📽 15 years ago: a legendary Premier League celebration

📽 15 years ago: a legendary Premier League celebration October 23, 2011. Old Trafford is in shock. As Manchester City inflict a historic 6-1 humiliation on Manchester United on their own turf, one man commands all the attention: Mario Balotelli. After opening the scoring with a side-footed finish of unnerving composure, the Italian striker does not smile, run towards the corner flag or slide on his knees. He simply lifts his shirt calmly to reveal a midnight-blue undershirt bearing a now-iconic message: “Why Always Me?” The backstory to an explosive night 🎆 This gesture, full of irony and cool composure, did not come out of nowhere. The night before, the British tabloids were having a field day with another bizarre incident. Firefighters had been called to Super Mario's home in the middle of the night after fireworks were set off from his bathroom. Criticised from all sides, hounded by cameras and singled out for his off-field antics, Balotelli delivered the best possible response: on the pitch, with a brilliant piece of provocation secretly devised with City's kit man, Les Chapman. The defining moment for the new Manchester City 💣 Balotelli's brace and this commanding team performance marked a genuine turning point in modern Premier League history. That day, the “noisy neighbours”, as Sir Alex Ferguson had dubbed them, officially seized control of the city, before going on to claim their first English league title since 1968 at the end of the season. Fifteen years later, while the player's career has been marked by inconsistency, that T-shirt and his pose, arms hanging by his sides, remain enshrined in football's pop-culture pantheon. Mario Balotelli, the eternal enfant terrible who could captivate the football world like no one else. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.