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Fight and chaos: Leonardo Bonucci, it's time to let it go

12.2.2024 17:19



Italy’s national team legend Leonardo Bonucci’s career has been going downhill fast.


Leo was pretty much kicked out of Juve’s squad during last summer as coach Allegri didn’t see Leo in his plans for this season, despite the player having a contract with the club.


Having represented the club for 13 seasons, the dismissal of a club legend from the squad outright seemed harsh.


But the fact of the matter is that a veteran defender has a massive ego. And when you play on the edge outside of the pitch also, this kind of treatment isn’t unnecessary.


Bonucci displays sometimes off the pitch his worst traits, as it surprised many when Bonucci got into disagreements with Allegri before the 2017-18 season. This led to a transfer to Milan.


Bonucci couldn’t carry rebuilding AC Milan to success and was transferred back to Turin after just one season with Rossoneri as the tension had cooled off between Allegri and Leo.


Juve wasn’t the same as Bonucci’s legendary center-back pair Giorgio Chiellini started playing less and less. Aging Bonucci couldn’t carry the increasing workload, despite having help from highly rated Matthias De Ligt.


Bonucci and Chiellini still showed that they are Italy’s top choice center-back’s, as Azzurri went all the way at Euro 2020.


Right after that triumph, Italy experienced a disaster, as Azzurri didn’t manage to qualify to Qatar 2022 World Cup missing the football world’s most decorated competition for a second time in a row.


Bonucci and Chiellini planned to have one last dance at the top in Qatar, but after a freak accident suffered in Palermo against North Macedonia, Chiellini decided to go enjoy a couple last games in America as he retired from the national team.


But Leo decided that he’s not finished, as Bonucci targeted the upcoming Euro 2024 as his last dance.


The 36-year old was still captain during last summer in the Nations League against Spain.


In the 2023-24 season Bonucci has declined so rapidly that Luciano Spalletti needs to keep Bonucci far away as plausible from the Azzurri squad.


Bonucci had a disastrous tenure in his first club after Juve. Bonucci played 11 games total at Union Berlin, and the team unbelievably didn’t win during the Italian’s first 9 starts.


Berlin and Bonucci decided to separate ways during January’s transfer window, and Leo is currently representing Fenerbahce in Turkey.


And now he’s only been in Fenerbache’s squad for four games, and is already causing trouble, he reportedly had a fight with his new coach yesterday.


Maybe all this tension is coming from a place of disappointment because after all Leonardo still believed just a short time ago that he could wear the Azzurri shirt one last time in a grand stage at Euro 2024.


But hopefully Bonucci himself realizes already that the dream is over and it is time to move on to just enjoy the remaining season’s of his career, maybe to MLS.


Leo, just follow Chiellini, like you always did.


-Vertti Suominen






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