London: Mario Balotelli has been warned by Italy coach Cesare Prandelli that he must show "exemplary" behaviour on the pitch if he is to become a star in the year ahead.
The Manchester City forward, who appeared to react angrily to being told by manager Roberto Mancini to acknowledge the club's travelling fans following the victory at Newcastle on Boxing Day, was under pressure to regain a starting role alongside Carlos Tevez for the game against Aston Villa at Eastlands.
Balotelli was dropped for the trip to St James' Park after being urged by Mancini to enjoy his football and smile more often. The 20 year old has struggled to adapt to the English lifestyle. His time at City since arriving in a £22 million (Dh124.76 million) transfer from Inter Milan in August has brought an impressive goals return, but that has been overshadowed by a dismissal at West Brom and a training-ground spat with team-mate Jerome Boateng.
Racist chanting
The Italian-born son of Ghanaian immigrants also endured racist chanting from far right supporters during Italy's friendly with Romania earlier this season, an issue which has cast an ugly shadow over his brief career with the national team.
But while Prandelli insists that Balotelli has the ability to lead Italy's new generation, the coach has made it clear that the striker must begin to show maturity on the pitch. "We hope that 2011 will be the year of Balotelli, but he is a boy of 20 and we need him to have continuity as a player," he said.
"For that to happen, however, his behaviour on the field must be exemplary. He has to show the correct behaviour. "In the spring, I want to be able to field the young players who can give us the right quality and Balotelli is the player who can carry our hopes."
Mancini's assessment
Mancini believes Balotelli possesses the mercurial qualities that could prove decisive in City's attempt to win the league this season, but the player has yet to prove he can be relied upon to perform on a regular basis.
City are just two points behind leaders Manchester United, having played two games more. Meanwhile, former City forward Robinho says he helped talk Kaka out of a £91 million move to Eastlands from AC Milan in January last year. Robinho, now at Milan, said: "Kaka asked me about Manchester as a city and I said that it wasn't beautiful because it was raining and cold."
