A report from today’s paper edition of the Milano based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport has remembered how Italy coach Roberto Mancini launched Leonardo Bonucci’s career when the duo were at Inter.

The report details how Mancini was in charge of the Nerazzurri during the 2005/06 season. On 14th May, with the Milanese club already champions, Mancini decided to deploy a 19-year-old Leonardo Bonucci in the 2-2 draw against Cagliari.

The Italian defender would rarely feature for the Nerazzurri again, only making four appearances across all competitions, before moving to Genoa and then Bari, where he would make his name alongside current Inter defender Andrea Ranocchia.

Since then, Bonucci became a core part of Juventus’ dominance in the last decade (apart from a solitary season at AC Milan) and is now closing in on 100 caps for the Italian national team, a great achievement.

This season, the 33-year-old Italian defender was scored one goal and helped the Bianconeri keep two clean sheets across nine appearances.