Roberto Mancini opened the door for Mario Balotelli to join the Italian national team’s training camp. Mancini is trying to find alternative solutions in the crisis situation that will be faced by Gli Azzurri.
Mancini made a surprise by calling Balotelli in the Italian national team training camp which will be held on January 26-28. This is the first time Balotelli has rejoined the Italian national team since 2018.
Although no matches will be played, Balotelli’s summons could be a signal that Super Mario does have a special place in Mancini’s eyes.
Mancini and Balotelli have been close since ancient times. Mancini is the figure who gave the debut stage for Balotelli. He also brought Balotelli to shine at Manchester City.
Now when Italy is in a critical situation towards the World Cup, Mancini is also looking at Balotelli again.
Italy under Mancini is a solid team. This can be proven by their success in winning the European Cup 2020.
However, declining performances after Euro 2020 were fatal. Draws against Switzerland and Northern Ireland made Italy evicted from the top of the standings and only status as group runners up.
With the runner-up status of the group, Italy had to fight in the play-offs. Italy will face North Macedonia in the first round but they are also on the same block with Portugal and Turkey.
This situation has put Italy, which was wallowing in glory last year, in a crisis situation. Not to mention they are overshadowed by the failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup which also adds to the pressure to qualify in this edition.
Italy’s suffering increased because they lost Federico Chiesa, their star on the front lines at Euro 2020.
Balotelli who is now 31 years old has the experience and high flying hours to deal with difficult situations like this. He has defended the Italian national team since 2010 and will be one of the senior players in the current Italy squad.
But that does not mean Mancini will hang all his hopes on Balotelli. Mancini only opened the door for Balotelli but didn’t really privilege him in the Italy squad.
Mancini still has a mainstay on the front lines through the figure of Ciro Immobile. Mancini also provided the opportunity for young players such as Giacomo Raspadori and Gianluca Scamacca to join this training.
But if Balotelli can show hard work and strong commitment, Balotelli will have a chance to become Italy’s savior in the play-offs later.
