Given Leonardo Bonucci’s brilliant ball-playing skills from the back, it should come as no surprise that he actually started his career as a midfielder.
In 2005, as a 17-year-old, Inter would pluck him from Viterbese and thrust him in their Primavera squad. It was here that Bonucci honed his craft, learning from the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano.
Bonucci would then cut his teeth in the lower leagues of Italian football on loan. An 18-month spell with Treviso where coach Luca Gotti had labelled him as ‘a phenomenon’ would provide the perfect tonic to adapt to the rigours of senior first-team football.
Today, a lot is made of Bonucci’s warrior mentality. At Treviso, the youngster would develop a Spartan code as professional motivator Alberto Ferrariniwould yell quotes from the British war film Full Metal Jacket to battle harden him.
His performances there meant that Serie A football was never too far away. In 2009, Bari were the lucky recipients, and alongside Andrea Ranocchia, the duo would establish themselves as two of the brightest young talents in Italian football.
It was at Juventus where he would complete his evolution as one of the premier ball-playing defenders in the world. Under the guidance of Antonio Conte, who further moulded his discipline and mental characteristics, Bonucci would become a key part of the fabled BBC defensive trio.
Now with a possible move to Manchester City in the offing, and an opportunity to work with Pep Guardiola, Bonucci could break that glass ceiling and add more strings to his already-impressive bow.
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