Mario Balotelli finally got revenge against a manager who called him “brainless” eight years ago when he was playing for Manchester City. Balotelli has proven many times that he doesn’t care about rules. His antics have provided football fans with plenty of entertainment.
After running through one-on-1 in a preseason game against LA Galaxy, Balotelli decided to backheel it towards goal. This was one of his most memorable moments. He was immediately substituted by manager Roberto Mancini and former Turkey player Sergen Yalcin, who was working as a pundit, who said the striker was “brainless”.
Fast forward to the present and Yalcin is the manager of Besiktas, who hosted Adana Demirspor on Tuesday, the team where Balotelli now plies his trade. He was brought in from the bench with his side trailing 3-1. His goal reduced the deficit to one goal.
Most players would grab the ball and sprint back to the halfway line to restart the game. Mario was not one of them.
Yalcin was 31 years old when he saw the opportunity and ran up to Yalcin to celebrate in front of him. Balotelli was swiftly expelled from the scene after his actions led to a dispute on the touchline.
Britt Assombalonga (ex-Middlesbrough striker) scored in the 97th minute, leveling the scores and adding insult to injury to Yalcin. Besiktas were linked with a move to sign the former Inter Milan striker last year, but Yalcin was quick to dissuade the Turkish club.
“When the club president asked me, I said we needed a less problematic forward, but I never said no,” He said.
“I said he was an expensive player with problems both on and outside the pitch. And I told them I wouldn’t take his responsibility and he should be transferred only if the club’s management was willing to take the blame if it created problems.