Football
Balotelli requests EA Sports add his now infamous Marseille selfie celebration to FIFA
Marseille striker Mario Balotelli wants his Instagram live celebration against Saint Ettiene to be added to this year’s edition of FIFA.
The former Inter Milan and Manchester City striker scored a fantastic bicycle kick during Marseille’s latest Ligue 1 victory over the weekend, before wheeling away to perform a unique celebration at the Orange Velodrome.
The Italian star grabbed a mobile phone from one of the cameramen behind the goal and asked all of his teammates to join him in a selfie on the side of the pitch, which was streamed live on popular social media platform Instagram.
The celebration quickly went viral and was the main talking point after Marseille’s 2-0 win over Saint Ettiene, which saw the team stay within touch of the final Champions League spot in the league table.
Balotelli’s now infamous antics for the French giants have been the subject of discussion around the football world at the start of the week and he is aiming to capitalise on the publicity by requesting that EA Sports add his celebration to FIFA.
The 28-year-old left another post on Instagram which shows an alternate angle of the goal celebration, which he captioned: “I want this celebration on @easportsfifa thanks!!”
Balotelli was not the first man in history to use a phone as a prop during a match, however, with that unique record belonging to legendary former AS Roma striker Francesco Totti.
The ex-Italy international scored a brilliant volley during the Rome derby against Lazio back in 2015 and he celebrated by taking a selfie which his fellow countryman has clearly taken inspiration from.
FIFA celebrations have become rather stale of late and Balotelli’s latest creation could help to liven things up, but it remains to be seen whether or not EA Sports will answer his call.
Buffon reveals Ferguson attempts for his signature
Paris Saint-Germain’s goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon has revealed how Sir Alex Ferguson had attempted to sign him for Manchester United during the early stages of his now iconic career.
The 41-year-old phenomenon has been speaking to Reds legend Rio Ferdinand for broadcaster BT Sport, ahead of Wednesday night’s UEFA Champions League last-16 second-leg tie at Parc des Princes.
As Buffon explains in a teaser clip from the interview, he was tracked by United during his time at first club Parma from 1995 to 2001. That timeframe suggests Sir Alex had considered the Italian stopper as an option to replace the great Peter Schmeichel when he left Old Trafford in 1999.
Of course, finding a long-term successor to the Great Dane became a drawn-out process that only really ended when another goalkeeping great, Edwin van der Sar, was signed from Fulham in 2005.
Asked by Rio if he had ever received an offer to play in England, Buffon explains: “Yes, when I was a boy playing for Parma, Ferguson tracked me closely for two or three years and he’d always send scouts to watch me. At the time Parma, was my world and I didn’t feel like leaving.”
Buffon later joined Juventus in 2001 and went on to play over 500 games for the Series A giants, before recently completing what is probably the final transfer of his career: to PSG last summer.
However, as he tells Rio, there was another opportunity to play in England that he turned down. “I later had a big offer from Manchester City when they started the build the team. They wanted me to be the first signing, but I stayed at Juve.”
Rio has also been speaking to PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel ahead of our Champions League tie in France and the German tactician is effusive in his praise of star striker Kylian Mbappe.
Quizzed on what it is like to coach the World Cup winner, Tuchel says: “Well the guy is hungry and he has a big personality for 20 years, really big.
“This is not always easy. The big personalities do not always go the easy way. He is challenging me, as a coach, for sure, and at the same time he is a super nice guy.
”For me it is necessary that he has this kind of personality to challenge me and everybody around him because he has the hunger to be a special player in history. For me he is a striker. He is not a Messi. For me he is a striker. He can be the best striker in the world. He is on his way.”
Report: ‘Tired? Juventus boss, Alegri threatens to quit
…considering a sabbatical year leave
The future of Massimiliano Allegri is unclear at the moment. “I will decide, we will decide”. These were the words of the Juventus coach, explaining that there will be a confrontation with the management to decide.
The former Milan coach seems to be closer to an exit from the Allianz Stadium than ever, thanks to a European campaign that could end in a week. The match against Atletico Madrid will be decisive: if he wins, Juve will likely go along with him, also depending on the next matches. If he loses, this season will be virtually finished 3 months in advance.
And what then? The benches of Big European clubs, in the summer, could be free: Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Bayern Munich could, in fact, be looking around for better options. But according to La Repubblica, the Tuscan coach is evaluating a sabbatical year after a stressful, tiring and annoying season, which is not over yet and which will be determined based on the match against Diego Simeone’s Atletico.