Mario Balotelli was beginning to prove his doubters wrong. The 25-year-old, entering something of a last-chance saloon with AC Milan this season, was finally starting to play to his potential. All was well, but then injury struck.

After a fruitless year back in English football with Liverpool and the constant public criticisms and doubts that surrounded him, Balotelli’s recent injury woes have stalled his career at the most unfortunate of times.

The striker has not featured for the Italy national team since Antonio Conte took charge in the wake of the World Cup failure in 2014. Meanwhile, at club level, he scored just once in 16 Premier League appearances in the 2014-15 season.

His attitude has continually been questioned throughout his time as a professional footballer, and those questions reached a new level of intensity last year. Even when Milan welcomed him back for a loan spell this season, they did so seeking certain guarantees.

Rarely do the football clubs themselves appear to be the diva in contract negotiations, though this was the case with Milan’s re-signing of Balotelli, as they stated the deal would only go ahead if the player accepted a specific list of demands.

Per Corriere della Sera (h/t Football Italia), his posts on social media would be closely monitored, he would not be allowed to smoke and his “extravagant” dress sense and hairstyles were to be curbed.

However Balotelli, cognisant of his position of weakness following a bleak period, accepted the demands and began to put in some of his best performances in several years.

His substitute appearance against Inter Milan in September was particularly exciting. He threatened with his skill, hit the post with a shot from distance and refused to get involved when members of the opposition antagonised him.

In his first start since his return to the club, away to Udinese, he again caused problems with his elusiveness before scoring and picking up WhoScored.com’s Man of the Match award.

Showcasing a willingness to work for the collective and playing with remarkable self-assurance, Balotelli appeared to be back to his best until a groin injury ruled him out of action in late September.

After almost two months on the sidelines, ESPN FC’s Sumeet Paul reported Balotelli “now has an eight-day deadline with his current treatment program before Milan…decide that surgery is required to correct the issue.”

Even without surgery to prolong his absence, Balotelli’s injury has been a real blow, not just for himself but for Milan as a team.

Sinisa Mihajlovic was intent on pairing Balotelli up front with either Carlos Bacca or Luiz Adriano as part of his initially favoured 4-3-1-2 system, though Balotelli’s injury left the Rossoneri without their brightest striker at the time.

Since then, Bacca has taken up the mantle of primary goalscorer. Giacomo Bonaventura and Alessio Cerci have been supplying the sharpshooter with bullets since Mihajlovic changed tactics with a switch to a 4-3-3 formation.

Were Balotelli fully fit, he would give Milan additional options within this system. He could compete with Bacca for the lone striker role, or he could offer an alternative outlet in either of the wide positions.

Without him available, Milan have had little choice but to stick by Bacca up front given Brazilian Luiz Adriano has—bar a few late winning goals—been generally disappointing since his summer move from Shakhtar Donetsk.

One positive aspect of this is it has afforded Bacca a regular run in the side, something he wasn’t being given prior to Balotelli’s injury.

Since Milan’s 1-0 defeat to Genoa on Sep. 27, when Balotelli made his last appearance before being sidelined, Bacca has started five of the subsequent six games while also coming on as a sub to score against Torino.

In those six appearances, the Colombian hitman has scored three and set up one of Milan’s seven goals, settling into the new-look 4-3-3 system well as the team’s attacking figurehead.

While he lacks the hold-up play of other Serie A centre-forwards such as Gonzalo Higuain, Bacca’s movement, poise and relentless work rate suit the position, and with inverted wingers either side of him, he looks a more effective forward.

In this respect, Balotelli’s injury has removed a potentially difficult selection headache for Mihajlovic. Balotelli is at his best through the middle and, were he fit, choosing between him and Bacca would have been a test of Mihajlovic’s managerial mettle.

Still, Milan have at times missed the unique traits Balotelli brings to the table.

In the Rossoneri’s last match before the international break, they sweated through a rigorous home game against Atalanta. Milan’s well-organised visitors closed down, defended well in numbers and gave very little space to their in-form hosts en route to a 0-0 draw.

In truth, Atalanta had the better of that game with a performance that was built upon defensive solidity. This was an example of a match in which Balotelli’s moments of inspiration, those precious pieces of ingenuity he can sprinkle upon a match, were clearly needed.

Where Bacca toiled away with little service, struggling to retain possession while waiting for support, Balotelli would have been more able to fend for himself with is back to goal and bring his team-mates into play.

His ball control, greater physicality and unpredictability would have offered Milan more of an out-ball at a time when they were desperately in need of one.

Balotelli’s absence also has a tangible impact on the way certain Milan players play. With Bacca leading the line, Bonaventura and Cerci are expected to cut in and run toward opposition centre-backs before slipping in through balls behind them for Bacca to run onto.

However, were Balotelli to be the focal point of the attack, the wingers would instead cut in and look to play one-twos with the striker in order to fashion space for chances of their own.

These differences in Balotelli and Bacca’s games can be demonstrated fairly clearly statistically. According to Squawka, Bacca scores more goals per 90 minutes, though Balotelli is a more successful dribbler and also creates far more chances.

However, more enticing than the option of rotating Balotelli with Bacca is the prospect of playing them together. This is something that has only occurred once so far—during Milan’s 3-2 win over Udinese.

The obvious issue here is that Milan no longer play with two up front, but this is something that could change down the line.

In a press conference prior to Milan’s win over Chievo at the end of October, Mihajlovic admitted that he planned to implement a system incorporating two strikers at some stage in the future, saying, “When everyone has recovered our formation in the future will be 4-4-2.”

Club CEO Adriano Galliani has also discussed this with the media, telling Mediaset Premium (h/t Football Italia), “At this moment we are playing with a system that covers the field well while we wait to work on the 4-4-2, or 4-2-4 as the coach puts it.”

If Milan do intend to utilise a 4-4-2 system in the future, a strike partnership between Balotelli and Bacca could be integral to its successful deployment. Each player possesses a diverse array of differing attributes, and a combination of the duo could prove lethal.

Unfortunately, injuries will prevent that from happening for the time being, with Balotelli potentially out until the new year. While he is gone, Mihajlovic and Milan will persist with the 4-3-3 that has worked well for them of late but will undoubtedly continue to miss their injured striker’s unique creative gifts.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1Sw6tw2
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J