Ghanaian-born Italian striker Mario Balotelli tasked to work harder

Ghanaian-born Italian forward Mario Barwuah Balotelli has been tasked by Nice head coach Lucien Favre to work extra harder despite his fine form this season.

The striker has found the back of the net 15 times in 24 matches this season, but despite his impressive goal return, coach Lucien Favre has demanded more from the player.

The boss has once again said he wants Balotelli to work harder for his colleagues at Nice in order to gain their respect.

"He needs to make more and better runs. Mario must work more if he wants the long-term respect of his teammates," Favre said, according to Tagesspiegel.

"Scoring goals is not enough in modern football.

"Mario's a nice lad, we get along well.

"You need to distinguish Balotelli the person and Balotelli the forward.

"He's a role model as a person, and regarding the forward... his goals definitely help us, and Mario's played really well in the past few games."

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