Mario Balotelli is standing in front of his opponents' goal after being put through by a teammate. He is unmarked and in a perfect position to score. Any other professional striker would swing their boot at it with one thing in mind. Balotelli is not just any other professional striker, though.
He pivots and tries to connect with a backheel in a clear case of showboating gone wrong, as the ball trickles wide. Edin Dzeko looks on in disbelief while Roberto Mancini summons James Milner to warm up and hauls the arguing Balotelli to the sidelines.
Balotelli, in his short career, has had a mountain of episodes like this. It seemed at one stage as if he would forever be the man who had all the ability and chances, but ultimately lacked the capacity to not do stupid things both when his teammates needed him and when the eyes of the public were watching.
Ultimately, his time in Manchester came to an unceremonious end in the summer of 2013 after just 54 appearances with the club (although his 20 goals was a decent haul to go along with the poor performance record). He moved to A.C Milan amidst a season of change at the San Siro but was one of their most consistent performers during a season that saw two managers stumble towards the finish line as Juventus cruised to a league title that didn't involve A.C Milan for the majority of it.
There were tears following a 3-1 defeat to Napoli during last year's campaign. There were rumors that the Italian striker had broken down due to racist abuse from the stands, or perhaps it was due to becoming a father to a daughter he did not think he was the father of. Whatever the reason, Milan's then coach, Clarence Seedorf, defended his striker while hinting that it was the sign of a maturation process Balotelli was going through.
Since then, and for the entire season in Milan, he has remained relatively anonymus with his antics on and off the field. That sound - the sound of silence coming from the Italian training camp at the World Cup - is soothing. For now, it appears, Balotelli would rather do his talking on the field. The soothing sound of silence infers that all is well in the Italian Camp and Balotelli is focused.
The maturation process that young adults go through is a lot more difficult when that process is happening under a microscope tinted by a reputation that was shaped by a young man who didn't know any better. What we are witnessing during this World Cup is Balotelli making his way towards becoming one of the best strikers in the world.
By the time an athlete reaches 26 years of age, the most significant improvements in ability have already happened and the transformation from good to great, if it is ever going to happen, has already occured. There may be slight improvements after this age but the learning you do from ages 21 to 26 is the most noticeable.
Balotelli has all the attributes to be world class but lacked the mental approach that he now appears to be gaining. He will always be an emotional striker but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Cristiano Ronaldo plays with an emotional edge to his game, Luis Suarez plays with his heart on his sleeve, and Carlos Tevez certainly draws on past tension in his life to become a better player whilst slaying opponents. Love them or hate them, they are some of the best players that the world currently has to offer.
With Italy poised to make a decent run at the World Cup and with a solid defensive foundation and the glorious Andrea Pirlo in the middle of the field acting as a one man heat-seeking passing machine, Mario Balotelli will be there or thereabouts when the goals are being totalled and the Golden Boot award is being handed out.
Balotelli, a man who for so long gave us the wrong kind of headlines, is quickly becoming a source of good news.