Player #68 Mario Balotelli (Italy)

Name: Mario Balotelli
Age: 23
National Team:  Italy 
Team: Milan
Position: Striker

Description of his Game: Mario is like a hybrid striker and midfielder.  He's a double scoring threat in the sense that he's able to score from anywhere while also being equally capable at putting others in a position to score.  His footwork is fantastic, perhaps as fancy as it gets when it comes to finding teammates from unimaginable angles.  If his disciplinarian problems are held under control, Mario seems ready to shine in Brazil.

Mario Balotelli's Highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3lF1BQDdwI

Career News: Nicknamed Super Mario,he earned his first cap for the Italian national team on 10 August 2010, after previously having been called up by the Ghanian national team.

Interesting Personal Facts: Balotelli was born in Palermo to immigrants from Ghana and raised as a foster kid from the age of three by the daughter of a Holocaust survivors and her husband.  Unfortunately, his off-the-field activities have gained him almost as much attention as his play on the field.  Off-field activities involving Balotelli have included driving into a women's prison in Italy to "have a look round"

Upcoming Matches Where You Can See Him Play:

Italy's National Team, First Round Games in Brazil 2014
June 14th - England
June 20th - Costa Rica
June 24th - Uruguay
Schedule: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43954/index.html

Milan  (Italian League)
January 6th -Atalanta
January 12th - Sassuolo
Schedule: http://www.acmilan.com/en/season/serie_a