Nations League, Italy-Spain: the blue captain Bonucci speaks

by our correspondent Andrea Elefante

June 14th
– Enschede (Netherlands)

If he plays tomorrow evening, it will be the eleventh time in twelve years: Leo Bonucci, or rather the habituée of the matches against Spain. More or less once a year, although with variable frequency. In any case ten already played (plus a 90′ view from the bench, the March 2014 friendly in Madrid) and would make eleven with tomorrow’s match, the semi-final of the 2023 Nations League: from August 2011 (friendly in Bari, a handful of minutes in the 2-1 signed Montolivo-Aquilani) to October 2021, another Nations semifinal, the one lost at San Siro under the blows of Ferran Torres. In between three European Championships (2012, 2016 and the magical semi-final of 2021), a Confederations Cup, still friendlies, the (non) qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup, with the “famous” 3-0 of the crocodiles at the Bernabeu. “Playing against Spain – he said at the press conference – is always a wonderful emotion: two great national teams, great players and I can say that I have played with and against players from these national teams who have made football history. Their possession ball, which always makes you run from one side of the pitch to the other, makes you a little apprehensive, but in recent years we have come closer to their way of understanding football and we want to demonstrate it tomorrow night. We want this trophy after missing Meanwhile, these days, even those in Sardinia, have helped us reunite the group and get the youngest players into the puzzle that is our national team, with all the pieces in the right place”.

Answers

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So perhaps it will be the eleventh meeting with Spain: “I want to enjoy these two games, I hope to play them both, the coach will decide whether and for how long to send me on the pitch. It’s an important answer to give even to myself, to see if I can be still an important player. I respect what Cannavaro said, i.e. that I have already given up on football but I still don’t know. There is a year left until the end of my contract with Juve, the injuries I had this year were also conditioned by aspects extra field that didn’t help me: today I certainly feel better than a few months ago”.

Achievements

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Tomorrow evening there would also be eleven matches that Bonucci could say he played in this tournament, the Nations League, which is celebrating its third edition; eleven like the matches “signed” with Juve in 2023: a pittance for his habits, especially since there were just five as owner. Let’s say that Allegri has made no secret of relying on him very relatively now, beyond the injuries that certainly didn’t help him. Leo isn’t the type to need to make up for it, but certainly returning to the national team and smelling the starting shirt again isn’t hurting him: “It was a difficult year for me: I started with a lot of appearances, then decreased for choices and injuries. I thank Mancini for being here anyway: for me it’s always a breath of fresh air, there’s a healthy group that transmits positive energy, or rather the most beautiful thing you can feel inside”. As beautiful as it would be to play match number 121 in the national team: another small step to bring the totem Paolo Maldini closer, who is watching him from 126 meters above sea level.