WARSAW – Mario Balotelli finally delivered on his promise as he took center stage in the biggest match of his young life to send Italy into the Euro 2012 final against Spain Sunday. The Azzurri proved once again they have the Indian sign on Germany as a superb double by Balotelli saw them to a 2-1 win – the third time they have beaten Die Mannschaft in a major tournament semifinal. They are now unbeaten in eight competitive matches against Germany and the enigmatic 21-year-old Balotelli was the major reason for that. What made it extra special was that his adoptive mother was in the stands and whom he embraced at the end. “My mother was in the stadium and my father was watching it on television,” said Balotelli. “I scored two goals in front of my mother and I would like to score four in front of my father in Kiev in the final! “My favorite moment was when I embraced my mum after the match.” Balotelli, who went joint top of the scoring chart with three goals as he grabbed one in the 2-0 win over the Irish in the group stage, was lauded by Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, who has been like another father figure to him. “He (Balotelli) was excellent, just like the entire team were,” said Prandelli. “I really believe that a team needs to have an idea in the way they play and he really subscribed to this playing style. He was high up the pitch and available and I think he put in a very good performance this evening.” In Italy Balotelli's coaches have been saying for years that he has the potential to become one of the best players in the world but until Thursday, he had yet to prove it. But in two moments of clinical brilliance in the first half, the Manchester City star buried Germany and made a mockery of the pre-match betting odds. On 20 minutes he showed a striker's instinct to find a yard of space behind Holger Badstuber to head home Antonio Cassano's left wing cross from six yards out. And then nine minutes from the break he gambled and won as Philipp Lahm failed to cut out Riccardo Montolivo's long ball and the forward was away and running in on Manuel Neuer before smashing the ball into the top corner with unerring confidence. That showed he is learning and indeed listening to Prandelli who has been urging him all tournament to try to get behind the defense to stretch the opposition. And when Prandelli decided to switch to a more defensive five-man midfield 10 minutes into the second period, it was Cassano who was hauled off leaving Balotelli to play the disciplined lone frontman role until cramp ended his night 20 minutes from time. It had been Cassano's fancy footwork and pirouette to escape the attentions of Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng that created the space from which he could pick out Balotelli with a cross on the first goal. And in the build-up it was Andrea Pirlo's ability to retain possession and find space with a feint here and twist of the hips there that left Mesut Ozil backing off. That allowed the Juventus playmaker to rake a long ball out to Giorgio Chiellini on the left, stretching the play before the full-back passed to Cassano to dance through the right side of the defense. Despite their important contributions, it was only right that Balotelli should steal the show with his cool brace. His tea-mate Daniele De Rossi had called him an “ometto” last week, an Italian word that means someone who is becoming a man and starting to take responsibility. That he certainly did but he then stripped off his shirt to celebrate his second goal, a move that earned a booking, demonstrating that he is not yet the finished article, either as a player or a man. Italy held on despite a late German goal and Balotelli, the errant wildman more known for his madcap antics than his footballing prowess, finally made his biggest headlines on the pitch. — Agencies
