Leonardo Bonucci’s Evolution as a Leader Key for Italy in Euro 2016

Six years is a long time.

In football—a sport that often marks time in four-year World Cup cycles—it’s especially long. A lot of things can change in that period. Teams can rise and fall. Players develop, get hurt, regress, succeed or are ruined. Everything can change in six years.

No one exemplifies that better than Juventus and Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci.

Six seasons ago, Bonucci could not have been at a lower point. Now he’s at the top of his profession—and his evolution could provide be key to how successful his country is at the UEFA European Championship.

If one were to write an article about things Juventus would like to forget about Bonucci, one of the biggest entries on the list would be that he started his career at archrivals Inter Milan.

The Nerazzurri brought him into their youth system from that of his hometown team, Viterbese, in 2005. In an ironic twist, he made his debut for the Nerazzurri on the last game of the 2005-06 season—right before the Calciopoli scandal that would send his future club into its darkest days.

The next season, he didn’t appear in a single league game, although he did find the field in three Coppa Italia matches. He also led Inter’s Primavera side to the Campionato Primavera championship.

During that 2006-07 season, Bonucci was set adrift in the choppy sea of Italy’s now-defunct co-ownership system. Treviso bought half of his rights that January, and he spent 18 months there before Inter brought him back and loaned him to Pisa for another half a season.

After steadily improving, the summer of 2009 provided both a whirlwind and a breakout.

As soon as the summer 2009 transfer window began, Inter announced a blockbuster cash-plus-players deal that sent Bonucci, along with three other players and €17.7 million, to Genoa for Thiago Motta and Diego Milito. The next day, he was sold to Bari on a co-ownership deal along with four other players on various co-ownerships and loans.

Under Giampiero Ventura, he formed an incredible partnership in the center of defense with Andrea Ranocchia, one of the other members of the Genoa diaspora.  Halfway through the season, the Galletti boasted Serie A’s best defense. Ranocchia was hurt around the Christmas break, and he missed the rest of the season, but Bonucci still helped lead Bari to a 10th-place finish.

The summer of 2010 saw both of Bari’s defensive jewels hit the market. Inter, surprisingly, poached Ranocchia rather than bring back Bonucci, the player they were familiar with. Bonucci was bought by Juventus in a cash-plus-players deal that totaled €15.5 million.

He was immediately paired with Giorgio Chiellini, giving the Bianconeri the promise of a dominant defense. But it wasn’t to be—at least not right away.

Most Juventus fans try to block the 2010-11 season out of their memories. Led by manager Luigi Delneri, the …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com