While Mario Balotelli's career may have looked as though it was circling the drain, following his disastrous spell with Liverpool, the Italian striker managed to revive his reputation with an excellent debut campaign at OGC Nice, last season, which served as a reminder as to why, five years ago, Super Mario was considered one of the most promising talents in world football.
In fact, on this very day five years ago, Balotelli produced his most devastating 90 minutes of football, shattering the confidence of a Germany team that were only two years away from conquering the world.
Despite Italy's reputation for destroying German dreams in major tournaments, as they had done in the semi-finals of the 1970 and 2006 World Cups, as well as the 1982 final, Joachim Low's men were favourites heading into the final four clash in Warsaw.
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Yet, despite a bright start from Die Mannschaft, Balotelli wasn't in any mood for breaking with traditions, and promptly set about reviving the spirit of '70,'82 and '06 with a world class display, first powering home a header to send the Azzurri into the lead, before doubling their advantage with a hulking volley that almost removed the netting from Manuel Neuer's goal.
And then came the most meme worthy celebration of a generation:
Credit: UEFA
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It was the sort of performance that Manchester City fans had witnessed all too fleetingly during Balotelli's two seasons at the Etihad stadium up until that point. Those who knew Balotelli closely knew he had the potential to unleash this type of destruction on a regular basis, only for disagreements with officials, managers, teammates, the press and everybody else he seemingly came into contact with to derail any progress he seemed to be making.
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A last minute Mesut Ozil penalty reduced the arrears, but it wasn't enough to prevent a Super Mario inspired Azzurri from reaching the final against Spain. Where they were promptly thrashed 4-0.
However, following a prolific season in France in which he netted 17 times in 28 games for Nice, the French club announced three days ago that they had re-signed Balotelli to a two-year deal.
Hopefully the new deal continues the momentum the 26-year-old gained during his debut season on the French Riviera and the former Inter and AC Milan striker can fire himself back into international contention, rather than allowing himself to throw away more years on pointless distractions and feuds.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Football, Mario Balotelli, Germany, Italy