Daniele Bonera

1.1. Brescia

Bonera joined the youth teams of his hometown club Brescia Calcio in 1995, where he honed his skills until the end of the 1998-99 season. He made his first-team debut for Brescia during the 1999-2000 season in Serie B. The following season, Brescia achieved promotion to Serie A, and Bonera established himself as a key player. By the age of 21, he became the team captain, recognized as one of Italy's most promising right-backs. In his three seasons with Brescia's senior squad, he played a total of 72 games.

1.2. Parma

In July 2002, Bonera transferred to Parma. His move was partly influenced by the financial difficulties faced by Parma's parent company, Parmalat, which necessitated the sale of key players, including Fabio Cannavaro, whom Bonera effectively replaced. In his first season with Parma in 2002-03 Serie A, he played 32 Serie A games and scored one goal. Over four seasons with Parma, he made 136 appearances across all competitions, including 114 league matches, further developing his abilities as a versatile defender.

1.3. AC Milan

On 28 July 2006, Bonera moved to AC Milan in a transfer deal worth 3.30 M EUR. He was initially expected to be the successor to Cafu at right-back but struggled to meet expectations in this role. His UEFA Champions League debut for Milan came on 17 October 2006 against Anderlecht, a match in which he received a red card after a second yellow card for kicking the ball away.

Bonera's role at Milan shifted significantly when several defenders suffered injuries, leading to his deployment as a centre back. Following the acquisition of Massimo Oddo from S.S. Lazio in January, a natural right-back, Bonera settled well into the centre-back position and became an increasingly important player for the club. However, he faced a recurring injury in the second half of the 2008-09 A.C. Milan season, joining Alessandro Nesta and Kakha Kaladze on the sidelines. In September 2009, he signed a contract extension until 2013.

After a ten-month injury lay-off, Bonera made his comeback in the Coppa Italia on 13 January 2010 against Novara, playing for 45 minutes. With the strong central defensive partnership of Alessandro Nesta and Thiago Silva established, Bonera was often deployed back in his former position at right-back, where he performed more effectively than in his initial period at Milan. He became Milan's starting right-back for a period, but later lost his place when Gianluca Zambrotta, Luca Antonini, and Massimo Oddo returned from injury. When Nesta was again injured, coach Leonardo selected Bonera to fill in at central defence. On 23 May 2013, despite speculation of a move to Juventus, Bonera signed a new contract with Milan until 30 June 2015. During his final two years with the club, he primarily served as a backup to first-choice centre-backs Philippe Mexès and Alex. He played a total of 201 games for Milan.

1.4. Villarreal

Upon the expiration of his contract with Milan in the summer of 2015, Bonera was released. He was linked with a move to newly promoted Carpi, but instead joined La Liga club Villarreal. He spent four seasons at the club, primarily as a backup option, before announcing his retirement from professional football on 9 July 2019.

### International career ###
Bonera represented Italy at various youth levels before making his debut for the senior national team.

1.5. Youth teams

Bonera had an extensive youth international career for Italy. He participated in the 2000 Toulon Tournament. He was capped for both the 2002 and 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championships. In the 2004 tournament, he contributed to Italy's fifth title victory. He also played at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where he helped the Italian team secure a bronze medal. Overall, he earned 34 caps at U-21 international level.

1.6. Senior team

Bonera made his senior debut for the Italian national team under coach Giovanni Trapattoni on 5 September 2001, in a 1-0 friendly win against Morocco. His non-friendly debut came under Marcello Lippi in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

He was initially called up to the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad as one of four emergency reserve players. However, after Gianluca Zambrotta was confirmed fit, Bonera was excluded from the final 23-man squad and sent home.

After the 2006 World Cup, he was recalled by new manager Roberto Donadoni for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Scotland on 28 March 2007, but had to withdraw due to injury. He was called up again in October and November 2007, playing in a 2-0 friendly win against South Africa with an experimental Italy squad, and coming on as a substitute for Fabio Cannavaro in a 3-1 home win in a Euro 2008 qualifier against the Faroe Islands. He was not selected for Euro 2008.

When Marcello Lippi returned as Italy coach for his second spell, Bonera was recalled for some of his initial matches. However, he was later left out of the squad due to injury. He was called up for the last friendly before the formal announcement of Italy's 2010 World Cup squad, against Cameroon, but ultimately failed to make the preliminary World Cup squad or the training camp. In total, Bonera earned 16 caps for the Italian senior team between 2001 and 2008.