Daniele Bonera facts for kids
Bonera with AC Milan in 2012
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniele Bonera | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 31 May 1981 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Brescia, Italy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1999 | Brescia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2002 | Brescia | 60 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2006 | Parma | 114 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2015 | AC Milan | 152 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Villarreal | 40 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 366 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Italy U21 | 29 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Italy U23 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2008 | Italy | 16 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | Milan Futuro | ||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||
Daniele Bonera (born on May 31, 1981) is a former Italian football player. He used to play as a centre back, which is a type of defender. He was also a coach.
Daniele Bonera played for several Italian clubs like Brescia and Parma. He is best known for his time at AC Milan, where he won important titles. These included the Italian league, called Serie A, and the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League, which is a big European club competition. Later, he played for Villarreal in Spain before he stopped playing in 2019.
He also played for the Italian national team 16 times. With the Italy Under-21 team, he won the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. He also earned a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Starting at Brescia
Daniele Bonera joined the youth teams of Brescia in 1995. He played there until 1999. He made his first appearance for Brescia's main team in the 1999–2000 season. Overall, he played 72 games for Brescia during his three seasons with the club.
Moving to Parma
In July 2002, Bonera moved to Parma. In his first season, 2002–03, he played 32 games in Serie A and scored one goal. Over the next three seasons at Parma, he played 98 games. Most of these, 82, were in the Serie A. On July 28, 2006, Bonera transferred to AC Milan. The deal was worth €3.3 million.
Time at AC Milan
Daniele Bonera played his first UEFA Champions League game for AC Milan on October 17, 2006. This match was against the Belgian team Anderlecht. He received a red card in that game.
At first, Bonera played as a right back. But when several other defenders got injured, he moved to play as a centre back. He did very well in this new position and became an important player for Milan.
After being out for ten months due to an injury, Bonera returned to play on January 13, 2010. This was in a Coppa Italia match against Novara. Because Milan had strong central defenders, Bonera often played as a right back again. He played much better in this position than when he first joined the club.
On May 23, 2013, Bonera signed a new contract with Milan that lasted until June 30, 2015. During these last two years, he mostly played as a backup defender.
Playing for Villarreal
After his contract with Milan ended in the summer of 2015, Bonera joined La Liga club Villarreal in Spain. He played four seasons there, mostly as a backup player. On July 9, 2019, Daniele Bonera announced that he was retiring from playing football.
Coaching Career
After retiring as a player, Daniele Bonera started a new role. On July 9, 2019, he became an assistant coach at A.C. Milan. He worked with the main coach, Marco Giampaolo, and later with Stefano Pioli.
In November 2020, Bonera temporarily took over as head coach for AC Milan. This happened because both the main coach and his assistant were sick.
After five years as an assistant, Bonera became the first head coach of Milan Futuro on June 27, 2024. This is AC Milan's reserve team. However, he left this role on February 24, 2025.
International Football
Daniele Bonera played for Italy's youth teams. He was part of the 2002 and 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship teams. He played 34 times for the Under-21 national team.
He also played 16 times for the senior Italian team between 2001 and 2008. His first game for the senior team was on September 5, 2001, in a 1–0 win against Morocco.
Bonera was considered as a reserve player for the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad. However, he was not part of the final team. He was called up again for matches in 2007 and 2008, including a friendly game against South Africa. He was not chosen for the Euro 2008 tournament.
Later, he was called up again by coach Marcello Lippi. However, injuries kept him from joining the squad for the 2010 World Cup.
How He Played
Daniele Bonera usually played as a centre-back. In his best years, he was known for being fast and strong. He was also very versatile, meaning he could play in different defensive positions. He could play as a full back on either side of the field.
Personal Life
Daniele Bonera is married to Paola Bonera. They have a daughter named Talita Bonera.
In October 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brescia | 1999–2000 | Serie B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Serie A | 26 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2001–02 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | |||
| Total | 60 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 72 | 0 | |||
| Parma | 2002–03 | Serie A | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 38 | 1 | |
| 2003–04 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 29 | 0 | |||
| 2004–05 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 46 | 0 | |||
| 2005–06 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| Total | 114 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 0 | — | 136 | 1 | |||
| A.C. Milan | 2006–07 | Serie A | 25 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 152 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 201 | 0 | ||
| Villarreal | 2015–16 | La Liga | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Total | 40 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 | — | 58 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 366 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 467 | 1 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 2001 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 16 | 0 | |
Awards and Honors
AC Milan
- Serie A: 2010–11
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2011
- UEFA Champions League: 2006–07
- UEFA Super Cup: 2007
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2007
Italy
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 2004
- Summer Olympics bronze medal: 2004
Special Recognition
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Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic: 2004
See also
In Spanish: Daniele Bonera para niños
