Mario Balotelli has 14 goals for AC Milan this season. Giampiero Sposito / Reuters
Mario Balotelli has 14 goals for AC Milan this season. Giampiero Sposito / Reuters
Mario Balotelli has 14 goals for AC Milan this season. Giampiero Sposito / Reuters
Mario Balotelli has 14 goals for AC Milan this season. Giampiero Sposito / Reuters

Balotelli: ‘When Milan win Mario’s great, but when Milan lose it’s all Mario’s fault’


  • English
  • Arabic

AC Milan’s Mario Balotelli lost his temper in front of the cameras after his performance in Friday’s 2-0 loss to AS Roma was criticised by Italian television pundits.

Speaking to Sky Italia after the game, Balotelli, who was substituted for Giampaolo Pazzini in the 69th minute having contributed little, ripped into Zvonimir Boban, Giancarlo Marocchi and Christian Panucci.

“You don’t understand anything about football. Trust me, you really don’t,” Balotelli snapped at Marocchi, who had asked the striker why he did not move around more on the pitch.

Balotelli had been heavily criticised by former Milan forward Boban after the match, with the Croat calling his performance shameful, in particular for an aggressive gesture directed at Adel Taarabt after giving the ball away.

“You always talk about me. When Milan win Mario’s great, but when Milan lose it’s all Mario’s fault. I don’t need your criticism, I criticise myself,” Balotelli responded.

Boban had said the 23-year-old was not a top player during the clash.

“I never said I’m a top player. I am a perfectly normal player, it’s you that say I am an exceptional player, you always expect me to score five goals a game,” he said.

“You always talk and talk, but there’s no point to saying any of these things. No point at all.”

Balotelli threw his microphone down at the end of the interview.

While his displays for much of the season have left a lot to be desired, the 23-year-old has scored 14 league goals for Milan this season and is a likely pick for Cesare Prandelli’s World Cup squad.

Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE

Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

EA Sports FC 25
Ultra processed foods

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;

- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,

- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.

House-hunting

Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove

  1. Edinburgh, Scotland 
  2. Westminster, London 
  3. Camden, London 
  4. Glasgow, Scotland 
  5. Islington, London 
  6. Kensington and Chelsea, London 
  7. Highlands, Scotland 
  8. Argyll and Bute, Scotland 
  9. Fife, Scotland 
  10. Tower Hamlets, London 

 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

'Munich: The Edge of War'

Director: Christian Schwochow

Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons

Rating: 3/5