Mario Balotelli, surprise recruit from Genoa at the end of October, made his return to Serie A, 4 years after his last appearance. He played a few minutes in his club’s 1-0 success at Parma.
“Super Mario” (34 years old) started on the bench before making his debut in the 86th minute while his team, struggling in the standings, led 1-0 after a goal from Andrea Pinamonti. The whimsical Italian striker, who passed through Sion, had not played an Italian elite match for 1701 days.
Balotelli, who notably also played in the two Milanese clubs (Inter and AC Milan), Manchester City, Liverpool and Nice among others, only spent 8 minutes on the pitch. He had time to receive a yellow card for a foul at the entrance to the penalty area.
Without a club since last June and his departure from the Turkish club Adana Demirspor, the native of Palermo was recruited on October 27 to compensate for the absence due to injuries of two attackers from Genoa, Vitinha and Junior Messias. Thanks to its success in Parma, Genoa, coached by ex-Italian international Alberto Gilardino, leaves the red zone and climbs 4 places to 17th place in the ranking.
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Swiss
