He’s going to score, he’s going to score, he has to score, it’s an easy shot. Oh wait, what the hell did he do that for? Geez, get a grip Mario Balotelli, you absolute idiot.

This is an astonishing example of a footballer (or soccer player for all you Yanks) trying too hard to impress his boss and the fans. And failing miserably as a result.

Rather than just side-footing the ball into the net, Balotelli tries to back-heel the ball past the goalkeeper and makes a complete hash of it. His manager Roberto Mancini immediately substituted him and gave him some verbal abuse.

Some have speculated Balotelli thought he was offside, hence his decision to give up trying to score. But I don’t buy that. I think he just wanted to showboat during a pre-season friendly.