15 Oct 2012

Worried Daniel Agger admits: I fear 'unstoppable' £22m striker...

Denmark face Italy on Tuesday in a crucial world cup qualifier, and Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has warned his team-mates to be wary of Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli.

Speaking to Reporters after a training session yesterday, Agger - Denmark's captain - highlighted Bolotelli as Italy's main threat. He said:

"Balotelli is unstoppable sometimes; he never gets nervous, and the whole team must work together to stop him.

"We have to make sure we stop him getting hold of the ball. His a talented footballer with a great shot at least one good shot, and he also makes many chances".


It sounds like Agger is talking about Lionel Messi, not Balotelli (!). The Man City striker - who joined Man City in a 22m deal - is undoubtedly a good player but Agger arguably overstates the threat he may pose in tomorrow's game.

Denmark drew 1-1 with Bulgaria on Friday, which leaves the Danes still searching for the first win of the current World Cup qualifying campaign. Nicklas Bendtner grabbed the goal for Morten Olsen's team, a player that Agger rates very highly.

In an interview at Denmark's team base over the weekend, Agger - who recently revealed that he has his eyes on the Liverpool captaincy - argued that Bendtner has 'changed one hundred per cent', and it working harder now at his game than ever before, adding:

"He [Bendtner] has obviously had a hard time, especially at Arsenal. It's always a challenge to go to new club, but he has many qualities, and he has proven that he can play at the top level.

"He has developed immensely in recent years and become very serious about the game. I take my hat off to him; it takes a real man to get back to top after being down at the bottom"


Prior to his loan move to Juventus, £12m-rated Bendtner was (tenuously) linked with a shock move to Anfield, but whether that rumour was actually true is anyone's guess.

Jaimie Kanwar


14 comments:

  1. ballotelli is a handful and very physical but i would not say unplayable they are plenty of better strikers out there than him

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  2. You seem to have forgotten Balotelli's performance against Germany at the Euro. On his day, he really is unstoppable - the problem is that he is also wildly inconsistent.

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  3. Balotelli can be quite a handful, but he is so moody and such a prima donna that he doesn't produce the goods on a regular basis. His character seems to be very questionable to say the least. If his opponent plays the right mind-games, Balotelli is prone to do something very silly and gets himself sent off. Anyway, Italy should have a better team overall than Denmark, so Agger is right to hand out some warnings to his team-mates if they want to come away from that match with anything to show for.

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  4. Balotelli doesn't get any protection off refs and is vilified for any minor discretion. Opposition players use that to their advantage all the time. He is an outstanding young player, but inconsistent.

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  5. Agger, Italy probably fear Balo too for when he has his big off-moments or non-existent performance in a game! He sometimes has these games where it looks like City are playing in 10 men, which is how invisible and pointless he can be in a game. Got some talent that is for sure, capable of some genius moments and is 22 but got doubts whether he will ever have the level of self-discipline to realize that talent fully and consistently. Time on his side still but he is one frustating player at the moment.

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  6. Plenty?
    Not sure about that!
    If there are they certainly aren't at Anfield and if Ballotelli were at Anfield he'd be a giant amongst pygmies (with a few honorable and one less honorable exception/s)!
    He has great movement, quick feet, can find a pass when in a tight spot, scores from anywhere in general play and is probably the best penalty taker in world football.
    He would be priceless if his temperament was not so suspect. He seems a bit calmer on the park this season, maybe he's growing up. If he manages to mature a bit without using his edge he could be as valuable as the likes of Ronaldo. I won't be putting money on that though :-)

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  7. He got a foot to the ball that Aguero knocked into the net in the last minute against QPR last season and if he hadn't City would not be Champions. You should be prepared to put up with a bit of frustration from a boy who can do that sort of thing!

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  8. Good point, that definitely buys him some legendary time!

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  9. Ye and their names are Aqguero, Tevez and Messi

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  10. On his day, Balotelli is unstoppable, but he is inconsistent. Against us, he was anonymous. We have a striker by the name of Luis Suarez who is a different type of striker, and in close quarters is arguably the best in the world, his ability to turn on a dime and create something out of nothing is phenomenal. I actually worked out that Suarez has a 45% goal-game ratio at Liverpool, which is pretty impressive, it gets lost because he "wastes" so many chances, however, many of these chances he has no right in having in the first place and has them because he creates them himself out of nothing due to his ability to turn on the dime.

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  11. Bendtner sure can score goals. he is good with both feet and head.
    he's got superb positioning in the box.
    could not afford the price I think.

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  12. He smoked enough weeds to keep him calm thats why

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  13. agger is playing the pr game, hoping the press/bloggers will post his statement and put pressure on balotelli. it may or may not work, but there is no harm trying.

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  14. Whenever I saw him play it was rather other players on the pitch in need of protection because of Balotelli. He may be an outstanding player, but he comes across as a spoilt brat. May become a great player, but probably won't ever turn into a great person.

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