Mourinho-Balotelli Red Card Story

The story of two of modern football’s most entertaining characters, Jose Mourinho and Mario Balotelli!

In 2009, when Mourinho was the manager of Inter Milan, his side made a trip to Rubin Kazan in the Champions League. Mourinho had a predicament; his top two strikers, Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito were out injured. And so 19-year-old Mario Balotelli got the nod.

In the 42nd minute of the game, Balotelli got a yellow card, and so at halftime, Mourinho spent 14 of the 15 minutes talking to the Italian, telling him to keep his cool and not get red-carded because he had no other strikers on the bench.

And in typical Balotelli style, at the hour mark, guess what happens? The referee brandishes a red card... Oh, you gotta love Mario Balotelli!