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4th August 2011
08:56am BST
Football fans around the world cooed in admiration when Mario Balotelli hugged his adopted mother after defeating Germany on Thursday and now Silvia Balotelli has revealed all.
Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Silvia revealed that Balotelli had been having a tough time during Euro 2012, but had liberated himself with his star performance against die Mannschaft.
"When he feels in difficulty, under attack or betrayed, Mario reacts by clamming up. He isolates himself from others and that's what happened before the Ireland game [when he was dropped but subsequently scored]," she revealed.
"We struggled to contact him and he wouldn't answer messages. This is why I wept with joy. Those two goals in such a wonderful and important match liberated him, as his talent and the little genius inside came out. He managed to prove what he wanted to, finally.
Silvia also said that Balotelli - who cried with joy after hugging his mother on Thursday night - was last reduced to tears after being ostracised by former Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho.
"It's very difficult to see Mario cry. The last time was perhaps because of Jose Mourinho," said Silvia.
"It's also difficult for him to hug me like that in front of everyone. As with every young man, he gets embarrassed to be seen with his mother, but at that moment he was too happy. H
"He whispered in my ear to give him a gift and bring his father to Kiev. I went back to Italy, but we'll both be there on Sunday," she added.
If you missed the original embrace between Mario and Silvia, you can watch it here.
