“I would leave Turkey on foot now if I knew I would be in the Italian team in March.” Some had taken Mario Balotelli for a madman when, on a live Twitch last november, he said he still wanted to return to the national team. As incredible as it may seem, the striker is on his way to winning an unlikely bet. According to information from Sky Sport Italy, he will be summoned by Roberto Mancini to reward him for his great season with Adana Demirspor (7 goals, 2 assists in 18 Süper Lig matches).
The coach is preparing to organize a preparation camp at the end of January with the final objective of the play-offs for the World Cup scheduled for March. The Squadra Azzurra will have a lot to do because they found themselves in the same part of the table as Portugal for a possible final on March 29. Before that, they will have to face North Macedonia 5 days earlier. He will miss one of the last two European champions at the World Cup in Qatar organized at the end of the year (November 21-December 18).
Balotelli will have to convince Mancini
For a few days and notably the grave blessure of Federico Chiesa, Mancini is preparing his move, while the announcement should be formalized during the day. The coach contacted the 31-year-old striker in mid-January to test the waters, and why not, call him up for selection, three and a half years after their last match against Poland (7 September 2018). It was not necessary to say it twice to the former Marseillais, who immediately answered present. But beware, this is only an internship for the moment.
These few training sessions will allow Mancini to see where the Italian international is physically and mentally (14 goals in 36 caps). It is then during his list for the month of March that he will choose to permanently recall the player to the Nazionale. The opportunity is great for “Super Mario”, but terribly risky for him, as well as for the coach, especially in the event of failure to qualify for the World Cup, where the player would be involved. Less than a year after the victory at the Euro, the harder the fall would be for Italy and its coach.
