Marcello Lippi awarded the then promising Bari centre-back, Leonardo Bonucci, his debut on 3 March 2010 in a goalless friendly in Monaco against Cameroon in preparation for the World Cup in South Africa.

The defender really made his way at Inter, the team with whom he made his Serie A debut in 2006. However, from his very first steps in professional football with Treviso and Pisa, he had shown vision on the ball that set him apart from others in that department.

It was then in the 2009/10 season, playing for Bari, that the 23-year-old from Viterbo launched himself into the limelight and earned his debut for Italy playing alongside captain Cannavaro and his future ‘twin’ Chiellini, which made up the experimental back three that was introduced that day.

The match against Cameroon, played at the Louis II Stadium, offered little of interest, and was regarded as a disappointing trial for Lippi’s Azzurri by the press. However, Bonucci’s debut was one of the few positives arising from that game.

La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote at the end of the match:

“Bonucci didn’t have it easy, he had to cope with Eto’o. However, the central defender from Bari played well, and he showed great mobility despite his size on the right side of Lippi’s new three-man defence.”

A debut which the Bari defender himself regarded as a positive one:

“I think it was a great test. I tried to build play from the back as I’ve been told over these few days. I hope that this is just the start, playing alongside so many champions always makes your life easier.”

His first Azzurri goal already came in his second appearance on the following 3 June in Brussels in a warm-up game against Mexico.

Bonucci was part of the 23-man squad chosen for the World Cup in South Africa, but he never managed to play, partly because of Italy’s rapid elimination from the competition.

Fabio Cannavaro’s resulting farewell opened the gates for Bonucci to cement himself in the Azzurri side, and so the back three of himself, Chiellini and Barzagli was born which brought so much success to Juventus.

The silver medal at the 2012 European Championship proved his worth as an Italy stalwart, and even today he’s still a key player and captain of the side in the absence of Chiellini, just as had happened when he captained his nation for the first time against Albania on 18 November 2014 when Conte was in the technical area.

His 95 appearances make him the ninth most capped player in Azzurri history, and he’s scored seven goals to add to that.

ITALY’S LINE-UP ON BONUCCI’S DEBUT

Marchetti - Bonucci, Cannavaro (C) (Cassani 82), Chiellini - Maggio, Pirlo (Montolivo 46), De Rossi (Gattuso 46), Criscito (Marchisio 46) - Cossu, Borriello (Pazzini 46), Di Natale (Quagliarella 62)