A big downer for Patrick Kluivert. The Adana Demirspor coach has to make do without Mario Balotelli for two to three months. The Italian star player of the Turkish club must undergo surgery on his knee, club chairman Murat Sancak announced.
Balotelli is not a regular starter under Kluivert, but has now proven his worth. In October, he scored two goals against Alanyaspor (4-0) and later that month he also scored a goal against Konyaspor (3-0).
In the 4-2-3-1 formation that Kluivert uses, M’Baye Niang is usually preferred to Balotelli. Last weekend, the Italian came in for the Senegalese in the 66th minute. Balotelli did not score, but Adana held on against Fenerbahçe, which only suffered its first loss of points in the Süper Lig in the previous match against Trabzonspor (2-3): 0-0.
Adana have only lost twice in the Turkish Super Lig this season. Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, who are on 31 points, seem to claim the top two spots. Adana follows in a good third place with 22 points, ahead of clubs such as Trabzonspor, Besiktas and Kayserispor, which have collected the same number of points. Balotelli has been active for Adana since the summer of 2023, after also representing that club in the 2021/22 season. With 19 goals and 6 assists in 33 appearances, Balotelli proved worth his weight in gold for Adana that year.
In the 2022/23 season, Balotelli played for the Swiss FC Sion. That adventure did not go as hoped. For example, Balotelli is said to have been drunk at a training camp and invited women to the hotel rooms. “Mario has not repaid the trust we placed in him,” Sions technical director Barth Constantin said earlier this year Sports Image. “This kid thinks the rules that apply to a team are made for other people and not for him.”
Sion was relegated to the second Swiss level despite Balotelli’s presence and Constantin already said he hoped Balotelli would leave the club. “The Saudi transfer window closes later than Europe’s, so we’ll see what happens.” In the end it was not Saudi Arabia, but Turkey.
Kluivert responded last month Tivibu Sporjournalist Çigdem Günal know that he is happy with the presence of the now 33-year-old Balotelli. “Mario is a very talented footballer. He has shown that in the past. He has a good and strong character. He returned with two goals in his first match. I think it is clear that he is one of the footballers who will mean a lot to us. We have to get him to 100 percent so that we can make optimal use of him.” For the time being, Balotelli is sidelined.