City in business as Balotelli takes goals seriously

They still talk about that Mario Balotelli goal; his first league strike for an Internazionale side that was missing Zlatan Ibrahimovic but which badly needed three points from Atalanta in the final straight of a desperately tight Serie A title push in April 2008.

It wasn't so much the execution of the finish – though for a young striker barely aged 17 to take the ball to the goalkeeper, feint to shoot and waltz around him showed some nerve – but the manner of the celebration. There wasn't one.

Balotelli, whose goal killed the game, just held his arms wide nonchalantly and strutted towards the corner flag, barely a flicker of emotion on his face. "From that day to this he's been known for never celebrating," said one Italian commentator who has plotted the player's progress. "It's been interpreted as a form of cockiness but he's saying a goal is a normal thing and it's not worth the fuss." It's a measure of how few people expected Balotelli to storm onto the English scene that his inscrutable reaction to his two goals in the 3-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday night were such a surprise. It was left to Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini to provide the explanation.

The question for City is how far should that nonchalance go. There is no doubt within the Eastlands dressing room that Balotelli has a more innate goalscoring instinct than Carlos Tevez – Mancini's assistant David Platt has described him as the club's most natural finisher – but there is equally little doubt that if an element of naivety is knocked out of his play he can be an even greater force.

Balotelli's instinct to be on the ball, shooting for goal, is all-consuming. He was shaping up to have a crack from a free-kick near the touchline at one stage on Wednesday until James Milner took charge of the ball and insisted that he deliver it instead. It would take a curmudgeonly spirit to overlook the extraordinary firepower with which the £24m man delivered City into the knockout stage of the Europa League – his first goal against Salzburg was delivered with minimal backlift yet blistering power – but many at the club do believe that Balotelli must fit in more to the collective ethic which Mancini preaches.

Team-mate Patrick Vieira, who having known him at Inter has been assigned to the task of mentor and minder, declared yesterday that the 20-year-old must work harder. "There's no doubt about it – the potential and the quality are there," Vieira said. "But sometimes it is not enough to make a career. If he wants to be one of the top strikers in the world, he needs to work harder than he is doing at the moment.

"He needs to work for the team a bit more. The demands of the Premier League are a bit different from in Italy. I think if he works harder, he will be really successful."

Vieira is not the first to observe the child in Balotelli. As a prodigiously talented youngster, the Italian would sometimes irritate Walter Salvioni, his coach at the Serie C side AC Lumezzane by refusing to stay after training to listen to tactical talks. Salvioni tells how Balotelli would smile at him and say, "I have to go home to study." It took him several weeks to discover he was bunking off for five-a-side sessions with his friends.

But Vieira does see signs that he is curbing his temperament in the way Mancini has demanded – there was no dissent again on Wednesday – and cautions against forgetting how untutored in British football Balotelli still is. "He's a class striker," Vieira said. "He's somebody who you know will shoot 10 times, hit the target maybe nine times and he will score eight goals. He's a goalscorer, a natural finisher and, of course, as the years pass, he has to improve more. He has to work more because I think the Premier League is more demanding [and you need] to work without the ball. But he's in the right team to learn."

Tevez will no doubt give him the same message. In the far more demanding surrounds of the Britannia Stadium last weekend, Balotelli's peripheral role in the 1-1 draw with Stoke meant the captain was drawn back deep into midfield to gain possession and City lacked a target in the box when he had won it.

Vieira, who admits to "frustration" about his own limited opportunities, believes Balotelli will heed his advice. "I know what the demands are in the Premier League and I've got the experience, so my word will be really important to him." But for now, the striker is having fun. Balotelli was spotted dodging the mixed zone by sneaking out of Eastlands behind assembled journalists late on Wednesday. "I'm not Mario, I'm his brother," he said with a grin, and was gone.

Balotelli's eventful season

19 Aug: Timisoara 0 Man City 1

Came on in 57th minute, scored the winner, got booked and picked up an injury.

24 Oct: Manchester City 0 Arsenal 3

Returned from knee injury for home debut as late substitute as 10-man City were picked off by Arsenal

30 Oct: Wolves 2 Manchester City 1

Spurned two chances in worrying defeat as he completed his first 90 minutes. Booked for time-wasting.

7 Nov: West Brom 0 Manchester City 2

Scored twice inside first 30 minutes before being dismissed for hacking down Youssuf Mulumbu just after being booked.

27 Nov: Stoke City 1 Manchester City 1

Started 10 days after being racially abused playing for Italy in Romania. Had only one shot.

1 Dec: Manchester City 3 Red Bull Salzburg 0

Scored twice on full home debut before being taken off with 19 minutes left.