BALOTELLI'S GERRARD-PIRLO COMPARISON IS LAUGHABLE

Liverpool's controversial new striker really rates his club captain and even goes so far as to compare him with Italy's peerless midfield maestro. Is this just the latest example of Balotelli crazy talk?

D. Ray Morton, 16th October 2014.

Mario Balotelli, recently dropped by the Italian national team, certainly seems to be buddying up with his new captain, Steven Gerrard, recently retired from the England national team

Mario Balotelli has come out with yet another cracker of a statement. The Italian international, born in Palermo to Ghanaian immigrants, is known for coming out with controversial soundbites but this one seems outright bizarre.

Comparing his club captain, Steven Gerrard to his Italian teammate Andrea Pirlo, in an interview with Sport he said: "Gerrard is an amazing player. I had really not seen much of him before this season, apart from for England, but wow. I think of him as being at the same level as Pirlo."

He continued: "Vision, technique, but he is powerful as well. Stevie can do anything. It’s going to be very difficult for the team to find another player like him in the future."

His words are complimentary, hugely so, but puzzling. Why would Balotelli compare two polar opposite player types with virtually nothing in common other than the fact that they have played in similar on-field positions, not roles, for the past twelve months?

Both players retired from international football after last summer's World Cup and as England fans released a collective sigh of relief for change, fans of the Azzurri started to panic. For their countries, Gerrard and Pirlo's contributions have been radically different. With Gerrard's legs having gone and the Liverpool skipper stepping aside, Roy Hodgson's team go in search of finding a new deep midfielder, someone with an engine to suit their direct game. In the case of Italy, finding a replacement seemed a hopeless task until new manager Antonio Conte immediately convinced the mercurial Juventus midfielder to come back. Truth of the matter is, at international level at least, Gerrard was never a key player for his country whereas an entire team, effectively so, was built around Pirlo.

Pirlo is also a born winner with the medals to prove it. He has won the highest domestic honour of becoming Serie A champion five times: twice with AC Milan and having just completed three-in-a-row, including an undefeated season (2011/12), with Juventus. He has bagged the Champions League twice with Milan and won the 2006 World Cup with the national side. Steven Gerrard has had successes, notably beating Pirlo's Milan in an unforgettable 2005 Champions League final triumph in Istanbul but domestically and internationally, he has always come up short, never winning that lucrative but elusive Premier League title.

Andrea Pirlo continues to play a key role for club and country but is rotated wisely to get the best out of his technical talent and invaluable experience

The England vs. Italy match at the World Cup just over three months ago demonstrated a gulf in quality or at least effectiveness. As England ran around like headless chickens, Pirlo orchestrated a possession masterclass with his side coming out 2-1 victors. It is perhaps this lack of international success that haunts Gerrard similarly to two other midfielders of England's "Golden Generation": Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard. While all three were heroes to their respective clubs, they never quite won over their entire nation the way Pirlo has.

With effective use of rotation from his club Juventus, Pirlo continues to be an important figure in their Serie A-leading side as Gerrard has had his critics this season for a loss of form. It seems Pirlo and those around him know who he is and how to use him better than how Liverpool and England have treated Gerrard. In his recent book, I Think Therefore I Play, Pirlo enlightens us about what kind of a person he is: "Generally-speaking, I reckon I'm a pretty switched-on guy. I've an opinion about everything and I'm not afraid to express it, defend it and, where necessary, shout it from the rooftops". 

This seems a world away from the bottled-up character of Gerrard which was revealed to us in March this year when he admitted he had been seeing a shrink, not just for on-field issues but also for issues in his personal life. Reflecting on his frustrated psychological state he revealed why: "...you bite your children’s heads off from time to time...blame Alex (Gerrard’s wife) for everything and blah, blah, blah!" and continued: "I am a lot more patient as a person now and I think I’ve improved as a person." This before THAT SLIP and the subsequent collapse of Liverpool's title charge followed by an even more miserable World Cup campaign.

So it seems Balotelli is quite a long way off when comparing these two vastly different personas. But hey, should we expect any bit of sense from Super Mario? Probably not.

JUVENTUS LEFT IN TURMOIL AFTER CONTE'S RESIGNATION

Antonio Conte steps down from the Juventus hotseat after guiding them to three Scudetti in a row. Replacing him is not likely to be easy and could shift the balance of power in Serie A.

D. Ray Morton, 16th July 2014.

Antonio Conte stunned Juventus fans yesterday by announcing his resignation after only signing a contract extension in May

Antonio Conte yesterday resigned from his role as Juventus manager in order, more than likely, to take over the available job of Italian national team manager after the departure of Cesare Prandelli following a disappointing World Cup campaign. Conte had rebuilt Juve in the aftermath of the calciopoli scandal which had drastically damaged the club's standing in the domestic and European game. Having guided them to three league titles in a row, Conte appeared to be building something special.

Why did he leave one must wonder. The national team role, provided he does apply for it, is a tempting one but not necessarily a once-off opportunity considering Conte's relatively young age and his sound reputation within the Italian game. There must have been some private dissatisfaction which forced his hand. One such dissatisfaction may be their activities in the transfer market this summer. Juventus have sat idle as they let their main target Alexis Sánchez get snapped up by Arsenal despite having the ball in their court in regards to capturing his signature. Sánchez saw Juve as his first-choice club and wanted to join his international teammates, Arturo Vidal and Mauricio Isla in Turin. The bianconeri could have signed him for as little as €25m before his impressive World Cup which saw his transfer value increase.

They hesitated and they missed out on a player that would add some considerable firepower to their line-up. Instead, they have been linked with the frankly overpriced Juan Iturbe of Hellas Verona and the largely unproven Real Madrid talent, Álvaro Morata. This represents side-stepping, not improvement. With the charismatic Conte now out of the picture, questions will be asked about the futures of their most talented assets, French international Paul Pogba and the aforementioned midfield dynamo Vidal. Will they be tempted to join a more ambitious club when the Old Lady appear to be struggling to compete with Europe's elite?

Paul Pogba could be one of the hot properties departing Turin in the aftermath of this managerial change

Another problem could be with Conte's successor. Massimiliano Allegri, former Serie A-winning AC Milan manager, is strong favourite to take over which could unsettle Andrea Pirlo. Allegri was the man that forced Pirlo out of San Siro and allowed him to leave on a free transfer where he revived his career and produced some of his best performances. At Milan, Allegri felt that Pirlo was a luxury player when used in his regista role and wanted a more dynamic, fast-paced midfield.

This sudden change will be a considerable blow for Juventus and perhaps Serie A in general. Although Conte had underachieved in Europe, Juve were still the most likely Italian side to get far in the Champions League provided they improved their squad season after season. The man with plan is gone and the prospective signings could turn out to be woeful. It might be a very close race for the title in the season ahead with Roma, Napoli, Fiorentina, Inter and AC Milan all salivating at this.

SUÁREZ BITE OVERSHADOWS URUGUAY'S WIN AGAINST ITALY

D. Ray Morton, 25th June 2014.

Luis Suárez readjusts his fangs after taking a bite out of a clearly shocked Giorgio Chiellini

Uruguay eliminated Italy from the World Cup yesterday thanks to a late winner from Diego Godín but the focus of everyone's attention will be on the bizarre biting incident between Luis Suárez and  Giorgio Chiellini. With the clock running down, the game deadlocked at 0-0 with Italy poised to go through, Suárez, during a tangle with the Azzurri centre-half, appeared to bite down on the shoulder of his opponent. Chiellini immediately reacted by trying to elbow the Uruguayan forward off him and went to ground omitting a scream of sheer confused disgust. The referee and his officials somehow missed the incident, Suárez stayed on and Uruguay went on to win. This is the third time Suárez has bitten an opponent in his career, the most recent being his bite on Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in 2013. Football's most unusual signature move.

The game itself was defensive, scrappy and full of niggling fouls and attempts to con the referee who had a poor showing throughout failing to stomp his authority on the situation. Mario Balotelli, who had picked up a yellow card ruling him out of any potential second round game, had been taken off by Italy at half-time, Cesare Prandelli fearing he may get sent off. He must have been stunned when Claudio Marchisio was given his marching orders in the second half for a challenge that seemed a little dangerous but hardly worthy of a straight red. That decision notably crushed Italy who had been in control of the game until that point. They were forced to sit very deep but will argue that they would have had a fighting chance had Suárez been correctly disciplined for his bite.

Italy lost, however, and manager Cesare Prandelli announced his resignation immediately afterwards. Prandelli seems to have blamed himself as he was expected to stay on until 2016 regardless of results. There have been questions over squad selection and perhaps he could have given himself a better chance by bringing Giuseppe Rossi as an alternative striking option rather than having to opt for the quite immobile Ciro Immobile or the ageing Antonio Cassano. Balotelli let his manager down badly too. His immaturity, now at age 23, looks like something he will never shake off. Why Arsène Wenger would gamble on him at Arsenal is anyone's guess. This was also Andrea Pirlo's last tournament game for Italy, possibly Gianluigi Buffon's too. A disappointing end to two glorious international careers.

But where does this leave Suárez and Uruguay now? They have an impressive Colombia to face in the second round and FIFA have promised to punish the Liverpool striker. They could very well throw the book at him and give him a lengthy ban. It could also affect a potential move to either of the two La Liga giants, Real Madrid or Barcelona. Suárez's family has hinted that his time at Liverpool will be up and Barcelona have been attempting to engineer a swap-plus-cash move involving Alexis Sánchez. Question is, will Barça do away with the Chilean, one of the players of the tournament, only to switch him with a, doubtlessly talented, but highly volatile replacement?

So praise for Diego Godín, Uruguay's saviour but shame on Balotelli and especially Suárez for making the match one of the ugliest of the competition. Uruguay advance but offer very little against Colombia who should sweep them aside without too much trouble.

ITALIAN POSSESSION SUFFOCATES ENGLAND

D. Ray Morton, 15th June 2014.

"Super Mario" Balotelli powers in Italy's winner from Antonio Candreva's wonderful cross

By the end, it was a tale of two knackered veterans on opposing sides. Andrea Pirlo and Italy triumphant, England's Steven Gerrard throwing himself on the ground for non-existent penalties. Both could barely walk by the conclusion of it but Pirlo could probably pass the ball if he was confined to a wheelchair. England physio, Gary Lewin, somehow ended up on a stretcher. The Azzurri defeated Roy Hodgson's boys in the heat of Manaus by two goals to one with England's only consolation being Uruguay's shock 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica earlier on in the evening. A bad start to their World Cup campaign though not an insurmountable one.

England had a few threatening outlets. Liverpool duo Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge offered pace and energy where others did not. Wayne Rooney included in the under-performers who was stuck out on the left flank. An assist, all things considered, for Sturridge's goal was a bonus considering he was isolated throughout and played completely out of position. England's passing had been that bit longer. Italy managed to take pressure off themselves by controlling the tempo with simple, somewhat "tiki-taka"-like five yarders. The English were a tad mechanical. Less link-up and more panic in an eagerness to impress. They were seemingly allergic to the concept of recycling possession, keeping the ball when a direct route to goal does not instantly materialise. Like a bad five-a-side team with no-one giving instructions.

The whole affair had a touch of winter players versus summer players about it. Controlling possession cleverly in extreme heat is not a feature of the English game where the cold winter weather dictates the tempo we have known to expect in the Premier League. Credit must be given to Gabriel Paletta, who I had personally flagged as a potential weak link for Italy. His dodgy come-over/mullet managed to prove me wrong, however, as the veteran centre half dealt with the occasion splendidly. Mario Balotelli did his job sufficiently. Movement is not a feature of his game and it actually worked very well in his favour last night. When he had to do something, which was not very often, he did it perfectly. His 50th minute goal, which turned out to be the winner, was well taken after a fine assist by Antonio Candreva.

Possession was the theme of the tactical analysis. Italy used the ball much, much better. It was perhaps symbolic of an overall clash of football cultures. It felt like philosophers against savages at times. England were naive to think that the use of pace and pressing would work in such conditions. Italy, whether by chance or not, seemed to be better prepared overall. Pirlo hitting the bar at the end was somewhat poetic. Joe Hart stood by, dumbfounded, as the ball swerved magnificently and thumped the woodwork. It would have been goal of the tournament so far. Lesson: How to play in hot weather. Solution: Unlike England.

But as mentioned, Uruguay lost and looked awful in their respective game. Even ignoring Luis Suárez's exclusion, their defence was in tatters. Diegos Lugano and Forlán looked especially past it. This is a team that conceded 25 goals in qualifying, getting in at the last available spot. Talk of Suárez and Edinson Cavani overshadowed what is fundamentally a poor side, nowhere near as good as say, Chile or Colombia. Speaking of Colombia, they looked quite good in their Group C match. They hammered the supposedly stubborn Greeks 3-0 as Côte d'Ivoire saw off Japan with a 2-1 win. An exciting matchday though the 2am (my local time/GMT) kick-off was a bit of a strain on sleepy eyes.