Why Always Me?: The Biography of Mario Balotelli

by Frank Worrall

He is mercurial, troublesome, and frequently brilliant—this is the incredible story of the most fascinating man in world football today  Born in Italy to Ghanaian parents, Mario Barwuah suffered life-threatening health problems as a baby. By the age of three he had recovered, but his parents then entrusted him to a foster family—the Balotellis—and Mario grew up in the affluent village of Concesio. He began his football career with Lumezzane, earning promotion to the first team at the age of just 15. Balotelli's skill soon brought him to the attention of the biggest clubs in Italy, and he was signed by Inter Milan in 2006. Having made his first team debut in 2007, he became the youngest Inter player to score in the Champions League in November 2008. His second season at Inter was blighted by disciplinary problems, however, and a series of high-profile clashes with manager Jose Mourinho, along with criticism from his teammates for his behavior on the pitch, paved the way for a move to the Premier League. Balotelli soon made his mark with a series of stunning goals—and yet more incidents, leading to increasingly implausible newspaper reports about his antics. But the season was to end in glory, with a man-of-the-match performances as City won the FA Cup, and Balotelli was then instrumental in City's incredible 2011/12 campaign, providing the assist that led to Sergio Aguero's Premier League-winning goal. A stunning performance in the Euro 2012 semifinal against Germany sealed Balotelli's status as a legend among Italian fans, and he is sure to provide entertainment, goals, and controversy for years to come.

276 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Tristan McWilliams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit boek is een biografie over Mario Balotelli of anders gekend Super Mario geschreven door Frank Worrall. Mario Balotelli is niet de geboortenaam van de superster, deze kreeg hij een paar jaar later door het gezin waarin hij terechtkwam. Hij werd geboren in 1990 in Palermo, Italië in een arm Ghanees gezin. Hij had veel medische problemen in zijn eerste 2 jaren en daardoor moest hij weg van zijn biologische ouders naar het gezin Balotelli. Het pleeggezin zorgde heel goed voor jonge Mario en vanaf jongs af kon je zien dat hij een ster ging worden in voetbal. Hij kreeg de bijnaam Super Mario van een vriend toen hij 5 was en deze wordt tot op vandaag nog gebruikt. Mario maakte zijn debuut in de eerste ploeg van Lumezzane toen hij nog maar 16 jaar was. Hierdoor kreeg hij zijn droomtransfer naar de jeugdacademie van Inter Milan. Daar werd de naam Balotelli voor het eerst bekend. Hij was wel al een probleemspeler toen hij nog in Lumezzane speelde. Ik ga niet verklappen welke problemen dit waren, maar als je dit leest zal je in shock zijn. Je leest ook hoe lastig het is om als een zwart persoon in Italië te voetballen. Ik ben niet iemand die snel een boek gaat lezen, maar als het over een voetballer gaat neem ik wel mijn tijd om eens te lezen en dit boek is een aanrader. Het kan soms wel langdradig overkomen, maar dit is omdat hij zo vaak van ploeg verandert. Het is wel interessant hoe iemand zo gek omgaat met zijn trainers, ploegmaten en tegenstanders. Dit boek is dus zeker een aanrader en een van de betere boeken die ik tot nu toe heb gelezen.

[Lisette Woest-appeldoorn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read numerous books about football players, and other sportsmen, but this was by far the worst one.
The book is about Balotelli, but nothing is first hand information. All from sources. None of them interviewing Balotelli.
Numerous annoying errors. Like stating San Siro as the name of the Inter Milan stadium. It is called Giuseppe Meazza, The AC Milan fans still call it San Siro, but not the Inter fans.
Or stating that Roberto Mancini won his 4 Coppa d'Italia's with Bologna as well as one of his Serie A titles. He won them with Sampdoria. This kind of errors annoy me when the book is about football.
The writing is not compelling. He takes strange leaps to connect chapters about other people to Balotelli.. Roberto Mancini has a big part in this story, but Eric Cantona has a chapter in it as well. He hasn't even played with Balotelli neither was he trained by him. He made the leap to connect them solely based on their sometimes extravagant behaviour on the pitch.
A book called a biography of Balotelli needs to be about Balotelli. Needs first hand information i.m.o or it needs verified sources and facts. This books has neither as far I could tell.
If it wasn't for a reading challenge prompt this book was a waste of my time.

[Cole Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give this book a pretty great, or a 8.5 out of 10. It was a really good book that told facts about Mario's life. It told the awesome life he lead from a 3rd person perspective. It told of his troubles, his mischief, and his many, many triumphs. The book didn't just tell you what had happened with him, or the end result. It started from the beggining of his life and lead up to the current point. It told stories of how each event happened, and really captured his life.

Things I did not like about the book was not much. It really did a very nice job with every aspect of a biography in my opinion. The only thing I did not like was the length of the book, and how it only went up the point in time it was written, which I understand, but I knew how his life had progessed further. The book was semi short and could have been more lengthy, and descriptive, but no book is perfect by any means. There will always be someone who has a different opinion on the book, so some may of thought that the book was perfect length.
The book basically tells from the point of Mario’s birth and harsh childhood, to his misbehaving’s as a pro soccer player, to his great glories from scoring amazing goals and helping his team succeed. I know a lot about soccer and it taught me a few things I didn’t know. I would recommend thios book to anyone who likes soccer, or likes to read about soccer. I would also recommend it to people around the age of 12-16 to read, because i belive that’s what reading level it is around. Frank Worrall really did well when writing this book.

[Chirs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mario Balotelli is one of my favorite soccer players, so I read his biography. His childhood is not easy. His family was very poor and the place he lived in was full of violent. So I think that makes him be a troubled boy. He is full of argument, some people don’t like him, however, some people are crazy about him.
Sometimes, Mario will be crazy. He ever said: “ There is only one guy better than me in the world, his name is Messi.” But sometimes he is a good son. Last European Cup, after he scored, he ran to his mum and gave her a hug. He said: “ My mun is old, she could not walk for a long way. I need to make her feel happy.” I can say he is a genius. Sometimes, he can not control himself. But when he is serious, he can control the game, no one can stop him.
The thing I can learn from him is his strong mind and his fearless. In my life, when I face the difficulties, I need to be brave enough to break them instead of retreat. Mario Balotelli is like a iron, I hope I can be a legendary soccer star.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read on the early life of a future superstar. Some of his ups and downs as a player both on and off the field. Although it may still be too early to conclude his playing career, this book allow you to understand what he has already achieve to his young career.

[Sunil · Rating 5 out of 5]

it should be best as far as i know