HOLA!

Forget Cristiano Ronaldo, after all he has already gone home with the Portugal squad.

The main attention at Euro 2012 now is on none other than Italy's highly-controversial striker Mario Balotelli (pic, right) who shattered hot favorites Germany's dream of making the final.

The Germans did not know what hit them as the Manchester City man struck two remarkable goals to give the Italians a useful 2-0 at halftime in the semi-final this morning in Warsaw.

The Italians won 2-1 to send some Germany fans in tears, the women.

Actually, the German players were also in tears but at the locker room, according to coach Joachim Loew. Just wondering what was the scene like then.

With these two goals this morning, the 21-year-old Balotelli has now scored four from 13 outings for his national team.

And now, it seems the self-proclaimed genius had an outstanding to finally match his nickname, 'Super Mario'.

Ironically, there is another player who is also known as 'Super Mario' – Germany striker Mario Gomez – but he is not in Balotelli's class – both in ability and character.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli is happy with Balotelli's performance.

"He is brilliant but this was a team effort, we played a fantastic game against a really good side. We did those things that put the opponents in difficulty. the career of Mario Balotelli has only just begun."

Prandelli tried to play down Balotelli's performance but simply could not resist praising him in between.

Italy will take now on champions Spain in the final on Monday (2:45am).

The Spaniards, who are out to create history by being the first team to win three major tournaments in a row after winning Euro 2008 and 2010 Wolrd Cup, know the danger posed by Balotelli.

This is where the fun is.

Balotelli, who stands at 6ft 2in, has pace, strength and technical ability will surely create problems to Spain central defenders Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos. That is, if he keep his cool and not easily provoked, like he did against the Germans.

This can be hard though as Ramos and Pique are capable of provoking Balotelli, who is expected be assisted well yet again by Andrea Pirlo and Riccardo Montolivo and fellow striker Antonio Cassano.

Let's see what happen if Balotelli can end up as the star of Euro 2012. Or will he turn villain like getting himself a red card, for instance?
  
Anyway, a bit of history or background on Balotelli, according to Wikipedia.

He was born in Palermo, Sicily, to Ghanaian immigrants Thomas and Rose Barwuah. The family moved to Bagnolo Mella in the province of Brescia, Lombardy, shortly after he was born.

As an infant, he had life-threatening complications with his intestines which led to a series of operations, although his condition had improved by 1992.

His health problems and the family's cramped living conditions meant the Barwuahs decided to ask for the help of social services who recommended that he be fostered.

In 1993, the Barwuah family agreed to entrust the three-year-old boy to Francesco and Silvia Balotelli, his new foster family from Concesio, Brescia, with the legal move formalized by the Court of Brescia.

When Mario Balotelli became famous, his biological parents asked for his return. He later accused them of "glory hunting", saying they only wanted him back because of the prominence he had gained.

According to Law 91 of 5 February 1992, Balotelli had to wait until his 18th birthday to request Italian citizenship, as the Balotellis had not adopted him. Balotelli officially gained citizenship on Aug 13 2008.

He had to wait until his 18th birthday to request Italian citizenship, as the Balotellis had not adopted him and officially gained citizenship on Aug 13, 2008.

Back to football, the final is set to be a thriller simply because both teams have players who can hold the ball well. It will be interesting and much will depend on the tactics employed by Prandelli and Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.

The teams drew 1-1 in their opening Group C match earlier.

Spain may just find it hard to create that history of being the first team to win three major tournaments in a row..

Balotelli may just spoil it for the Spaniards who are struggling to score goals despite the possession. But then again, Andres Iniesta can always pull it off for Spain.

Adios!