Balotelli is Inter's answer to AC's Pato - Milan's Serie A powerhouses Inter and AC now both have teenage talents who have stolen the limelight from their highly paid superstar teammates.
While last Sunday it was AC's Brazilian 18-year-old phenomenon Pato who stole the spotlight with his two goals against Genoa, on Wednesday the hero of the night was Inter's 17-year-old Mario Balotelli, whose two goals helped kick the might Juventus Turin out of the Italian Cup tournament and put his team in the semi-finals.
Balotelli has until now spent most of the season either on the Inter bench or with the junior team, being last in line behind international strikers Adriano, who has returned to his native Brazil, Sweden's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Riccardo Cruz and Hernan Crespo of Argentina and David Suazo of Honduras.
However, the Palermo-born Ghanaian got his big chance thanks to Inter's full schedule of matches between the Serie A, Italian Cup and Champions League, with the Italian Cup considered the least important.
And 'Super Mario' did not let this chance slip away, scoring the opening and closing goals of the 3-2 match and making it clear he intends to be a star of the future.
Inter owner Massimo Moratti was glowing after the match and could not hold back his enthusiasm for his team's new talent.
''Who needs Pato when we have Super Mario?'' Moratti said right after the match.
However, Moratti was later more in line with Inter coach Roberto Mancini's position that rather than sing Balotelli's praises today it was better to first let him mature and grow both technically and emotionally ''Balotelli is a kid who, if he doesn't go astray, could have a great career ahead of him. But we have to be very careful because he is very young and it would be a shame to waste such talent,'' Moratti said on a post-match TV show.
Mancini had observed earlier that Balotelli ''must be left alone, he must forget about what he has done and focus every day on what he needs to do. My advice to him is to keep his head on his shoulders and concentrate on improving day by day''.
Balotelli's talent and also the fact that he was still emotionally young was confirmed by Michele Cavalli, an ex-coach who gave him his official debut in the minor league team Lumezzane when he was only 12.
''I always knew he would have great success and it was his dream to play for a big team. But I have to add that he has a difficult character and this is something which needs to be dealt with,'' Cavalli said. ''He is blessed with great agility and coordination which allows to make moves which other find difficult. But he also has a tendency to pick fights with his teammates and can get a little carried away,'' he explained.
''I'm certainly not in a position to tell Mancini what to do. However, my advice is to leave him free on the pitch. When he feels free, Mario can do truly amazing things,'' Cavalli said.
The main difference between Pato and Balotelli, Cavalli observed, ''is how much they cost. Inter was lucky and sharp enough to find a player at a much lower cost than what AC paid for Pato''.
''Although Mario has many areas where he has room for improvement, I believe both are important players and have what it takes to become the best,''Cavalli added.
While Balotelli was earning praise against Juve, Pato did not shine Wednesday night during AC Milan's 1-0 win in a away makeup match against Reggina.
Pundits gave him less than a passing grade for his performance.
According to Italy's biggest sports daily, La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Brazilian teenager ''shot mostly from outside the penalty area and missed. He changed tactics several times but never really fit into the game and he even blew an easy assist to (Alberto) Gilardino,'' who scored the match's only goal.
