Mario Balotelli meets Roberto Baggio as Italian legend has some words of advice for the AC Milan badboy
- Roberto Baggio said Mario Balotelli is one of the world's best strikers
- But the Italy legend thinks Balotelli wants to give off an inaccurate image
- Baggio wanted to meet Balotelli and got his chance on Friday
- Balotelli posted a picture of the pair on Instagram saying 'he is a legend'
Mario Balotelli managed to meet Italy great Roberto Baggio - but it was the Serie A legend who had been desperate for an encounter with the controversial AC Milan striker.
Speaking to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport earlier this week, Baggio had passed on some advice to the former Manchester City forward, and said he 'wanted to explain football' to his compatriot.
And the former Milan, Juventus and Inter attacker clearly got his chance sooner than he might have thought.
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Mario Balotelli meets Italy legend Roberto Baggio who had some advice for the young AC Milan striker
Baggio is a legend of Italian football, pictured waving to the Brescia supporters after a match in 2004
He is, however, well-known for this penalty blunder in the 1994 World Cup final against Brazil
Balotelli is trying to get his career back on track at AC Milan after a disappointing season for Liverpool
Balotelli posted a picture of the two together on Instagram just days later, captioning the image: 'He is a legend.'
Baggio won 54 caps for Italy and played a starring role in his side's route to the World Cup 1994 final - only to miss a penalty in the eventual shootout and hand the trophy to Brazil.
But the Italy legend is fondly remembered by his nation's supporters and he believes Balotelli has the credentials to become a key player for the European giants.
Balotelli, who is on loan at Milan from Liverpool, opened his account in Serie A with a stunning free-kick this week.
'It was a difficult game for me because I know they were trying to provoke me. I picked up a yellow card and that did ruin things for me a bit,' he said.
'But I'm happy with my performance.
'Slowly I'm starting to remove all the stones from my shoes, because in recent years, in Italy and England, they've concocted a lot of things about me. I've stayed silent.
'Are defenders trying to provoke me? Let them come and get their yellow cards, or try and take my legs out, but they won't be seeing the ball.'
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