germany's. Mats Hummels probably should have scored from a corner, but rather snatched at his shot and it was knocked off the line by Andrea Pirlo. At the back, it looked like Hummels had Mario Balotelli in his pocket. Italy looked panicky every time the ball was played forward, but crucially, it didn't stick up there at the feet of Mario Gomez.
After weathering that, Italy grew into it and tested Manuel Neuer with shots from Riccardo Montolivo and Antonio Cassano. Moments later, Cassano wriggled free on the left and put in a great ball for Balotelli to head in powerfully. Germany were behind for the first time in the competition and were visibly rattled, losing their shape.
Germany were left open at the back as they looked for a way back in, operating with a very high line. All it needed was a well-weighted ball over the top for someone to run on to. Montolivo delivered the ball, Balotelli the run and he finished in emphatic style.
Loew made changes after the break, Miroslav Klose for Gomez at the break, Thomas Muller for Jerome Boateng later, and they did press forward. However, a back four of Balzaretti, Bonucci, Barzagli and Chiellini will eat all that up and more. They were fairly comfortable. And while Germany pressed, Italy countered. Twice Claudio Marchisio went close, once played in by Alessandro Diamanti and again when squaring to Antonio di Natale was the better option. Di Natale had a chance to win it and Balzaretti had the ball in the net from an offside position. Germany just couldn't get out.
They did get something in stoppage time as a needless handball gave Mesut Ozil the chance to pull one back from the spot, but it was all too little and all far too late.
Were Germany hampered by the injury that Bastian Schweinsteiger was struggling with in the lead-up to the game? He was conspicuous by his inconspicuousness throughout. The changes Loew made to his starting line-up didn't work, threw their usual gameplan away and disrupted their flow. This handed the early initiative to Italy which they exploited brilliantly. And it wasn't the Andrea Pirlo show. This was a real collective effort and Pirlo, though good as usual, was not running it all such as he did in the quarter-final against France. A one-man team they are not, such that anyone thought that in the first place.
Spain await in Sunday's final which throws up all sorts of tactical battles. The sides met in the group stages in a compelling 1-1 draw. Where's your money on this one?
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #11
So it turns out that you can walk the ball into the back of the net.
The great 2-2 conspiracy did not come to pass. That score between Croatia and Spain would have rendered Italy's result against Ireland irrelevant. As it was, Italy worked themselves to a pretty comfortable 2-0 win. Already out of the running, Ireland were pretty poor and ceded the vast majority of possession. They defended slightly better than the previous two games though, hence it took 35 minutes for Italy to find the breakthrough, Andrea Pirlo's corner turned in off Antonio Cassano's shoulder. Ireland did manage a whole two shots on goal in the second half, but still Italy were very comfortable. The crowning turd in Ireland's water pipe came a minute from time when Keith Andrews was sent off, picking up a second booking after kicking the ball away before Mario Balotelli finished wonderfully to seal the win. With his back to goal, he hooked a cross round John O'Shea and beyond Shay Given - a really nice effort.
While it remained goalless between Spain and Croatia, Italy were going through with Spain. But with little real threat in the final third, Spain were living on the edge. Time and again Croatia looked to get them on the break, Luka Modric pulling all the strings and Mario Mandzukic the main outlet. The best opportunity came from such a break with Mandzukic dragging the cover defence to the near post leaving Ivan Rakitic, who had bust a gut to get up in support, alone at the back. Modric's ball was perfect, Rakitic's shot was perfect, but so was Iker Casillas's goalkeeping and 0-0 it remained. Jesus Navas was thrown on to offer something a bit different for Spain, just as he did in the first game against Italy. But his crucial involvement was finishing rather than starting something. Spain are often criticised for trying to walk the ball in rather than actually having a shot. Well it worked here. Three minutes from time, a ball from Cesc Fabregas caught the defence flat-footed and found Andres Iniesta all on his own. He squared it for Navas to stroll it into the unguarded net. At that point, a goal for Croatia would send them through with Spain at Italy's expense and they chucked everything at it, Stipe Pletikosa trotting forward on one occasion, but for all Slaven Bilic's impassioned urging from the sideline they couldn't find a way through. Bilic is probably best avoided for the next few days - he looked a bit angry. Well, angrier than normal.
This evening, it's the final day of the group stage. England take on Ukraine in Donetsk needing a point while France play Sweden.
The great 2-2 conspiracy did not come to pass. That score between Croatia and Spain would have rendered Italy's result against Ireland irrelevant. As it was, Italy worked themselves to a pretty comfortable 2-0 win. Already out of the running, Ireland were pretty poor and ceded the vast majority of possession. They defended slightly better than the previous two games though, hence it took 35 minutes for Italy to find the breakthrough, Andrea Pirlo's corner turned in off Antonio Cassano's shoulder. Ireland did manage a whole two shots on goal in the second half, but still Italy were very comfortable. The crowning turd in Ireland's water pipe came a minute from time when Keith Andrews was sent off, picking up a second booking after kicking the ball away before Mario Balotelli finished wonderfully to seal the win. With his back to goal, he hooked a cross round John O'Shea and beyond Shay Given - a really nice effort.
While it remained goalless between Spain and Croatia, Italy were going through with Spain. But with little real threat in the final third, Spain were living on the edge. Time and again Croatia looked to get them on the break, Luka Modric pulling all the strings and Mario Mandzukic the main outlet. The best opportunity came from such a break with Mandzukic dragging the cover defence to the near post leaving Ivan Rakitic, who had bust a gut to get up in support, alone at the back. Modric's ball was perfect, Rakitic's shot was perfect, but so was Iker Casillas's goalkeeping and 0-0 it remained. Jesus Navas was thrown on to offer something a bit different for Spain, just as he did in the first game against Italy. But his crucial involvement was finishing rather than starting something. Spain are often criticised for trying to walk the ball in rather than actually having a shot. Well it worked here. Three minutes from time, a ball from Cesc Fabregas caught the defence flat-footed and found Andres Iniesta all on his own. He squared it for Navas to stroll it into the unguarded net. At that point, a goal for Croatia would send them through with Spain at Italy's expense and they chucked everything at it, Stipe Pletikosa trotting forward on one occasion, but for all Slaven Bilic's impassioned urging from the sideline they couldn't find a way through. Bilic is probably best avoided for the next few days - he looked a bit angry. Well, angrier than normal.
This evening, it's the final day of the group stage. England take on Ukraine in Donetsk needing a point while France play Sweden.
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Balotelli, Mario
Italian performance artist currently working on a long-term installation piece based in Manchester. Previously the house artist of a major gallery in Milan.
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