The mother of Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has been discussing his heroics at the Euros.

There were emotional scenes in Warsaw on Thursday when Balotelli rushed to the touchline and was hugged by his adoptive mother in the stands after scoring a brace.

"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," Silvia told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"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."

The player born to Ghanaian parents was adopted by his family in Brescia at the age of two and father Franco has pledged to be in Kiev for the Final tomorrow.

"It's very difficult to see Mario cry. The last time was perhaps because of Jose Mourinho," continued 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 Mum, but at that moment he was too happy. 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."