Through the ages, Italian defenders have forged a reputation for being hard as nails, no nonsense players who would hoof their own grandmas in the air if it meant winning a match. But we can't imagine many of them have ever gone to the extreme lengths Leonardo Bonucci went to in order to develop himself.
The Juventus and Italy centre-half fired himself up by employing the services of mental coach Alberto Ferrarini, who has also worked with Alberto Gilardino and Francesco Toldo in the past.
Ferrarini's methods involved taking Bonucci down to a basement and berating him with a variety of insults and, should Bonucci so much as look at Ferrarini during the process, he was met with a swift, ruthless punishment.
Writing on Facebook, Ferrarini said:
Advert
"Over the years I took Bonucci into my basement. Underground. In the dark. There, with a tone anything but kind or sweet, I offended him in every way possible. I judged him. I insulted him.
"If he made even the slightest attempt to glance at me, he'd receive a punch straight to the stomach.
"The objective? To win over judgement, so Leo would always be focused and ignore everything else around him. That's how I started making him into a soldier."
The training has obviously reaped dividends, as well as Bonucci has been an integral part of the Juventus side that has won the last five Serie A titles and, when confronted by a mugger armed with a gun, in 2012, Bonucci faced up to the assailant who was threatening his family's lives by punching him to the ground and chasing him away. So if a pistol being pointed at his head isn't going to deter him, what hopes do any centre forwards have of getting the better of the Juventus man?
Advert
(H/T Football Italia)
Topics: Football, Leonardo Bonucci, Juventus, Italy