Soccer

Headlines adorn shoes of Italian soccer superstar ‘Super Mario’

Mario Balotelli is getting his kicks from the copious headlines he has garnered with his antics on and off the soccer field.

The infamous Italian striker donned custom cleats for AC Milan’s match Monday against Roma decorated with a collage of headlines from his career.

The shoes feature a collage of headlines from Balotelli’s career.Reuters/Alessandro Garofalo

And there have been more than a few: wondrous goals, red-card ejections, reports of carousing and clashing with teammates, and one memorable incident in 2011 when he and a group of friends set his house ablaze with fireworks.

That same weekend, he scored a goal for Manchester City against Manchester United and lifted his jersey to reveal an undershirt with the message: “Why always me?”

That slogan, a nod to the mohawked phenom’s habit for providing tabloid fodder, is the most prominent newsprint splashed on the new boots.

“I don’t like to talk much, even when people speak bad about me,” he told Sports Illustrated earlier this year. “Inside me, I say, ‘Why do they have to think of me that way?’ But I know how I am.”

The 23-year-old, nicknamed “Super Mario,” is slated to start at forward in the 2014 World Cup. Italy was drawn into a very difficult Group D with England, Uruguay and Costa Rica. At Euro 2012, Balotelli carried the Italians to the finals with a dazzling two-goal effort against Germany in the semifinals.

The son of immigrants from Ghana also has made unfortunate headlines as the subject of racial abuse from European crowds, a continued blight on international soccer.

Nike, Adidas and Puma reportedly are in competition to sign Balotelli to a new sponsorship deal, which might explain his desire to keep his shoes gray and logo-less in the meantime.