Sports weekend report cards

“When I was little I watched Romario’s videotapes: I went down to the garage, I tried to do what he did and I succeeded”. Interviewed by Fedez for the podcast Mucchio Selvaggio, here I am again — re-emerged from the tasteless limbo of the Swiss championship with Sion after the tour of half of Europe (Italy, England, France, Turkey) — Mario Balotelli. And the surprise, now that he has had the desire to tell himself at the age of 32 played in front of the microphone as a friend of a pop singer that he met arguing with him, is to find him an adult and at peace. Yes, pacified. The uphill story (“As a child I didn’t understand the assignment”), the overflowing talent, the beginnings of Inter’s Primavera (“I owe everything to the Nerazzurri and Moratti but I have Milan in my heart”), Materazzi as big brother, Mourinho as a footballing father despite some disagreements (“Let’s leave Appiano to go and play in Catania, I have an argument with the coach: I get off the bus and go home”), the madness (“I’ve done shit but I’ve always put face»), the spotlights of public attention always focused on him: «I think it’s because I was the first African-Italian to play for the national team». Protagonist of a double standards that unites him to Fedez (“Others have done much worse things than me, without my clamor”) and allows him to feel at home, Mario opened up, reaching the conclusion that it is useless to cry over spilled football: “I’m fine, my family is fine, my children are fine. That’s enough for me. After all, with my ups and downs, I won everything. Vision of things as always personal. To recap: the Treble with Inter, the Premier League with Mancini’s Manchester City (plus the FA Cup and Community Shield), Germany destroyed in the semi-finals of Euro 2012 before Prandelli’s Italy melted away in the final with the youngster Del Bosque’s Spain (tournament finished as top scorer together with CR7 and Torres, anyway). “I could have done more, but what I did I didn’t do too badly.” Prosit.