Bonucci's Mixed Juventus Legacy
Leonardo Bonucci is the type of guy that, when confronted with armed robbers, would fight back without thinking twice. That’s not an assumption, that’s a fact. In October 2012, at a Ferrari dealership with his wife and his son, Bonucci had a masked man point a gun to his head and demand his watch. His reaction? Bonucci punched him in the face, and then ran after the thief as he fled away.
If that doesn’t reveal enough about the man’s character, then this should. Bonucci for years worked with a mental coach, who helped him discover that he was a ‘soldier’. His methods included locking Bonucci in his basement, screaming the worst of insults in his face and then punching him in the stomach if he reacted. And if you thought that Bonucci then left this ‘soldier’ act on the pitch, then think again to how he reacted when faced with a robber at gun point.
Bonucci had to fight his way to the top level. Initially signed by Inter from his hometown club Viterbese, he made his Serie A debut fresh off his 19th birthday, but that was about as good as it got with the Milanese club. After a couple of loans to Treviso and Pisa, he hit rock bottom and started working with Alberto Ferrarini, his mental coach. He was bumped by Inter for good in 2009 as a makeweight in the Thiago Motta deal from Genoa, and then Genoa immediatly sold him on to Bari.
At Bari, he would finally make his breakthrough. A formidable partnership with Andrea Ranocchia under Gian Piero Ventura caught everyone’s eyes, but it was Ranocchia who was the more highly rated of the duo. Their rise coincided with the change of guards in Italian football. The 2006 world champions were mostly winding down, and Bonucci and Ranocchia were touted as the future of the Azzurri’s defense. Bonucci eventually made his Azzurri debut in 2010 and then made it on the plane to South Africa. Fresh off that, Juventus decided to splash €15.5 million on him.
His first season with Juventus was mired in individual and group errors, as Juventus finished seventh in Serie A for the second season in a row. But the following season, Antonio Conte arrived, and a legendary cycle started, built on the backbone of Gianluigi Buffon, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, and Bonucci himself. They stomped Serie A repeatedly, and managed to reach the Champions League final twice under Conte’s successor, Massimiliano Allegri.
A Juventus fan since childhood, everything seemed set for Bonucci to play out the rest of his career with La Vecchia Signora, until he decided out of the blue to depart to AC Milan in 2017 amidst unrest with Allegri. That transfer absolutely shocked Italian football, considering Bonucci’s seemingly unbreakable bond with Juventus and its tifosi.
The fact that Bonucci then took the captain’s armband at Milan and declared he would like to shift the balance to Milan’s favor the same way Andrea Pirlo did when he went in the opposite direction were both controversial and provocative. But nothing was more controversial than when, as the script usually goes, he scored against his ex-club and decided to do his trademark ‘in your face’ celebration in front of his old fans. That should have permanently broken his bond with Juventus, but instead he was back there a few months later.
Fate doesn’t usually give second chances, but it did give Bonucci that when Juventus and Milan both agreed a deal that saw him return back to the Bianconeri just a year after he had initially left. He picked up where he left off and, over two spells, his warrior attitude, silky and composed passes, and fierce defensive solidity have cemented his status as a Juventus great. Eight scudetti and countless other cups are merely numbers compared to the emotions and memories Bonucci both experienced and evoked amongst the Juventus tifosi.
The fact that he once again left on a sour note is deeply regrettable. Having badmouthed the club and Allegri on his way out, he also declared his intention to sue Juventus for ‘humiliating’ him by kicking him out of the club and forcing him to train separately from the group. As a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve, Bonucci had every right to feel offended, but Juventus equally had the right to cut their losses on a high earner who was no longer pulling his weight. Ruthless, perhaps, but then again, Bonucci of all people should’ve understood that it wasn’t personal, it was strictly business.
In an alternate universe, Bonucci would be in the first tier of Juventus legends. He would let bygones be bygones with Allegri, and stay at Juventus in 2017, just as he did when Pep Guardiola came calling in 2016. Juventus fans would consider him an untouchable figure, without any debate. And this summer, when the club decided to push him out — whether deservedly or not — he would leave with grace, keep his mouth shut, think of the bigger picture, and preserve his legacy instead.
But ultimately, that’s not Bonucci. He’s the guy who considers himself a ‘soldier’, who celebrates ‘in your face’ and who still thinks he’s good enough to play for Italy. In short, confrontation and fighting back is the only way he knows. It’s what made him a champion, a legendary defender, and an idol for many Juventus, Italy, and — for a brief moment — Milan fans. But, unfortunately for all involved, it’s also what will undoubtedly tarnish his legendary Juventus legacy.