The past week has been a historic week of soccer in the United States. The MLS league faced off against opponents over seas, ranging from Manchester United to Real Madrid. The MLS didn’t fair too well, as they lost all of their games.
But Sunday was the closest they got to a victory because of a gimmick provided by Manchester City forward Mario Balotelli.
The Los Angeles Galaxy faced off against the English Premier League team, Manchester City. On paper, the Galaxy doesn’t hold much of a fight. But even Landon Donovan and David Beckham couldn’t have predicted this.
After a slide tackle in the box, Mario Balotelli shot the penalty kick from Manchester City, giving them a 1-0 lead. Moments later, David Silva played a wonderful ball to Balotelli, who had a clear shot to bury it in the net. Instead, Balotelli show boated by turning his back to the goalie and pushing the ball well wide of the net with his heal.
As a result, Man City’s coach Roberto Mancini immediately pulled the Italian off the pitch, benching him for the remainder of the friendly matchup. From there, Balotelli made his presence heard. A shouting match with his coach and a water bottle toss onto the field left the 20-year-old in deep water with the soccer world.
CNN is reporting that Manchester City’s coach Roberto Mancini has put the issue behind him. “We need to be always professional, always serious,” he reportedly said. “In this case, Mario wasn’t professional and for this, I made the change.”
This all happens while Manchester City is on the verge of losing their best player, Carlos Tevez, due to an urge to transfer from eastland back to his homeland of Argentina. However, Balotelli told ESPN that it doesn’t matter if Tevez leaves.
“It does not matter if Carlos is here or not,” Balotelli said. “If Carlos is here it’s good, while if he goes away I’m sure someone else will arrive.
No suspensions have been announced as of yet. Fans at the friendly match up gave Balotelli an ear full. The Galaxy fell to Manchester City in penalty kicks, 7-6.
