BALOTELLI
There is a very simple way of judging Mario Balotelli's mood - take him
off after 75 minutes and see his reaction.
When Lucien Favre, the Nice manager, subbed his Italian striker against
Nantes 10 days ago, Balotelli left the pitch with a huge smile on his face.
Super Mario is happy in Nice. In fact, he's probably the happiest he has been
for a very long time.
There is further proof of his new found lease of life, too. For
once, and in direct contrast to his career to date, he is staying away from
controversy.
The only 'little' issue he has had since moving to France in August was
when he crashed Mino Raiola's Bentley on his way to a nightclub. In the madcap
world of Balotelli and considering his previous antics, that's nothing.
BALOTELLI THIS SEASON
Games:
9
Goals: 7
Assists: 0
Yellow
cards: 4
Red
cards: 1
Minutes
played: 735
Given his chequered past with Inter
Milan, Manchester City and then Liverpool, Balotelli's reputation precedes him.
But in Ligue 1, he has been very good both on and off the pitch.
On it, despite Nice's first defeat
of the season last weekend at Caen, Balotelli has had a dream start to his life
in France. He hit the post in that 1-0 defeat, but has scored six goals in the
six league matches he's played so far.
So good has been Balotelli's form
that he's taken his team to the top of the table, three points clear of Monaco
and defending champions Paris Saint-Germain after 12 games.
It has not been just about his
goals, either.
Balotelli has been impressive in his
build-up play too and we are even seeing him defending and tracking back.
NICE'S WAIT FOR
SUCCESS
Nice might currently sit top of
Ligue 1, but they last won the title in France way back in 1959.
Here are their honours to
date...
Ligue
1: 1951, 1952, 1956, 1959
Ligue
2: 1948, 1965, 1970, 1994
Ligue 3: 1985, 1989
Coupe
de France: 1952, 1954, 1997
To see him working hard for his team
is something you didn't often associate with the 26-year-old when he was in the
Premier League. Nice have welcomed him like one of their own.
From his first day at the club he
has been praised like a God, the love he feels from the supporters is
undoubtedly the main reason behind his astonishing revival.
Nice is a family club with very
passionate fans. The pressure on Balotelli is nowhere near as big as it was at
Liverpool, Milan or City. He is also the main player, the star, the one other
players look up to.
He is a leader to them both on and off the pitch.
Favre has been very clever in the
way he has been working with him.
The Swiss boss has been building up his new star man's
fitness after the Italian had no pre-season at all with Liverpool. He is
pushing him hard to work on his finishing and his forward partnership with
Alassane Plea continues to flourish.
Mario is the new King of Nice.
Shirts with his name on the back are
selling as fast as chips in the city's famous casino - club chiefs say they
sell 10 Balotelli shirts per hour. Last season, 8,000 Nice shirts were
sold over the course the season.
With the arrival of Balotelli, Nice
are hoping 15,000 will go this year. They expect 10,000 of them to have
the new No 9's name on the back.
Following Zlatan Ibrahimovic's move
from PSG to Manchester United, Ligue 1 needed a new hero and they found him on the
Riviera. Step forward, Balotelli.
Across the globe, his redemption has
captured people's imagination. Dozens of interview requests have arrived at the
club.
It all represents new, but welcome
territory.
Balotelli was bizarrely snubbed by
Italy manager Giampero Ventura for their clashes with Lichtenstein and Germany,
but Nice nonetheless played a blinder with their summer recruitment.
As well as their new maverick, they
signed Dante and Younes Belhanda, two experienced players who have Champions
League and Ligue 1 title successes to their name.
Promising youngsters Dalbert
Henrique, Arnaud Lusamba and Wylan Cyprien arrived too to add competition to an
already talented squad. Nice finished fourth last season, but lost their
manager Claude Puel in the summer as well as their four best players.
Puel headed to the Premier League to
join Southampton while Hatem Ben Arfa (PSG), Jeremy Pied (Southampton),
Nampalys Mendy (Leicester) and Valere Germain (Monaco), all sought pastures
new.
But look where they are now. Favre
was the perfect choice to replace Puel because he is great with young players.
He is very demanding, but with a human touch.
He is a master tactician and his team has easily switched
from three at the back to four, and from three up front to two.
In Balotelli (six) and Plea (seven),
Nice have two of the league's top scorers.
Midfielder Jean Seri has the most
assists (six) and no one has made more interceptions in France than Malang
Saar, the centre-half.
At 17-years-old, Saar sums up Nice's
season so far. He's been a revelation.
No one expected him to be this good
in his first season with the first team and he has just signed his first
professional contract with a £43million (50m euro) release clause.
Saar is there to stay and with
Balotelli in their ranks, Nice are too.
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