Leonardo Bonucci (; born 1 May 1987) is an Italian professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
and
captains
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
both club
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
and the
Italy national team. Known for his technique and ball-playing ability, he is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation.
After beginning his career with
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...
in 2005, Bonucci spent the next few seasons on loan at
Treviso
Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...
and
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
, before moving to
Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
in 2009. His defensive performances alongside fellow Italian centre-back
Andrea Ranocchia
Andrea Ranocchia (; born 16 February 1988) is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a defender.
Club career Early career
Born in Assisi in the province of Perugia, Ranocchia started his career at Perugia then in Arezzo. Ranocch ...
earned him a move to
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
the following season, where he later became a key member of the club's three-man defensive line, alongside
Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini (; born 14 August 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, Chiellini is known for his strengt ...
and
Andrea Barzagli
Andrea Barzagli (; born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
A four-time member of the Serie A Team of the Year, Barzagli is regarded as one of the best and most consistent defenders in Italian fo ...
, establishing himself as one of the best defenders in world football. Among other titles, he went on to win six consecutive
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
titles with the team between 2012 and 2017, having also played two
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
finals in
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
and
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
. In 2017, he moved to
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...
, and one season later returned to Juventus, winning two more consecutive league titles.
At the international level, Bonucci has earned 120 caps since his senior debut in 2010, representing Italy at two
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
s (
2010
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and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
), three
European Championships
The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...
, (
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
,
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
, and
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
), and a
FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
(
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
); he won Euro 2020 and earned a runners-up medal at Euro 2012 and a third-place medal at the 2013 Confederations Cup.
Bonucci has also won several individual honours for his performances: he was named to the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
Squad of the season during the
2013–14 and
2017–18 seasons, and is a four-time member of the
Serie A Team of the Year
The AIC Serie A Team of the Year (in Italian: ''Squadra dell’anno AIC'') is an annual award given to a set of eleven footballers in the top tier of Italian football, the Serie A, who are considered to have performed the best during the previous c ...
. He was named the
Serie A Footballer of the Year
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
in 2016, and was also included in the
UEFA Team of the Year
The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...
in the
same season. In
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, he was also included in the
FIFA FIFPro World11 and the
IFFHS Men's World Team, as well as the
2016–17 UEFA Champions League Team of the Season and the
2016–17 ESM Team of the Year
The European Sports Media (ESM), formerly European Sports Magazines, is an association of football-related publications in Europe.
Members
European Sports Media was established in 1989 as an international body for football journalism. Its nine fo ...
.
Club career
Inter Milan
Bonucci started his career in the youth ranks of his hometown club
Viterbese but was loaned to
Inter Milan
Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...
in the summer of 2005. He played a number of pre-season friendlies for the Inter first team. He then became a member of the Inter
U20 team.
On 14 May 2006, Bonucci made his
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
debut in the last match of the
2005–06 season, in a 2–2 away draw against
Cagliari
Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
, which was Inter's 3,500th competitive match. On 7 July 2006, Inter bought Bonucci outright.
He played his first
Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
match against
Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
on 9 November 2006 when he
came off the bench for Fabio Grosso
Fabio Grosso (; born 28 November 1977) is an Italian former professional footballer and current manager of Frosinone Calcio.
After playing for several smaller Italian clubs, such as Renato Curi, Chieti and Perugia, he made his breakthrough dur ...
in the 86th minute. Bonucci featured in two more Coppa Italia games for Inter that season when he was brought on for the substituted
Walter Samuel
Walter Adrián Samuel (; born Walter Adrián Luján; 23 March 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer. Samuel has been regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation, and as one of football's toughest defenders, with f ...
at half-time during the quarter final second leg match against
Empoli
Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The comm ...
, and as a starter in the semi final second leg tie against
Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
.
In January 2007, Inter sold 50% of Bonucci's registration rights to
Treviso
Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...
, along with 50% of the registration rights for fellow Primavera team-mate
Daniel Maa Boumsong
Daniel Maa Boumsong (born 20 March 1987) is a Cameroonian former footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career
Inter Milan
Born in Ngambe, Maa Boumsong joined Internazionale in 2005, age 18. He arrived Italy for 2004 Torneo di Viareggio and es ...
. At that time Bonucci was tagged for a peppercorn fee of €500. Bonucci subsequently remained at Inter until 30 June 2007 while Maa Boumsong returned from Treviso where he spent the first half of the season on loan. During Bonucci's last season with the Inter's youth side, he won the
Campionato Nazionale Primavera
The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in th ...
(the national youth league title).
Treviso and Pisa
On 1 July 2007, Bonucci and Maa Boumsong formally became players of Treviso after their loan contract back to Inter had expired, as well as the renewal of the co-ownerships in June 2007. At Treviso, Bonucci made 20 starts in 27 Serie B appearances as one of the regular starters.
In June 2008, among the other Inter youth products, Bonucci was the only player that was bought back from Treviso. However, he was loaned back to Treviso for the 2008–09 season. According to a Treviso filing named ''Tabella N°5 – circolare Co.Vi.So.C. prot. N°4051.4/GC/pc del 11 maggio 2005'' in their 2007–08 financial report, Bonucci was sold for a €700,000 fee.
Bonucci played 13 Serie B matches for Treviso before leaving for another Serie B struggler
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
on loan.
Bari
On 8 June 2009, Bonucci underwent a medical examination at
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
. On 1 July, Inter officially announced that Bonucci,
along with
Acquafresca,
Bolzoni[ and Meggiorini][ had been transferred to Genoa, as part of the deal that sent ]Diego Milito
Diego Alberto Milito (born 12 June 1979) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently a sports manager.
Milito began his club career in Argentina with Racing Club in 1999, and later moved to Italian ...
[ and ]Thiago Motta
Thiago Motta (; ; born 28 August 1982) is a professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of club Bologna.
A midfielder, Motta spent his early career at Barcelona, where he was injury-prone. He played two and ...
[ to Inter. Moreover, ]Ivan Fatić
Ivan Fatić (, ; born 21 August 1988) is a Montenegrin retired football player who played as a defender or midfielder. He Is manager in youth categories of Rudar Pljevlja.
Club career Italy
Fatić was signed by Italian Serie A side Internazion ...
who was co-contracted ("co-owned") between Chievo and Inter, became co-contracted between Chievo and Genoa instead, according to a news article by ''La Gazzetta dello Sport
''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018).
History and profile
''La ...
''. Bonucci was valued at €3 million at that time.
On 2 July, he was transferred to Bari
Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...
from Genoa, on a co-ownership deal, for €1.75 million,[ along with Meggiorini (also on a co-ownership deal), ]Matteo Paro
Matteo Paro (born 17 March 1983) is an Italian former footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career
Juventus
Paro made his Serie A debut on 17 May 2003, in a 2–1 loss to Reggina.
Chievo
In the summer of 2003, Juventus sold half of Paro's con ...
(on loan), Andrea Ranocchia
Andrea Ranocchia (; born 16 February 1988) is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a defender.
Club career Early career
Born in Assisi in the province of Perugia, Ranocchia started his career at Perugia then in Arezzo. Ranocch ...
(on loan) and Giuseppe Greco
Giuseppe Greco (; 4 January 1952 – September 1985) was a hitman and high-ranking member of the Sicilian Mafia. A number of sources refer to him exclusively as Pino Greco, although Giuseppe was his Christian name; "Pino" is a frequent abbr ...
(on loan).
At Bari he became a first team player in central defence under head coach Gian Piero Ventura
Gian Piero Ventura (; born 14 January 1948) is an Italian football manager.
His playing career as a midfielder was spent in the lower leagues, having not made the grade at Sampdoria, where he began his coaching career with the youth team in 1 ...
, showing a composed yet strong and effective defensive playing style. He formed an extremely strong defensive partnership with Andrea Ranocchia which was so effective that, as of the midway point in the 2009–10 season, Bari had the second best defensive record in Serie A. The strong partnership ended after Ranocchia got injured half-way through the season and was ruled out for the remaining fixtures.
Juventus
On 1 July 2010, Bonucci was signed by Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
on a four-year contract for a total of €15.5 million fee from Bari; Bari bought Bonucci from Genoa outright for €8 million. However, Genoa and Bari used part of the transfer receivable
Accounts receivable, abbreviated as AR or A/R, are legally enforceable claims for payment held by a business for goods supplied or services rendered that customers have ordered but not paid for. These are generally in the form of invoices raised b ...
s to sign the remaining 50% registration rights of Domenico Criscito
Domenico "Mimmo" Criscito (; born 30 December 1986) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a left-back. He is set to join club Genoa on 2 January 2023. A versatile player, Criscito is effective both offensively and defensively and is ...
and 50% of the registration rights of Sergio Bernardo Almirón
Sergio Bernardo Almirón (born 7 November 1980) is an Argentine former footballer who used to play as a central midfielder known for his passing and powerful shots.
He is currently a non-playing staff member at Lega Pro club Akragas.
Club ca ...
from Juventus. Bonucci was assigned the shirt number 19.
Partnered with Italy teammate Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini (; born 14 August 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, Chiellini is known for his strengt ...
in defence, Bonucci was immediately drafted into the starting line-up for the first matches of the season making his competitive debut at Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...
in the Europa League and scoring his first goal for Juventus in the Europa League play-off match against Sturm Graz
Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian association football club, based in Graz, Styria, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white.
In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austrian f ...
.
The following season, due to the presence of veteran of Andrea Barzagli
Andrea Barzagli (; born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
A four-time member of the Serie A Team of the Year, Barzagli is regarded as one of the best and most consistent defenders in Italian fo ...
, it was expected that Bonucci would compete with him for a starting place alongside Chiellini in a four-man defence, as the club's new manager Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later b ...
was known for his preference for the 4–2–4 formation, a variant upon the 4–4–2 formation. However, after experimenting with several tactical systems, Conte eventually decided to play all three players in a three-man defence aided by wingbacks in a 3–5–2 formation, and Bonucci established himself once again in the starting eleven alongside Chiellini and Barzagli. Due to their performances together, the three-man defence earned the nickname ''BBC'', a reference to the players' initials. Soon, the trio established themselves as one of the best defences in world football during the following seasons. On 2 April 2012 Juventus announced that he had signed a new 5-year contract effective on 1 July 2012. Bonucci won his first major title, the 2011–12 ''Scudetto
The ''scudetto'' (Italian language, Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in ...
'', and contributed two goals as Juventus finished the season undefeated and with one of the best defensive records in the top five European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
leagues. His good form that season earned him a place in the final UEFA Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
squad.
Bonucci began the season by winning the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana with Juventus. He made his Champions League debut against Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
in the group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...
and scored his first goal in the competition against Shaktar Donetsk in October 2012 in a 1–1 draw. In December 2012 Bonucci was criticized for diving in a league game against Palermo on which was described by a number of journalists as "the worst dive ever". He was booked by the referee during the game and subsequently given a one-match ban and a €2000 fine by the authorities. Juventus finished the season by winning the 2012–13 Serie A
The 2012–13 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 111th season of top-tier Italian football, the 81st in a round-robin tournament, and the 3rd since its organization under a league committee separate from Serie B. ...
title.
The following season, Bonucci would help Juventus to defend the Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...
and the Serie A title, although Juventus would suffer a group-stage elimination in the UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
. Nevertheless, he helped Juventus to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
, scoring a decisive goal against Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
in the quarter-finals.
During the 2014–15 season, Bonucci made his 200th appearance with Juventus on 25 January 2015, in a 2–0 win over Chievo
Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige.
It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...
. On 6 June 2015, Bonucci started for Juventus in the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final, but were defeated 3–1 by Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
at Berlin's Olympiastadion
Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to:
* Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'')
* Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...
. With 52 appearances, he made the most appearances for Juventus that season across all competitions, along with team-mates Claudio Marchisio
Claudio Marchisio (; born 19 January 1986) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
A product of the Juventus youth system, he spent a large portion of his career at his hometown club, with the exception of a sea ...
and Roberto Pereyra
Roberto Maximiliano Pereyra (; born 7 January 1991) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Udinese. A versatile player, he is capable of playing a variety of positions such as left or right wing, central ...
. On 24 November 2015, Bonucci was nominated for the 2015 UEFA Team of the Year. On 2 March 2016, he captained Juventus in the absence of Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
and Chiellini, scoring the decisive penalty in the resulting shoot-out of the second leg of the Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
semi-finals against Inter, at the San Siro
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums in ...
, following a 3–3 draw on aggregate, which allowed Juventus to progress to the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
; however, due to the yellow card he received during the match, and having already been booked prior to the fixture, he missed the victorious final against Milan, which saw Juventus capture a domestic double for the second consecutive season, including a record fifth consecutive league title.
During the beginning of the 2016–17 season, Bonucci dedicated time to his ill son Matteo, missing select matches with Juventus and the national team. On 27 November, Bonucci suffered a severe thigh strain in an eventual 3–1 away loss to Genoa, sidelining him for up to 60 days. On 19 December, Bonucci penned a new deal with Juventus, keeping him at the club until 2021. On 5 January 2017, Bonucci was named to the 2016 UEFA Team of the Year. On 30 January, Bonucci was named to the 2015–16 Serie A Team of the Year, and was also named the 2016 Serie A Footballer of the Year
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
. Bonucci made his 300th Juventus appearance in a 4–1 home win over Palermo on 17 February; however, after Palermo scored a late goal, Bonucci had an argument on the touchline with coach Massimiliano Allegri
Massimiliano Allegri (; born 11 August 1967), also known as Max Allegri, is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Juventus.
During his playing career, Allegri played in the Serie A as a midfielder ...
, causing the club to fine and omit him from the squad for the first Champions League round of 16 leg with Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
on 22 February. On 17 May, Bonucci scored the last goal of a 2–0 win in the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
of the 2016–17 Coppa Italia over Lazio
it, Laziale
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. On 3 June, Bonucci started in his second Champions League Final in three years, but Juventus were defeated 4–1 by defending champions Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid.
Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
. On 5 June, he was subsequently named to the UEFA Champions League squad of the season.
AC Milan
On 14 July 2017, Bonucci was signed by AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seasons ...
on a five-year contract for a €42 million fee. On 4 August 2017, Bonucci was named one of the three finalists for the Defender of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League season award. Milan's manager Vincenzo Montella
Vincenzo Montella (; born 18 June 1974) is an Italian retired footballer and current manager, who played as a striker. He is current manager of Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor.
Montella's nickname during his playing career was "Aeroplanino", i ...
subsequently named Bonucci as the team's new captain later that month. On 23 October, he was named to the 2017 FIFA FIFPro World11. Although much was expected of Bonucci and Milan, the first half of the 2017–18 season was disappointing both for him and the club, and he drew criticism in the media over the quality of his performances. He scored his first goal for Milan on 6 January 2018, in a 1–0 home win over Crotone
Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...
. On 31 March, Bonucci scored the equalising goal against his former team away to Juventus, breaking goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's record of longest consecutive minutes not conceded in an eventual 3–1 defeat.
Return to Juventus
On 2 August 2018, Bonucci returned to Juventus as part of a swap deal with Milan involving Mattia Caldara
Mattia Caldara (; born 5 May 1994) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for club Spezia, on loan from AC Milan. He has represented the Italy national team.
Club career Atalanta 2013–14 season
Born in Bergamo, ...
; both Bonucci and Caldara were tagged for €35 million transfer fee. He signed a five-year contract until 30 June 2023. Bonucci made his return for Juventus in their opening Serie A match on 18 August, a 3–2 away win over Chievo
Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige.
It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...
, contributing to Juventus's temporary equaliser, an own goal by Mattia Bani. On 29 September 2018, Bonucci scored his first goal for Juventus since his return from Milan, the final goal of a 3–1 home win over Napoli
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. On 2 October, he made his 50th Champions League appearance in a 3–0 home win over Young Boys.
On 2 April 2019, Bonucci marked his 250th Serie A appearance with Juventus by scoring the opening goal in a 2–0 away win against Cagliari. However, following the match, he was heavily criticised by several prominent figures after stating that teammate Moise Kean
Bioty Moise Kean (, ; born 28 February 2000) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Serie A club Juventus F.C., Juventus and the Italy national football team, Italy ...
was partly to blame for the racial abuse he suffered from the crowd; England international Raheem Sterling
Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for club Chelsea. Born in Jamaica, he represents the England national team.
Born in Jamaica to Jamaican parents, St ...
deemed the comments 'laughable', while compatriot Mario Balotelli
Mario Balotelli Barwuah (; ''né'' Barwuah; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Sion.
Balotelli started his professional football career in 2005 at Lumezzane, before ...
, English singer Stormzy
Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of f ...
, and former Juventus player Paul Pogba
Paul Labile Pogba (born 15 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays for club Juventus and the France national team. He operates primarily as a central midfielder, but can be deployed as a left winger, attacking midfielder, de ...
also criticised Bonucci's comments. Bonucci implied that Kean's goal celebration caused further jeers, stating to Sky Sport Italia
Sky Sport is a group of nine sports satellite TV channels in the Italian language produced and broadcast by Sky Italia.
Channels
The channel "Roma TV" is also included in the Sky Sport package.
Sky Sport 24
Sky Sport 24 is a sports all-news ...
: "Kean knows that when he scores a goal, he has to focus on celebrating with his teammates. He knows he could've done something differently too. There were racist jeers after the goal, Blaise heard it and was angered. I think the blame is 50–50, because Moise shouldn't have done that and the Curva should not have reacted that way. We are professionals, we have to set the example and not provoke anyone." Later, he made a post on Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
which read "Regardless of everything, in any case... no to racism." In response to the criticism, the following day, Bonucci posted on Instagram: "After 24 hours I want to clarify my feelings. Yesterday I was interviewed right at the end of the game, and my words have been clearly misunderstood, probably because I was too hasty in the way I expressed my thoughts. Hours and years wouldn't be enough to talk about this topic. I firmly condemn all forms of racism and discrimination. The abuses are not acceptable at all and this must not be misunderstood."
After Chiellini suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury
An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...
at the beginning of the 2019–20 season, Bonucci captained Juventus in his absence. In November 2019, he signed a new contract with the club, running until 2024.
On 20 September 2020, Bonucci scored in Juventus's opening match of the 2020–21 season, a 3–0 home win over Sampdoria in Serie A. On 20 November 2021, Bonucci scored his first brace in his career in a 2–0 win against Lazio
it, Laziale
, population_note =
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, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
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through two penalties
Penalty or The Penalty may refer to:
Sports
* Penalty (golf)
* Penalty (gridiron football)
* Penalty (ice hockey)
* Penalty (rugby)
* Penalty (rugby union)
* Penalty kick (association football)
* Penalty shoot-out (association football)
* Penalty ...
.
International career
At youth level, Bonucci played for the Italy national under-21 football B team
Italy national under-21 football B team is the Italy national football team that represents Serie B at competitions and is controlled by the Lega B. Due to sponsorship reasons, the team was credited as Under-21 Serie B TIM until 2010.
They are t ...
. He was called-up for a friendlies against Renate on 6 November 2007, and against the Under-20 Serie C representative team on 4 December 2007. He was also capped for the team in an internal friendly, which split the Under-21 Serie B team into two on 9 October 2007, on 21 October 2008, on 25 November, and on 24 March 2009, as team captain.
He also received a call-up from the Italy U20 team on 31 May 2007. He was an unused substitute in the 0–1 loss to the Serie D Best XI.
2010-2014: Early senior career
Bonucci made his debut with the Italy senior team on 3 March 2010, under manager Marcello Lippi, in a friendly match against Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
played in Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, which ended in a 0–0 draw,[ and became one of the few debutants to have never played an official match for the national youth teams. He was included by manager Marcello Lippi in the starting line-up along with national team regulars ]Fabio Cannavaro
Fabio Cannavaro (; born 13 September 1973) is an Italian professional football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of club Benevento.
A centre-back, he spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at Napo ...
and Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini (; born 14 August 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, Chiellini is known for his strengt ...
, forming a three-man defensive line in Lippi's 3–4–3 formation.
Due to his performances during the 2009–10 season, Bonucci was included in the Italy squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. He scored his first international goal on 3 June 2010, in a 1–2 friendly loss against Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, in a pre-tournament friendly match in Brussels. In the World Cup, he appeared as an unused substitute for all three of Italy's matches, as they suffered a first-round elimination, failing to win a match.
After the World Cup, under new manager Cesare Prandelli
Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian football coach and former player. He was most recently head coach of Fiorentina.
Career Player
Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first game ...
, Bonucci took advantage of the international retirement of Cannavaro and broke into the starting line-up beside Juventus teammate Chiellini. He ended a fine 2011–12 season by earning a place in the final 23-man Italy squad for UEFA Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
, helping Italy to reach the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
of the tournament, where they were defeated 4–0 by defending champions Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. He started in all but one match as Italy reached the finals.
In the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup
The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourna ...
, he missed his spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out against Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in the semi-finals
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
, shooting high over the bar as Italy went out of the competition losing 7–6 on penalties; Italy would win the bronze medal match over Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
4–3 on penalties, after a 2–2 draw following extra-time, allowing them to capture third place.
Bonucci was selected by Cesare Prandelli to be part of the Italy squad that would take part at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
in Brazil. Although he once again remained an unused substitute for the first two games, he made his World Cup debut on 24 June 2014, in a 0–1 loss to Uruguay; as a result, Italy was eliminated in the first round of the competition for a second consecutive time.
2014–2018: Euro 2016 and failed 2018 World Cup qualification
On 4 September 2014, under new Italy manager Antonio Conte
Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later b ...
, Bonucci wore the captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
's armband for Italy for the first time, following Daniele De Rossi
Daniele De Rossi (; born 24 July 1983) is a former Italian professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and is currently manager of side SPAL. He is mostly known for his time playing with his hometown club Roma in Serie A, as ...
's substitution in a 2–0 friendly win over the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
On 31 May 2016, Bonucci was named to Conte's 23-man Italy squad for UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...
. On 13 June he set up Emanuele Giaccherini
Emanuele Giaccherini (; born 5 May 1985) is an Italian former professional association football, footballer who played as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder.
He began his career at A.C. Cesena, Cesena, and after loans at t ...
's goal, Italy's first of the match, with a long ball in a 2–0 win over Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in the opening group match of Euro 2016; he was later booked for a tactical foul. After helping Italy to another clean-sheet in a 1–0 victory in the second group match against Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
on 17 June, Bonucci was once again praised for his defensive performances alongside Chiellini and Barzagli. On 22 June, he captained Italy in Buffon's absence in his nation's final group match, a 1–0 defeat to Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. On 27 June he produced a ''Man of the Match'' performance in the round of 16 of the tournament as he helped Italy to keep a third clean sheet and defeat defending champions Spain 2–0. In the quarter-final fixture against Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
on 2 July, he scored Italy's equalising goal from a penalty, although his spot-kick was saved by Manuel Neuer
Manuel Peter Neuer (; born 27 March 1986) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper and captains both club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the ...
in the resulting shoot-out, as the reigning World Cup champions advanced to the semi-finals following a 6–5 shoot-out victory.
In the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Italy finished in second place in Group G behind Spain and advanced to the play-off
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
against Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...
after a 1–0 aggregate loss to the Scandinavians.
2019–2022: Euro 2020 victory and failed 2022 World Cup qualification
On 12 October 2019, Bonucci made his 92nd international appearance, under manager Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team.
As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Samp ...
, in a 2–0 home win over Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, and overtook Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...
as the tenth-most capped player in the history of the Italian national team; the victory sealed Italy's qualification
Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to:
* Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
for Euro 2020
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
. He made his 94th appearance for Italy on 15 November, in a 3–0 away win over Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
, in a Euro 2020 qualifier, equalling Giacinto Facchetti
Giacinto Facchetti (; 18 July 1942 – 4 September 2006) was an Italian footballer who played as a left-back for Inter Milan from 1960 to 1978. He later served as Inter chairman from January 2004 until his death in 2006. He played 634 official ga ...
as the ninth most-capped Italian player of all time.
On 11 October 2020, Bonucci made his 98th international appearance in a 0–0 away draw against Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
in the UEFA Nations League
The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.
The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...
, equalling Gianluca Zambrotta as the eight–most capped player of all–time for the Italian national team. On 25 March 2021, Bonucci made his 100th appearance for Italy in a 2–0 home win over Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, in the team's first 2022 World Cup qualifying match.
In June 2021, Bonucci was included in Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2020
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
. During the tournament, he served as a temporary captain for Italy following an injury to Giorgio Chiellini in the first round. On 6 July, following a 1–1 draw after extra-time against Spain in the semi-final of the competition, he scored Italy's third spot-kick in an eventual 4–2 penalty shoot-out victory, to send Italy to the final. On 11 July, Bonucci won the European Championship with Italy following a 3–2 victory over England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
in a penalty shoot-out
The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
after a 1–1 draw in extra-time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...
. Bonucci scored Italy's only goal of the game in the 67th minute to tie the match, and later converted Italy's third penalty in the shoot-out; his goal during regulation time made him the oldest player ever to score in a European Championship final, at the age of 34 years and 71 days. For his performance during the final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
, he was named ''Star of the Match'' by UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
. For his performances throughout the competition, he was later also named to the team of the tournament.
2022–present: Captaincy
In September 2022 he took over as captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
after Chiellini's international retirement.
Style of play
A former midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
who is usually deployed as ball-playing centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
in a three-man defence (although he is also capable of playing in a four-man defence, both in the centre or out wide), Bonucci is primarily known for his technique, passing range, and his ability to launch an attack from the back with long passes. Although he is not the quickest player over short distances, he is a tall, mobile, and strong defender, with a good positional sense, as well as good anticipation, solid tackling, and an ability to read the game and mark opponents, on top of his ball skills; he also excels in the air, and frequently poses a goal threat from set pieces.
Despite having been considered to be a talented and promising young defender, he was also criticised by certain pundits for being inconsistent and prone to errors or lapses in concentration in his youth, which were dubbed "Bonucciate" in the Italian media; in 2021, the neologism ''bonucciata'' was even included in the Italian encyclopedia ''Treccani
The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' (Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language en ...
.'' However, he showed notable improvements during the 2014–15 season, and established himself as one of the best defenders in world football, also drawing praise from manager Pep Guardiola
Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (; born 18 January 1971) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of club Manchester City. He is considered one of the greatest managers of all time and holds the re ...
, who described Bonucci as one of his "favourite ever players".
In 2016, Mario Sconcerti of '' Il Corriere della Sera'' ranked Bonucci among the greatest Italian defenders of all time. His unique playing style has led Giovanni Galli to compare him to former sweeper Gaetano Scirea
Gaetano Scirea (; 25 May 1953 – 3 September 1989) was an Italian professional footballer who is considered one of the greatest defenders of his generation and one of the greatest defenders of all time. He spent most of his career with Juventus ...
. In 2012, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' named him the 88th Best Player in the World and in 2016, he was named the 26th Best Player in the World. In 2016, his defensive attributes, as well as his skill on the ball, vision, and accurate passing, moved ''La Repubblica
''la Repubblica'' (; the Republic) is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnoldo ...
'' to dub him as “Beckenbonucci”, a reference to former German sweeper Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
.
In addition to his defensive, playmaking and technical skills, Bonucci has also been praised for his leadership and ability to organise his back-line. In 2017, he was ranked by some as the best defender in the world. With Andrea Barzagli
Andrea Barzagli (; born 8 May 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
A four-time member of the Serie A Team of the Year, Barzagli is regarded as one of the best and most consistent defenders in Italian fo ...
's retirement, the subsequent Bonucci- Chiellini axis was considered, in terms of longevity and performance at high levels, one of the most solid and complementary in international football, as well as being compared to duets from the past such as Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer (, ; born 11 September 1945) is a German former professional footballer and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed ''Der Kaiser'' ("The Emperor") because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the fi ...
- Schwarzenbeck, Scirea-Gentile
Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
or Baresi- Costacurta.
Personal life
On 18 June 2011, Bonucci married Martina Maccari (b. 19 November 1985), a former model and blogger, whom he first met in 2008 through a mutual friend. They have two sons, Lorenzo (b. July 2012) and Matteo (b. May 2014), and one daughter, Matilda (b. February 2019). Although Bonucci played for Juventus for several seasons, his eldest son, Lorenzo, supports Juventus's cross-city rivals, Torino
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...
. In July 2016, Bonucci's youngest son, Matteo underwent emergency surgery following the onset of an acute illness. In a 2017 interview with ''El País
''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.
It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...
'', Bonucci revealed that his son's illness had even led him to think about quitting football, commenting:
Bonucci's older brother, Riccardo (b. November 1982), was also a footballer who once played as a central defender in Serie C1
Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football (soccer), football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1 ...
with Viterbese. Their father owns a paint shop in Viterbo
Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo.
It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...
.
In May 2012, during the 2011–12 Italian football scandal investigations, Bonucci, along with Juventus teammate Simone Pepe
Simone Pepe (; born 30 August 1983) is an Italian former footballer who played as a winger, on either side of the pitch.
After starting out at Roma, he went on to compete in Serie A for 12 seasons, spending most of his time at Udinese and Juven ...
and manager Antonio Conte, as well as many other players, were accused of match-fixing; Bonucci was accused of helping to fix the result of a 3–3 draw against Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a fo ...
in May 2010, during his time with Bari, and faced a potential three-and-a-half year ban if found guilty. Bonucci denied any wrongdoing, however, and both he and Pepe were later acquitted in August later that year.
In October 2012, Bonucci and his wife and then five-month-old son were confronted by an armed robber who demanded the defender hand over his watch. As the robber reached out to take the watch, Bonucci reportedly punched him and chased him down the street. The robber escaped with his accomplice on a motorbike.
Bonucci is an anti-bullying activist. In December 2017, he made a cameo appearance
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...
in the music video for "Buona fortuna" by Benji & Fede, whose storyline deals with bullying. In October 2019, together with the journalist and editor Francesco Ceniti, he co-wrote and released a book "Il mio amico Leo" (My friend Leo), partially inspired by his own experiences and designed to provide support to bullying victims.
Career statistics
Club
International
[
:''Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bonucci goal''.
]
Honours
Inter Milan[
* ]Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
: 2005–06
* Campionato Nazionale Primavera
The Campionato Nazionale Primavera – Trofeo Giacinto Facchetti, was an Italian football youth competition. It is organised by the Lega Serie A and the participating teams that take part in Serie A and Serie B: the first edition was held in th ...
: 2007
* Coppa Italia Primavera
The Coppa Italia Primavera (Italian for Spring Italian Cup) is an Italian football competition played by youth teams from Campionato Primavera. All players are under 20 of age. The first edition was held in the 1972–73 season.
Due to sponsorshi ...
: 2006
Juventus[
* Serie A: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20
* ]Coppa Italia
The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since.
History
The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
* Supercoppa Italiana
The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles in the previous seaso ...
: 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, 2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, 2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
* UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
runner-up: 2014–15, 2016–17
Italy[
* ]UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
: 2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
; runner-up: 2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
* FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
third place: 2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
*UEFA Nations League
The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.
The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...
third place: 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
Individual
* FIFA FIFPro World11: 2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, 2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
* Serie A Team of the Year
The AIC Serie A Team of the Year (in Italian: ''Squadra dell’anno AIC'') is an annual award given to a set of eleven footballers in the top tier of Italian football, the Serie A, who are considered to have performed the best during the previous c ...
: 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2019–20
* Serie A Footballer of the Year
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used in ...
: 2015–16
* UEFA Team of the Year
The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...
: 2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
* UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
Squad of the Season: 2013–14, 2017–18
* UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
Team of the Season: 2016–17
* ESM Team of the Year
The European Sports Media (ESM), formerly European Sports Magazines, is an association of football-related publications in Europe.
Members
European Sports Media was established in 1989 as an international body for football journalism. Its nine fo ...
: 2016–17
* L'Équipe
''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...
Team of the Year: 2016
* IFFHS Men's World Team: 2017, 2021
* IFFHS UEFA Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
* IFFHS
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...
Men's UEFA Team of the Year: 2021
* UEFA Euro Final Man of the Match: 2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
* UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament At the end of each UEFA European Championship tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game.
Awards
There are currently five post-tournament awards, and o ...
: 2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
* Globe Soccer Awards Best Defender of the Year: 2021
Orders
:* 5th Class / Knight: '' Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana'': 2021
See also
* List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
In men's association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official match appearance for their national team. In total, over 600 players have played in 100 or more international matches. The re ...
References
External links
Inter Archive
*
*
Profile at LegaSerieA.it
Profile at Italia1910.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonucci, Leonardo
1987 births
Living people
People from Viterbo
Italian footballers
Italy international footballers
Association football defenders
Inter Milan players
A.C.D. Treviso players
Pisa S.C. players
S.S.C. Bari players
Juventus F.C. players
A.C. Milan players
Serie A players
Serie B players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2012 players
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2016 players
UEFA Euro 2020 players
FIFA Century Club
UEFA European Championship-winning players
Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Footballers from Lazio
Sportspeople from the Province of Viterbo