Source: REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier
[Saba Sports News] Although it has been a short time since returning to Serie A, Genoa forward Mario Balotelli has already received an award, but it is the infamous Golden Mongoose Award that many would prefer to avoid. Balotelli received this well-known embarrassing award because Genoa fired head coach Alberto Gilardino shortly after signing him, with Patrick Vieira—who had previous conflicts with Balotelli at Nice—taking over. However, Balotelli explained the situation while accepting the award: “It’s not that we got along badly at Nice, but I wanted to play in Marseille at the time. We had some disagreements about football ideas, but personally, we always managed to reach an agreement. You should give this award to him instead!” It is worth noting that Genoa’s official announcement featured a photo of Vieira training the team alongside a picture of him having a private conversation with Balotelli, conveying a message of harmony within the team to the fans.