What football superstars can learn from rugby

IN HIS formative years as a coach, former England manager Fabio Capello spent time as a general manager for a variety of sporting codes, which included rugby union.

During his brush with rugby, he came across a young David Campese, who was supplementing his “shamateur” income by playing club rugby in Italy.

And when he was asked a few years ago what he learned from being in charge of a rugby team, he said it was football could learn from the 15-man game.

Watching Italian striker Mario Balotelli being Mario in Italy’s 2-0 win against Ireland on Monday night, one couldn’t agree more with “Il Capo”.

Balotelli is fast becoming the poster boy for everything that’s wrong with football.

After scoring a sensational volley – a goal which showed you everything that could be great about him (skill, strength and a wonderful technique) – all he cared about was railing at perceived injustices against him.

Much was made of teammate Leonardo Bonucci putting his hand over Balotelli’s mouth to prevent him getting himself into trouble by mouthing off.

For all that drama, nobody even knew who had so offended the Manchester City striker. It could have been the “racist” fans at Euro 2012, it could have been his coach Cesare Prandelli, it could have been a ballboy who looked knows. All we knew was Mario was pissed. What got to me as a sport fan was that having marvelled at his strike, we were robbed of an exuberant celebration to match the genius.

Thanks to his “Why Always Me?” Tshirt, Balotelli gives the impression he honestly feels the world has got it in for him.

If it did, Manchester City wouldn’t have splurged £24-million (R288-million) on what is essentially potential and little else, and he wouldn’t be earning £120 000 (R1.4million) a week by the ripe old age of 21.

When Balotelli is being indulged, people

at him skeef, nobody seem to forget that with him, City are paying for an unproven talent who has given too few flashes of what he is capable of.

Sure, he made the decisive pass that enabled Sergio Aguero to win the English Premiership for City. But five games before that he very nearly destroyed their chances of winning by looking for a red card all game long against Arsenal.

As Prandelli said this week, not only does the player baffle him, he also has no concept of team, something which will never fly in rugby.

In a sport where you have 15 men playing, each guy has to do his job for the team to do well.

In football, the done thing is to shovel the ball on to a Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo so he can save everyone’s backside.

This creates the unbearable petulance often shown by both those players (yes, Messi also does it).

Think of the precocious talents in rugby today, Israel Dagg, James O’Connor, Kurtley Beale, Will Genia, Pat Lambie, Eben Etzebeth.

They all understand the concept of a team and the referee’s on-field authority (they never get a chance to swear at him because only their captain is allowed to talk to him).

Failure to

abide by

that

will see them sorted out at the bottom of a ruck, a place I wouldn’t mind seeing young Mario buried in.

For all his sullenness, Balotelli is apparently a generous soul off the pitch. But the issue is his office is the field, and he needs to bring that generosity to the pitch.

If he does, it will be a sign he respects the game that has given him so much.

Rugby players always give that impression.