The transfer deadline, set for the local leagues in Switzerland at 6pm on Wednesday, was five minutes away when FC Sion despatched their last paperwork to the authorities.
The name on the documents? “The biggest signing since I took over,” according to a beaming Christian Constantin, for 30 years the president of the club.
The name was Mario Balotelli, who had cut it fine with his timing. But then he is an expert in clambering through transfer windows, at creating cliffhanger dramas.
In joining Sion, the Italy international striker has notched up the 11th different club of a storied career, and changed employer for the seventh time in the space of eight windows.
Switzerland’s top division, which Sion last won in 1997, will be the fifth different league of his senior professional career. Those are the sort of numbers that would normally attach to a veteran journeyman. Balotelli is not that.
He only turned 32 last month, which makes him a year younger than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was animating the last day of the transfer window by swapping one Champions League club, Barcelona, for another in Chelsea.
Robert Lewandowski, current holder of Fifa’s The Best award, and Karim Benzema, a shoo-in for the 2022 Ballon d’Or, are two years older than Balotelli.
Time was that Balotelli was more celebrated, more coveted than either, but the level of competition at which he has been operating in since his late 20s traces a steady decline.
His last outing in any Uefa competition was an early 2018 Europa League knockout tie for Nice, the French club where he had a sustained, mostly happy, spell.
There was then a brief stint at Marseille; a sentimental return to Brescia, the city where he grew up, ending in messy disputes; a reunion with some of his old bosses from AC Milan – where he had an exhilarating spell while at his peak – when he joined Monza, now under the watch of ex-Milan president Silvio Berlusconi.
He spent last season and the first few weeks of this at Adana Demirspor, mid-tablers of the Turkish Super Lig. But Balotelli had found a groove there, his 18 goals in 2021-22 enough to make him the division’s second-best marksman.
That adventure reached an explosive end last weekend. After the final whistle of a 1-0 victory at Umraniyespor, his Demirspor manager Vicenzo Montella was so exasperated at Balotelli’s performance after coming off the bench that he had to be physically kept apart from the player.
Nonetheless, Montella wished him well once Sion had agreed a €2.6 million fee for Balotelli. “Happy lift-off,” Montella, known during his distinguished playing career as ‘The Aeroplane’, messaged Balotelli. “You have everything you need to fly again.”
It is a belief in Super Mario’s enduring talent that echoes Balotelli’s most loyal coach, Roberto Mancini, who had several fiery confrontations with him after Mancini brought 20-year-old Balotelli to Manchester City in 2010.
Back then, the expectation was reminiscent of Erling Haaland’s arrival at City: Balotelli, a prodigy who had come through the ranks at Inter Milan, would win the Golden Boy award for the best young footballer in Europe that year.
His introduction to City was disrupted by a knee problem but he still scored in his opening two European matches there and hit a brace of goals in his second Premier League start.
History will recall Balotelli’s pass setting up the Sergio Aguero goal that clinched the title the following season; it will also remember him for the controversies, the training ground clashes, the ‘Why Always Me?’ T-shirt.
Mancini, now managing Italy, never forgets Balotelli. He issued the last of several international recalls to him as recently as January, for an Azzurri training camp.
Alas for Mancini and Balotelli, Italy’s failure – partly because of poor finishing by other strikers – to qualify for November’s World Cup excludes the fairy-tale possibility of Balotelli adding to his 36 caps (14 goals) on the greatest stage.
The link-up with Sion should generate storylines. This is not a club famed for its stability. The current manager, Italian Paolo Tramezzani, is in his third spell, and, approaching the first anniversary of his appointment.
It counts as a very long one by the volatile standards of club president Constantin, who has changed managers a startling 40 times in the last 20 years, sometimes stepping into the job himself in between firings and hirings.
Constantin was once banned from stadiums for a season for assaulting the former Swiss national team’s coach, Rolf Fringer. “He’s passionate,” acknowledged Tramezzani of his boss, “but he’ll get on well with Mario. They’re both good, honest men.”
150 biggest summer transfers
Fight card
1. Featherweight 66kg: Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg: Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg:Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg: Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg: Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg: Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg: Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Ahmed Abdelraouf of Egypt (EGY)
9. Featherweight 66kg: Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
Meydan race card
6pm Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
6.35Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
1,800m
7.10pm Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m ,400m
7.45pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
8.20pm Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m
8.55pm Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
9.30pm Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
MATCH DETAILS
Chelsea 4
Jorginho (4 pen, 71 pen), Azpilicueta (63), James (74)
Ajax 4
Abraham (2 og), Promes (20). Kepa (35 og), van de Beek (55)
