Mario Balotelli, who seems to be rising from the ashes during his first season with Nice, looked back to his years playing in the English Premier League and Serie A, discussing which coaches left a lasting impression in him, for better or for worse.
Despite being involved in an alleged fight with Roberto Mancini, the Italian striker named his compatriot as the best coach he's ever had, and even thanked him for being a role model.
"For me, the one most on the ball remains Mancini. He is fantastic, I owe him so much," Balotelli told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Mancini explained months ago that neither Balotelli nor him were ready to throw fists during their highly-publicized burst-up during a training session at Manchester City.
Later in the interview, Balotelli wasn't able to determine which manager was more influential to him between Lucien Favre (his coach at Nice) and Jose Mourinho, so he called it a draw in second place.
"In second place I put Favre with (Jose) Mourinho: the Portuguese is talented and motivated, it is a pity that we had a falling out," Balotelli added.
Despite their complicated relationship, Mourinho admitted Balotelli was "a fun kid" years after a heated exchange inside Inter's locker room.
But when it came to naming the worst manager he's worked under, Balotelli spared no words to describe how awful his relationship was with Brendan Rodgers.
"The worst? In truth, I had the biggest disappointment with Rodgers. I enjoyed myself with him in training but our relationship was a disaster," Balotelli recalled.
Rodgers unceremoniously sent Balotelli on loan to AC Milan one year after paying the Rossoneri £16M to sign him.
Balotelli has found his goal scoring shoes in Ligue 1, where he ranks fifth in the top strikers' chart with six goals.
