On Mario’s magical night,walls of prejudice and race collapse

No abuses frothed from his mouth either,and none of his team-mates had to grab his tongue like they did after his unbelievable goal against Ireland in the group stages,but the act still dripped of rebelliousness. In racist-ripe Poland,it said: “I’m black,I’m Italian. Try and stop me.”

He had copped plenty of monkey chants through the event,and hadn’t ‘killed the racists’ like he claimed he would before the tournament. He was even depicted as King Kong during the tournament by the La Gazzetta,an Italian daily back home. Yet,in his finest hour (two goals against the favourites),it was his first and only celebration that could perhaps avail a PG rating in recent memory. He apparently toned it down for his white foster mother,Silvia,who was seated somewhere in banks of the National Stadium.

“I went over to my mother and told her,‘This is for you,’” he said later. “I waited a long time for this moment.” He had,18 years to be precise. Balotelli,21,had now added the least expected dimension to his already bulging cult-status—a Mama’s boy.

Born to Ghanaian immigrants in Sicily,the Barwuahs—his biological parents—put little Mario up for fostering when he was all of three years old,citing cramped living conditions and health problems as the primary reasons. The Balotellis,a family from Brescia,answered their call and Mario adopted their Italian last name,and their passion for football. And from there on,anything the black Italian did,made news.

Jose Mourinho,the ‘Special One’ at Chelsea who moved to Balotelli’s club Inter Milan in 2008,benched him constantly for off-field antics,claiming the lad had just ‘one brain cell.’ Mourinho didn’t just stop there,but also warned Roberto Mancini,the former Inter coach plying his trade at Manchester City,from hiring Balotelli’s services.

And on many occasions after his £23 million move to England in 2010,Mancini would have wondered why he didn’t listen to the Portuguese manager. Within days of joining Man City,Balotelli was involved in a high-speed car crash. When asked why he was carrying £5,000 in cash by the investigators,Super Mario stared back blankly and replied: “Because I’m rich.”

In 2011,Balotelli and his friends burnt down his £3 million luxury home in Cheshire by lighting a firecracker in the bathroom. Mancini did not have a happy time explaining the latest prank to the press.

Thirty-six hours after the near-fatal incident,he scored against derby-rivals Manchester United,pulled up his jersey and showed the words ‘Why always me?’ printed on his chest to his bewildered manager. Both phrases are often seen on football tee-shirts.

“It’s no point telling Mario anything because he doesn’t listen,” Mancini is often quoted as saying. “But I love him,because he is a good guy. And he is crazy.” And for the fact that he helped City win their first Premier League title this year in 44 years.

Balotelli,sick of a certain line of questioning,once said: “I’m not crazy,I sometimes do stupid things.” Sometimes great things,too,like against Germany last night.