"I'm not a Super Mario or a Stupid Mario, I'm just Mario."
He added: "It was important for me to score because I had been trying to do that in the previous two games but hadn't managed it.
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“I could be Peter Pan in that I do things my own way and I'm very free, but I think I'm more of a man than Peter Pan”
Mario Balotelli Italy striker
"But it's not a case of the handbrake being off now, I scored a goal and that can happen."
Balotelli's agent Mino Raiola described the 21-year-old as Peter Pan, while his international team-mate Daniele De Rossi said the forward was maturing.
"I think these are metaphors for Mario the person, not Mario the footballer. I think I'm a man - I don't think I need to say it, but I am," said Balotelli.
"I could be Peter Pan in that I do things my own way and I'm very free, but I think I'm more of a man than Peter Pan."
