Once again, Mario Balotelli makes headlines. Italy's most acclaimed yet controversial goal scorer will return to the national team for a three-day training camp to help prepare for March's match against Macedonia. Mario is a bit of a devil who can fly high as Flavio Lucchini depicted him in the 2012 digital painting Devil Balotelli...

It had been a while since Balotelli dropped out of sight. This happened despite his habit of making the news in the past decade, leading to what's known as the "Balotelli phenomenon". Super Mario has turned into a true bad boy icon over the years, so that his actions have meant he just can’t help getting into trouble, defined as "balotellata" in the Treccani Dictionary. The player was described as possessing...

Once again, Mario Balotelli makes headlines. Italy's most acclaimed yet controversial goal scorer will return to the national team for a three-day training camp to help prepare for March's match against Macedonia. Mario is a bit of a devil who can fly high as Flavio Lucchini depicted him in the 2012 digital painting Devil Balotelli...

It had been a while since Balotelli dropped out of sight. This happened despite his habit of making the news in the past decade, leading to what's known as the "Balotelli phenomenon". Super Mario has turned into a true bad boy icon over the years, so that his actions have meant he just can’t help getting into trouble, defined as "balotellata" in the Treccani Dictionary. The player was described as possessing the same devilish spirit as the real A.C. Milan devils he joined in 2013 after three years (and plenty of controversy) at Inter, when he didn’t miss a trick by wearing the A.C. Milan shirt in a television programme.
In 2012, Lucchini depicted him as furious and over the top, including Mario among his contemporary epic heroes. He reworked the image of his triumph par excellance, that is when he scored two goals against Germany in the Semifinal match of the European Championships, dragging his team to the Final. His exultation went viral. The Devil Balotelli in Lucchini's version is red like the devil, exposed to showcase his muscles, with his eye firmly on a singular point, like a warrior or a gladiator. His shorts, emblazoned with "Italia," indicate his connection to the national team and his country. Moreover, he wears angel wings: an icon is between sacred and profane, they are new pagan idols that acquire sacredness over time. A good example is Super Mario and his myth, which is not simply football, but one that is deeply ingrained in culture, as the New York Times wrote in the article published on January 2, 2020.
For the moment, he has returned from the Underworld to wear the Italian blue in Paradise again.

Lucchini digital painting - available on the website info@flaviolucchiniart.com - pays homage to him.