Roberto Boninsegna

Roberto Boninsegna was born in Mantova on November 13, 1943.

Source Wikipedia

At 14 he joined the Inter academy and in 1962 won the prestigious Viareggio Cup. He was not considered ready for the first team by coach Helenio Herrera so was sent out on loan.

At 20 was loaned to Prato in Serie B where he played 22 league games and scored 1 goal. The Biancoazzurri were relegated. One of his teammates was Lazio 1958 cup hero Maurilio Prini.

In 1964-65 he joined Potenza on loan in Serie B. In Basilicata he played regularly, 32 league appearances, and started to score goals, 9. Potenza finished a positive 5th.

In 1965 he was sold to Varese in Serie A. He played a total of 31 games (28 in A) with 7 goals (5 in A). The Biancorossi ended up relegated. In Varese there were several Lazio connections: Rosario Di Vincenzo, Carlo Soldo, Bruno Goia, Piero Cucchi and Romano Bagatti.

In 1966-67 he played for Cagliari in Serie A. He played 36 games (34 in A) with 9 goals (7in A). Cagliari had a good season and finished 6th under Mario Scopigno. In the summer Cagliari played in the US league representing the Chicago Mustangs, an early marketing move.

Boninsegna stayed the following two seasons with another 72 appearances (49 in A) with 27 goals (14 in A). Cagliari finished 9th, under Ettore Puricelli and 2nd under Scopigno again. Gigi Riva was already there all three seasons and in 1970 the Sardinians would win the Scudetto.

In 1969 Boninsegna returned to Inter in exchange of 600 million lire plus Angelo Domenghini, Sergio Gori and Cesare Poli. He stayed seven seasons playing 197 games in A, 55 in Coppa Italia and 29 in Europe and scoring an impressive 171 goals (113 in A, 36 in CI and 22 in Europe). He was top Serie A scorer twice (1971 with 22 and 1972 with 20). At Inter he won a Scudetto in 1971, under Heriberto Herrera and then Giovanni Invernizzi. His other managers included Helenio Herrera, Luis Suárez and Giuseppe Chiappella. In 1972 Inter reached the European Cup final but lost 0-2 to Ajax in Rotterdam. In his years at Inter the various squads included Lazio connections: Mario Frustalupi, Gian Piero Ghio, Silvano Martina, Giuseppe Massa, Aldo Nicoli, Giorgio Magnocavallo, Roberto Galbiati and Renzo Rossi.

In 1976 he reluctantly signed for rivals Juventus and Pietro Anastasi went the other way. In three seasons in Turin he played 94 games (58 in A) and scored 35 goals (22 in A). He won the Scudetto twice under Giovanni Trapattoni plus a UEFA Cup and a Coppa Italia. His teammates included Lazio connections, Dino Zoff and Luciano Spinosi.

In 1979-80 he joined Verona in Serie B. He played 18 games (14 in B) and scored 4 goals (3 in B). The Gialloblu finished 13th under Fernando Veneranda.

Boninsegna then spent one last season with Viadanese in Serie D. He played 23 league games and scored 8 goals. At 37 he retired. He then stayed on as sporting director.

With Italy he won 22 caps and scored 9 goals. He took part in two World Cups and famously set up Gianni Rivera's 4-3 winner against Germany in the semis and scored the momentary equaliser in the 1970 final eventually lost 1-4 against Brazil. He therefore has a World Cup runners-up medal.

After retiring he had a brief coaching career. In December 2001 he took over at Mantova in C2 and finished 9th. He stayed on the following year but only until January. He then returned to his hometown in 2011-12 as technical director. He has also worked as a talent scout with Inter and been general director at Trento.

He has taken part in films and even attempted a political career. He is currently a TV pundit.

Boninsegna also known as "Bonimba" was a striker. He was not particularly tall, 1.74 and 72 kilos, but was strong and excellent in the air. He was a classic centre-forward, sometimes selfish but with goals in the blood. He was also a reliable penalty taker once scoring 19 consecutive spot kicks, still a record. He was a player with temperament, a fighter (he looked a bit like a boxer too…), sometimes too much as in 1976 when playing for Cagliari at Varese he was sent off for dissent and received an 11-match suspension (then reduced to 9).

He is in Cagliari's Hall of Fame, won the Scudetto three times (2 at Juve, 1 at Inter) and played in a World Cup final. All in all Bonimba is one of Italy's best strikers in history.

Sources

Wikipedia