Mario Balotelli dedicated “the most beautiful night of his life” to his mum after firing Italy to the Euro 2012 final.
Balotelli scored a stunning first-half brace against Germany last night to book a meeting with Spain before embracing family members after the final whistle.
Adoptive mum Silvia brought up the Manchester City striker from the age of two after he was born to Ghanaian immigrants in Italy.
Balotelli said: “After the game, when I went to my mum I said, ‘These goals are for you’.
“I waited for this moment for so long and I wanted to make my mum happy. Last night was the most beautiful of my life — but I hope that this Sunday is even better.”
The 21-year-old headed home Antonio Cassano’s inch-perfect cross and thumped a second past Manuel Neuer to book Italy’s place in Sunday’s showpiece final.
Balotelli, who now has three goals for the tournament, said: “In the final I hope to make it four. I will try to score another goal but in football you can do that a lot and still never score. Sometimes you need a bit of luck.”
Coach Cesare Prandelli added: “He was excellent. I really believe that a team needs to have an idea of the way they play and he really subscribed to this playing style.”
