Matteo Bonatti (born 24 May 1981) is a former 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 ...

. Bonatti spent most of his career in Tuscany and fully or half owned by

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 ...

. He also spent 2000–2006 seasons in Italian fourth highest level and from 2006 to December 2009 played at the third highest level.

Biography

Born in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Bonatti started his career at

. Since 2000, he left for various ''

Lega Pro The Serie C () is the third-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie B and Serie A. The Lega Italiana Calcio Professionistico (Lega Pro) is the governing body that runs the Serie C. The unification of the Lega Pro ...

'' clubs on loan and in co-ownership deal before formally ended his contract with Empoli in 2010. Bonatti then signed by ''

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

'' club Rosignano. Bonatti played for Tuscany club

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...

in 2000–01. That window Empoli also signed

Alessandro Diamanti Alessandro Diamanti (; born 2 May 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League club Western United. At club level, he has previously played for Prato, Empoli, Fucecchio, Fiorentina, AlbinoLeffe, West Ham Uni ...

in exchange. In mid-2002, he left for

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

in co-ownership deal. In June 2003, he returned to

and left for another Tuscany club

Carrarese Carrarese Calcio 1908, commonly referred to as Carrarese, is an Italian football club based in Carrara, Tuscany. It currently plays in Serie C, having last been in Serie B in 1948. History The club was founded in 1908. In the season 2010–1 ...

. He was the regular of the team, survived from the relegation "play-out" in May 2004. He partnered with

Davide Mandorlini Davide Mandorlini (born 30 December 1983) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He is the son of football coach and former player Andrea Mandorlini, who played awith Inter in the 1980s. His brother 7atteo is also a footba ...

in the first leg and

Andrea Raggi Andrea Raggi (; born 24 June 1984) is an Italian retired professional footballer who played as a defender. He was a versatile player, being capable of playing both as a centre back and as a right back. Club career Raggi started his footballing ...

in the second leg. In May 2006, he played both legs of the relegation "play-out", partnering Alfonso Caruso. The team survived from relegation. Bonatti returned to Empoli again in June 2006 and left for Massese on loan with option to sign half of the registration rights. He played 26 ''

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 ...

'' games and on 2 July 2007 Massese excised the rights. On 31 January 2008, he was signed by Lucchese. The co-ownership was renewed in June but in July Empoli bought back Bonatti from the bankrupted team. Empoli also signed his team-mate Maikol Benassi. He was loaned to another ''Prima Divisione'' (ex – ''Serie C1'') team

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

, winning the promotion to ''

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie Balkrishna Industries, BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 ...

''. In August 2009 he was signed by Lumezzane. In February 2010 he left for Romanian team

Universitatea Cluj Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (), commonly known as Universitatea Cluj or simply as U Cluj, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I, the first ...

. In June Empoli gave up the remains 50% registration rights to Lumezzane. On 4 September Lumezzane terminated the contract with Bonatti. On the same day he was signed by non-professional team Rosignano. The club located in Rosignano Marittimo, the

Province of Livorno The province of Livorno or, traditionally, province of Leghorn ( it, provincia di Livorno) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. It includes several islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, including Elba and Capraia. Its capital is the city of ...

Honours

* ''

Lega Pro Prima Divisione Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest 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. Before the 1978� ...

'': 2009 * '' Supercoppa di Lega di Prima Divisione'': 2009

References

External links

Football.it Profile
*
LaSerieD.com Profile

calciatori.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonatti, Matteo Italian men's footballers Empoli FC players AC Prato players Calcio Foggia 1920 players Carrarese Calcio players US Massese 1919 players Lucchese 1905 players ASD Città di Gallipoli players FC Lumezzane SSD players FC Universitatea Cluj players Men's association football central defenders Footballers from Livorno 1981 births Living people Italian emigrants to the United States Italian expatriates in the United States