Antonio Conte, Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho all failed, to varying degrees, in their doomed attempts to harness the mercurial talents of Mario Balotelli.
Jurgen Klopp didn’t even try, dumping the troubled striker just months into the job at Liverpool.
But, while one of modern football’s most divisive characters has baffled, bemused and often infuriated top-class coaches throughout his nomadic career, there is one man who succeeded in cracking this one-man enigma code.
In two seasons under the softly-spoken Lucien Favre at Nice, Balotelli scored 43 goals in 66 matches between 2016 and 2018. This remains the most impressive and consistent spell of the Italy international’s entire footballing life.
“He made me much better, especially tactically. Before, I worked on instinct,” Balotelli said of Favre, via BeIN Sports.
“I discovered a great coach. He is very good tactically, but also in the way he manages the locker room.”
Three years after Favre left the calming serenity of the French Riviera for the yellow-clad cacophony of Borussia Dortmund, neither Nice, nor Balotelli, have come close to replicating those memorable days of 2016-18.
But while Favre managed to do what Mourinho, Klopp and co deemed impossible – turning Balotelli from a petulant yet precociously talented man-child into a ruthless number nine – this alone will not be enough to win over Celtic supporters amid claims that the 63-year-old Swiss has set his sights on replacing Neil Lennon at Parkhead (Daily Mail).
Favre never managed to achieve universal popularity during two years at Dortmund, his understated personality and cerebral, thoughtful football completely at odds with the heavy-metal hurricane that all BVB bosses must live up too – the legendary Klopp.
Celtic, a traditional old club with a raucous fanbase and an insatiable will to win, share a lot more similarities with Dortmund than they do with Nice.
But Favre’s CV certainly stands out a mile when compared to some of the other coaches who have been linked with one of Britain’s most high-profile jobs; from Frank Lampard to David Wagner and Eddie Howe.
Favre led an unfancied Hertha Berlin side to a fourth-placed Bundesliga finish around a decade ago before transforming Borussia Monchengladbach from relegation candidates into Champions League regulars.
His thrilling Nice side even sent chills down PSG’s spine during Balotelli’s Allianz Riviera heyday.
Even if that spell at Dortmund felt like a blot on Favre’s copybook, it should not be forgotten that they ran Bayern Munich oh-so close in the 2019 Bundesliga title race.
Getting the best out of Balotelli is one of Favre’s biggest achievements. But it is far from the only one.
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