GENOA, ITALY – DECEMBER 21: Mario Balotelli of Genoa looks on during the Serie A match between Genoa and Napoli at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on December 21, 2024 in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)
Cult hero Mario Balotelli has given his assessment of the current Italy national team and has highlighted one area where Gennaro Gattuso and his staff may find an issue: ‘I don’t like it’.
Balotelli was among the guest speakers at the Festival dello Sport in Trento this weekend, along with the likes of Luciano Spalletti, Roberto Mancini, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Zinedine Zidane.
Balotelli on Italy national team: ‘Lack of desire, I don’t like it’
The 35-year-old, who most recently turned out for Genoa in 2024-25, took to the stage on Sunday and gave his honest assessment of the current crop of Italy players.
He feels that the current Italy squad does not have the same ‘desire’ to wear the Azzurri shirt that had been a given in years gone by.
“For me, the national team is a big talking point. This isn’t an attack on anyone, but a lot of times, I see players play for the national team without that desire to defend the nation’s jersey, and I don’t like it,” Balotelli said, (via TMW).
“When I was in the national team, I was proud to represent Italy, and this is what’s missing for me.”
Balotelli was also asked if he feels that he is the last ‘true’ centre-forward to represent Italy internationally, to which he replied: “That’s what they tell me.”
There may still be hope for Italy’s striking department, with young talents Fracesco Pio Esposito and Francesco Camarda beginning to break through.
On Esposito, Balotelli said: “He’s very strong, it’s great that he scored (against Estonia).” And, on Camarda, he added: “These are strong players, you can see they have lots of talent and quality, but you need to give them time.”
And on whether Italy will qualify for the 2026 World Cup, Balotelli said: ‘But of course, come on, I’m convinced that we’ll get to this one.”
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