The Italian Job: Borini or Balotelli?

When Liverpool signed Balotelli this summer, there was general hysteria amongst fans. There is no doubt that he is a world class player on his day, and Rodgers is known for being a good man manager – despite the controversy the Italian seems to take with him wherever he goes, everyone was very happy to see him sign. He hasn’t caused any disruption so far in his short LFC career; in fact, he’s yet to make much of an impact of any kind. One man who can surely sympathise with his plight is fellow countryman Fabio Borini: he too signed for a reasonable price from quite a big club, and he has also struggled to shine since arriving at Anfield. However, he impressed on loan at Sunderland last year and refused to be sold in the summer. This sheer determination to succeed at Liverpool is slowly starting to pay off, with Rodgers playing him for the full 90 minutes in our midweek clash against Real Madrid. Is this healthy attitude alone enough to earn him a place in the regular starting eleven, or should Balotelli be given more time to show his class?

Whilst parallels can certainly be drawn between the signings of Borini and Balotelli, there’s no doubt that they are very different players. Borini is all about his work rate; he will chase down every ball, close down every defender and cover every inch of grass for the club time and time again. This makes him well suited to Liverpool’s pressing style, as his tireless efforts to win the ball high up the field can lead to chances being created. Balotelli, on the other hand, is less of a workhorse and more of a show pony. He has immense talent and can score some truly wonderful goals, but he is somewhat lacking in terms of the running he puts in. To be fair, he has worked harder for Liverpool than he has done at previous clubs; he now deigns to mark someone at corners, and his off the ball movement is excellent at times. It is also true that a large factor in his failure so far has been the fact that he has been functioning as a lone striker: this has left him isolated. Even so, his work ethic can certainly be questioned.

In an ideal world, we would have a striker who is both extremely motivated and extremely talented. We had that in Luis Suarez – he was hungry (sorry, not sorry) to succeed whenever he pulled on the Liverpool shirt, and he did some truly magical things out on the pitch. However, Suarez is gone. We have to work with what we’ve got, and we essentially face a straight choice between pure work rate and pure talent. Sturridge is our best player and is therefore nailed on as a starter whenever he is fit; the question is who should partner him. The case can certainly be made for Borini: his eagerness to continually make runs provides someone for Sturridge to link up with, and could lead to a prolific partnership. The only question mark lies over his finishing. Borini’s raw ability is not amazing – whilst he occasionally produces something nice (his assist for Balotelli against Swansea recently was good), he does have a tendency to get into a good position and then waste it. Seeing good chances go to waste is infuriating for both the fans and the team, and is the major factor that works against Borini in his quest for regular first team action.

At least we are guaranteed to make chances regularly with Borini up front. When Balotelli plays, there is no such assurance. There are times when he remains stationary instead of making a run or positively coming for the ball, and this can break up the fluidity that was such a trademark of our play last season. That said, it is hard to make a fair judgement until we see Balotelli and Sturridge get an extended amount of game time together. Balotelli had only just come through the door when Sturridge got sidelined, so consequently we’ve only really seen him function on his own up front. If he clicks with Sturridge, then the chances will surely come. Balotelli’s natural talent then becomes an important factor – he is certainly capable of taking his chances.

In conclusion, whilst Borini has done well to play his way into consideration for the first team through pure hard work and determination, Balotelli definitely deserves a chance up top with Daniel Sturridge before we decide to write him off. Although he may not be as hardworking as Borini, his superior talent means that the goals will surely come if he can establish a strong partnership with Sturridge. That said, if Balotelli continues to struggle even after the return of Sturridge, Borini has shown himself to be a perfectly adequate option.

-James Martin

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