Balotelli hails Italy win as 'best night' of his career

The controversial striker was thrilled to have netted twice against Germany and believes that the Azzurri can defeat Spain in the Euro 2012 decider on Sunday

 

Italy striker Mario Balotelli has described his match-winning performance in the Azzurri's 2-1 victory over Germany as the "best night" of his career.

The 21-year-old striker scored two goals in the first half to send his side through to the Euro 2012 final, where they will face Spain on Sunday.

The forward, who has often come under intense scrutiny for his controversial behaviour off the pitch, dedicated his double strike to his adopted mother who was in attendance.

"This was the best night of my career, but I hope that Sunday's will be even better," he told Rai Sport. "I dedicated the goals to my mother, she is old and was at the stadium tonight.

"I am very happy because I wanted to score for her. On Sunday, my father will be here, too, so I would like to score."

Italy were held to a 1-1 draw by their final opponents La Roja in the group stage, and Balotelli says that his side will learn from the mistakes they made during their opening match.

"We do not have to be scared of Spain," he pointed out. "We know how they play. We know we can beat them.

"We will have to be patient and wait for them, because they do a lot of passes, but we know we can win."

When questioned about his scoring form, Balotelli did not rule out the possibility of winning the Golden Boot award, after his double against Germany took his tally to three goals.

"Top scorer of the tournament? We will see, I would like to score in the final," the 21-year-old noted.

"But I do not care how well I play in the final, what I want is to win."

The Euro 2012 final between Italy and Spain will be played on Sunday at 20:45CET.

 

 

 

Source : Goal.com