Ivano Bonetti

Ivano Bonetti

Personal information
Date of birth	(1964-08-01) 1 August 1964
Place of birth	Brescia, Italy
Height
Position(s)	Left Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1981–1984	Brescia	70	(3)
1984–1985	Genoa	31	(1)
1985–1988	Juventus	18	(2)
1987–1988	Atalanta	26	(2)
1988–1990	Bologna	62	(3)
1990–1993	Sampdoria	61	(0)
1993–1994	Bologna	18	(2)
1994–1995	Brescia	16	(0)
1994–1995	Torino	5	(0)
1995–1996	Grimsby Town	19	(3)
1996–1997	Tranmere Rovers	13	(1)
1997	Crystal Palace	2	(0)
1997–1999	Genoa	55	(1)
1999–2000	Sestrese	19	(0)
2000–2002	Dundee	18	(2)
Managerial career
2000–2002	Dundee
2004-2010	Pescina Valle del Giovenco (director of football)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ivano Bonetti (born 1 August 1964 in Brescia) is an Italian football manager and former player. His father Aldo played for Brescia until the Second World War, brother Mario played for Atalanta and brother Dario played over 100 games for Roma and won two caps for Italy.

He is the current director of football of Lega Pro Prima Divisione club A.S. Pescina Valle del Giovenco.

Career in Italy

Bonetti made his debut for his hometown club, Brescia (1981–84), before moving to Serie B side Genoa (1984–85), and subsequently defending European Champions Juventus (1985–88), where he won the 1985 Intercontinental Cup, and the 1985–86 Serie A title; he made his Serie A debut on 10 November 1985, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–1 home win over Roma, the club for which his brother Dario was playing at the time. During Ivano's time at the Turin club, he was also sent on loan to Atalanta for the 1987–88 Serie B season, helping the club to obtain a fourth-place finish and Serie A promotion. He later played for Bologna (1988–90), and Sampdoria (1990–93), where he won his second Serie A title in 1991. He later returned to Bologna once again (1993–94) in Serie C1, before briefly returning to Brescia the following season (1994–95), and spending the second half of the 1994–95 Serie A season with Torino, before moving to England later in 1995.

Grimsby Town

Initial impact

When Bonetti signed for Grimsby Town in 1995, it brought massive national attention to the club and he became an instant fans' favourite. The loyalty of the fans was tested when it was announced that £100,000 was needed to hire Bonetti from the American management company that held the rights to his "services and image"; this was raised by £50,000 from the fans and £50,000 from Bonetti himself, further increasing his appeal. Grimsby, under FIFA regulations, were not allowed to deal with the company and probably could not have afforded the money anyway.

The love affair was completed when he scored the winning goal against West Brom, then managed by former Grimsby boss Alan Buckley and featuring several former Grimsby players.

The "plate of chicken" incident

On 10 February 1996, an incident after a 3–2 defeat away to Luton Town led to the departure of Bonetti from Blundell Park. Just a month before Grimsby had beaten them 7–1 in the FA Cup third round. Apparently Brian Laws, angry after the defeat, threw a plate of chicken wings at Bonetti, who he felt did not try hard enough, leaving him with a fractured cheekbone. At the end of the season Bonetti left for Tranmere on a free transfer, Laws lasted until November of the next season. At the start of the 1997-98 season, Bonetti turned up at Crystal Palace shortly before returning to Italy to join Genoa.

Legacy

In 1998, a consortium looking to take over Grimsby Town were planning to install Bonetti as manager, though this later fell through.

Dundee FC

Ivano, along with brother Dario, enjoyed a stint as manager of Dundee in Scotland, replacing Jocky Scott. During his first season at Dundee, he signed in several foreign players such as Fabián Caballero, Georgi Nemsadze and, most notably, Argentine superstar Claudio Caniggia, the latter being signed by Rangers only one year later following an impressive season with the club. Despite this, he made only a sixth place in his first season, but was however publicly backed by the club. Further top signings such as Temuri Ketsbaia, Zurab Khizanishvili and Fan Zhiyi failed to make an improvement to the team results, and Dundee ended the 2001–02 season in a disappointing ninth place. He was sacked on 2 July 2002 by the club management. A few months later he claimed back £800,000 from Dundee, declaring he had loaned the money to his former club in order to perform the signing of Fabián Caballero.

Honours

Juventus

• Serie A: 1985–86
• Intercontinental Cup: 1985

Sampdoria

• Serie A: 1990–91

External links

• Bonetti discovers paradise after Juventus – Ivano signing for Grimsby, Independent, The (London), 2 Dec 1995
• Played for the Town: Ivano Bonetti – Electronic Fishcake player profile
• Bonetti knows wheeling and dealing won't save his neck at Dens Sunday Herald, The, 14 May 2000 Bonetti becomes Dundee manager
• Italian Playing Stats
• Bonetti T-shirts
• The Bonetti years Review of Dundee Management, BBC website
• Ivano Bonetti career statistics at Soccerbase