Italy's joy at Balotelli's goals is a stark contrast with the racism he has faced. Can Super Mario change national attitudes?
When Mario Balotelli smashed the ball into the corner of the net against Germany last night, wrote La Repubblica, the German keeper "watched the ball go by like a peasant observing a lorry on the motorway". At that moment, Italians all over the world jumped up from their seats and began to party. The festa went on deep into the night across Italy, with the usual chaotic cacophony of car horns, fireworks, flares, chants and scary car driving. But who was the two-goal Italian hero? Could some of those celebrating so wildly have been the same fans who, for years, had given Balotelli such a hard time in stadiums across the peninsula. The most infamous chant of all implied that the striker was not what he claimed to be: "Balotelli you are not an Italian/you are a black African". Another version of this chant was even more explicit. "There is no such thing as a black Italian".
As is well known by now, Mario Balotelli was born in Palermo to Ghanaian parents in 1990, who then gave him up for adoption to an Italian family in the north of Italy when he was just two. Under Italian law, however, he was not able to obtain Italian citizenship until he reached the age of 18, despite having been born in Italy and having always lived there. Meanwhile, players who were born elsewhere (for example, Thiago Motta from the current squad, born in Brazil) had a near-automatic right to Italian citizenship as they had Italian relatives.
But Balotelli has always been Italian. He speaks the language with a broad Brescian accent, attended local Italian schools and learned his football there. His "blackness" is therefore the issue, something which has marked him out in a country that has experienced mass foreign immigration since the mid-1980s. And Super Mario is not one to hide from publicity. He is not humble, but extremely sure of himself. He does not bow and scrape, but seems almost to enjoy the notoriety he has received from fans and players alike. He is black and extremely good at football, and he is a winner. He has played less than 100 league games for his two major clubs (Inter and Manchester City) and won four championships in that time (and four other trophies). Not a bad record for a 21-year-old.
So, Balotelli's two goals last night exposed the contradictions of the racist chants against him. Did the racists sit in their seats and look glum, as the goals went in? No, of course they didn't. They partied just like everyone else. Those two goals have taken on immense symbolic power. They are a sign that black Italians are here to stay, and this is something that a strong minority of Italians find very difficult to accept. Mario Balotelli encapsulates the stark reality of a multicultural society. Immigrants are usually seen as OK as long as they are invisible, they don't bother you and they don't have rights, and work in kitchens, or as cleaners or carers.
Last month, some of those who died after the earthquakes in central Italy were immigrants, obliged to return to factories which then collapsed on their heads. Life in Italy, for the average immigrant, is back-breaking and dangerous. They are not supposed to be seen, to be rich and famous, or be good at anything, or to be "one of us".
Reactions to Balotelli's recent success with the national team have also been illuminating. After the England game, La Gazzetta dello Sport published a bizarre cartoon depicting Mario as King Kong. At best this was in very bad taste, especially as Croatia had been fined for monkey chants towards Balotelli after an earlier game in the tournament. Yet, La Gazzetta didn't seem to think that they had made a mistake at all. They didn't get it. Their apology, when it finally came, was grudging. They simply didn't understand that depicting Balotelli as a large ape could have been seen as a problem.
This morning, Tuttosport did it again. Their headline was a play on words. "Li abbiamo fatti neri" (we made them all black). This phrase literally means "We smashed them", "we humiliated them". But the pun, was linked the word "neri" – blacks. It was not very funny, and very problematic. Twitter was also awash with debate. Some still claimed that Balotelli was "Ghanaian". Others defended the Tuttosport headline as "just a joke". Racism itself is a contested idea, and this problem has dogged Balotelli's career.
On many occasions, it has been said that the insults against him were his own fault. People blamed the victim, arguing that his "attitude" was provocative, and that he wasn't a "real champion". This is why life in Italy, for Balotelli, will always be difficult. He has always been an easy target. Don't be fooled into thinking that he has been forgiven for being a successful, proud and somewhat arrogant black Italian. The next time he makes a bad mistake, or gets sent off, or looks like he is not trying, the hostility will quickly rise again to the surface. But those spectacular two goals will have made a difference. Of that, there can be no doubt at all.
But there is hope. In November 2011 I gave a talk to 150 children in a Scuola Media in Cagliari about football. To break the ice, I asked the kids which team they support. Some said Juventus, some said Milan, some even said Cagliari. And a couple then piped up with something that surprised me a lot. They said they supported Manchester City. Why, I asked, surprised? "Because of Balotelli. He is so cool". Super Mario. He is only 21 years old, but he is already world famous. Young boys have changed their team, in Cagliari, because of him. What power!
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