| Intro | Italian footballer | ||||
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
||||
| From | Italy | ||||
| Type | Sports | ||||
| Gender | male | ||||
| Birth | 22 August 1989, San Severino Marche, Province of Macerata, Marche, Italy | ||||
| Age: | 30 years | ||||
| Star sign | Leo | ||||
| Stats |
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Giacomo Bonaventura (born 22 August 1989) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Milan and the Italy national team. Bonaventura started his senior career at Atalanta in the Serie A in 2007, his impressive performances earning him a €7 million transfer to Milan in 2014.
Bonaventura has been a youth national team member since 2008. He made his senior international debut on 31 May 2013, in a friendly match against San Marino.
Club career
Atalanta
After playing for San Francesco 93′ youth team, he was transferred to Tolentino, where he was noticed by one of Atalanta’s scouts, Antonio Bongiorni. Bonaventura made his debut with Atalanta on 4 May 2008, in a match against Livorno. He only played this match in the whole 2007–08 season. He appeared again on 9 November, against Fiorentina.
On 13 January 2009, Atalanta announced he had joined Pergocrema on loan for the remainder of the 2008–09 season. Five days later, he made his debut for Pergocrema, getting on the scoresheet in a match against Sambenedettese. He made three more appearances before returning to Atalanta.
He returned to La Dea, but had to wait until January 2010 to appear again, this time against Palermo. On 1 February, he joined Serie B club Padova on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut for the club on the 20th, against Triestina.
In June 2010, Padova decided not to buy him outright, and Bonaventura returned to Atalanta, signing a contract extension until 2015.
On 9 November, he scored his first Atalanta goal, against Modena. He played a key part for La Dea in 2010–11 season, scoring nine times, with his club being crowned champions. On 11 April 2012, he scored his first Serie A goal, against Napoli, before scoring again in a 2–0 victory against Fiorentina on the 29th of April. He scored his first double on the 3rd March 2013, in a 2–0 victory against Siena.
Milan
2014–15 Season
On 1 September, the last day of the Italian transfer window, Milan announced the signature of Bonaventura from Atalanta for a fee reported to be around €7 million. On September 14, Bonaventura scored a goal on his debut as Milan beat Parma 5–4. Bonaventura scored his second goal for Milan on October 29 against Cagliari and was voted man of the match. On December 12, Bonaventura scored a powerful header and assisted Jérémy Ménez’s goal as Milan defeated Napoli 2–0; Bonaventura was also voted man of the mach against Napoli and again in the next week against Roma. On 30 May, he scored twice against his former team Atalanta in a 3–1 victory. Bonaventura finished his first season at Milan with 7 goals and 4 assists in all competitions.
2015–16 Season
On 19 September, Bonaventura assisted Carlos Bacca’s first goal and scored directly from a free-kick in a 3–2 win over Palermo. He also gained another assist and goal in Milan’s next game, the 2–3 win over Udinese. Once again, he assisted both Carlos Bacca’s and Philippe Mexès’ goals against Lazio in the 3–1 away win on 1 November. He continued to perform well under the team’s coach Siniša Mihajlović and became a fundamental player for his team throughout the season. After missing a 0–0 draw against his former team Atalanta through suspension, he scored the opener in a 4–1 defeat of Sampdoria on 28 November. He scored again in his next game on 1 December, a 3–1 Coppa Italia defeat of Crotone, via a brilliant 20-yard free kick. He ended the season with 7 goals and 8 assists in all competitions.
2016–17 Season
On 23 December 2016, Bonaventura scored the equalising goal in the Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus; he later netted his penalty in the resulting shoot-out, helping Milan to a 4–3 victory. He signed a contract extension through 2020 with Milan on 18 January 2017. On 29 January, Bonaventura suffered an injury in a match against Udinese which ruled him out for the rest of the season following surgery on a thigh injury; earlier in that match, he scored Milan’s goal in the 2–1 loss.
International career
After featuring with under-19, under-20 levels, Bonaventura made his debut with the senior squad on 31 May 2013, in a 4–0 victory against San Marino.
Style of play
A quick, hard-working, and creative offensive midfielder, with great vision, passing, and technique, Bonaventura is a versatile player who is capable of playing in several midfield positions; in addition to his favoured position behind the strikers, he has also often been deployed as a central midfielder, or as a left winger. He is talented in keeping possession effectively, due to his ball skills, and at creating space or chances for teammates through his movement and awareness. In addition to his ability to assist goals, he is also capable of scoring them, due to his powerful striking ability from distance with his right foot and ability to make attacking runs. He has also stood out for his leadership and maturity as a footballer.
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Atalanta | 2006–07 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| 2010–11 | Serie B | 31 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 9 | |||
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | |||
| 2012–13 | 35 | 7 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 8 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 31 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 5 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 130 | 23 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 136 | 24 | ||||
| Pergocrema (loan) | 2008–09 | Lega Pro | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||
| Total | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 1 | |||||
| Padova (loan) | 2009–10 | Serie B | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 17 | 1 | |
| Total | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 17 | 1 | |||
| Milan | 2014–15 | Serie A | 33 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 7 | ||
| 2015–16 | 33 | 6 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 39 | 7 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 22 | 5 | |||
| Total | 85 | 16 | 9 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | 95 | 19 | |||
| Career total | 234 | 40 | 15 | 3 | — | 3 | 2 | 252 | 46 | |||
International
| Italy national team | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals | ||
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 8 | 0 | ||
Honours
Club
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2016
Individual
- Premio Gentleman: 2016