Bonucci Leonardo
Leonardo Bonucci is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for the Italy national team. He is currently vice-captain for both Juventus and Italy national team behind Giorgio Chiellini. After beginning his career with Internazionale in 2005, Bonucci spent the next few seasons on loan at Treviso and Pisa, before moving to Bari in 2009. His technique, ball-playing ability and defensive performances alongside fellow Italian centre-back Andrea Ranocchia earned him a move to Juventus the following season, where he later became a key member of the club’s three-man defensive line, alongside Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli, establishing himself as one of the best defenders in world football. He went on to win six consecutive Serie A titles with the team between 2012 and 2017. In 2017, he moved to Milan, and one season later returned to Juventus. At international level, Bonucci has represented Italy at two FIFA World Cups (2010 and 2014), two European Championships (2012 and 2016), and a FIFA Confederations Cup (2013), winning a runners-up medal at Euro 2012, and a third-place medal at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Bonucci has also won several individual honours for his performances: he was named to the UEFA Europa League Squad of the season during the 2013–14 and 2017–18 seasons, and is a three-time member of the Serie A Team of the Year. He was named the Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2016, and was also included in the UEFA Team of the Year in the same season. In 2017, he was also included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI 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.
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This shirt was worn by Leonardo Bonucci during the Serie A game between Udinese and Juventus which took place in Udine, “Dacia Arena” Stadium, on October 6th 2018. Juventus defeated Udinese 2-0. On 2 August 2018, Bonucci returned to Juventus as part of a swap deal with A.C. Milan involving Mattia Caldara; 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, 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. 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 was partly to blame for the racial abuse he suffered from the crowd; England international Raheem Sterling deemed the comments ‘laughable’, while compatriot Mario Balotelli, English singer Stormzy, and former Juventus player Paul Pogba also criticised Bonucci’s comments. Bonucci implied that Kean’s goal celebration caused further jeers, stating to Sky Sport Italia: “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 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 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.
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Since few seasons now Leonardo Bonucci is usual to play with a special extra patch ironed inside the shirts he wears. It is a special patch released by the Italian charity onlus “Live Onlus” which the player is testimonial of. The extra patch has match details printed on together with the “Live Onlus” logo and the “Leonardo Bonucci 19” printing. This special patch is only ironed on the two shirts that Bonucci wears in each game meaning that only authentic match worn shirts have it.
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At youth level, Bonucci played for the Italy national under-21 football B team. 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. Bonucci made his debut with the Italy senior team on 3 March 2010, under manager Marcello Lippi, in a friendly match against Cameroon played in Monaco, 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 and Giorgio Chiellini, forming a three-man defensive line in Lippi’s 3–4–3 formation. At youth level, Bonucci played for the Italy national under-21 football B team. 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. Bonucci made his debut with the Italy senior team on 3 March 2010, under manager Marcello Lippi, in a friendly match against Cameroon played in Monaco, 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 and Giorgio Chiellini, forming a three-man defensive line in Lippi’s 3–4–3 formation. On 4 September 2014, under new Italy manager Antonio Conte, Bonucci wore the captain’s armband for Italy for the first time, following Daniele De Rossi’s substitution in a 2–0 friendly win over the Netherlands. On 31 May 2016, Bonucci was named to Conte’s 23-man Italy squad for UEFA Euro 2016. On 13 June he set up Emanuele Giaccherini’s goal, Italy’s first of the match, with a long ball in a 2–0 win over Belgium 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 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. 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 on 2 July, he scored Italy’s equalising goal from a penalty, although his spot-kick was saved by Manuel Neuer in the resulting shoot-out, as the reigning World Cup champions advanced to the semi-finals following a 6–5 shoot-out victory. On 12 October 2019, Bonucci made his 92nd international appearance in a 2–0 home win over Greece, and overtook Alessandro Del Piero as the tenth-most capped player in the history of the Italian national team; the victory sealed Italy’s qualification for Euro 2020. Bonucci is usual to celebrate his goals turning his finger around his mouth meaning “Wash your mouth before talking about me”. In June 2011 Bonucci married his long-time girlfriend Martina Maccari, a former model. 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. 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, Bonucci revealed that his son’s illness had even led him to think about quitting football.
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This shirt was issued for Leonardo Bonucci for the Uefa “Nations League” game between Netherlands and Italy which took place in Amsterdam, “Amsterdam Arena”, on September 7th 2020. Italy defeated Netherlands 1-0. On 12 October 2019, Bonucci made his 92nd international appearance, under manager Roberto Mancini, in a 2–0 home win over Greece, and overtook Alessandro Del Piero as the tenth-most capped player in the history of the Italian national team; the victory sealed Italy’s qualification for Euro 2020.[115] He made his 94th appearance for Italy on 15 November, in a 3–0 away win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a Euro 2020 qualifier, equalling Giacinto Facchetti 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 in the UEFA Nations League, 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, in the team’s first 2022 World Cup qualifying match.
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Leonardo Bonucci is a former midfielder who is usually deployed as ball-playing centre-back 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. Although he was 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; 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, who described Bonucci as one of his “favourite ever players”. His unique playing style has led Giovanni Galli to compare him to former sweeper Gaetano Scirea. In 2012, The Guardian named him the 88th 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 to dub him as “Beckenbonucci”, a reference to former German sweeper Franz Beckenbauer. In addition to his defensive, playmaking and technical skills, Bonucci has also been praised for his leadership.
