AC Milan captain Leonardo Bonucci will be unable to face Juventus after being sent off in the last game.
Italian defender Leonardo Bonucci has been banned for two matches following a red card against Genoa. This rules out the AC Milan captain from their next two matches, which includes a reunion against his former club Juventus this weekend. The 30-year-old center back saw red just 25 minutes into the game against Genoa, after the video assistant spotted Bonucci striking Genoa’s Aleandro Rosi as the pair fought for the ball.
The Genoa full-back needed stitches and the AC Milan captain has been banned for two games, meaning he misses a reunion with his former team-mates. It could have been worse for the center-back, had the disciplinary community viewed it as a violent conduct and given Bonucci a three-game ban.
However, in an interview with Mediaset, the Italian said “I’m sorry for what happened. I certainly didn’t want to hurt Rosi, I just wanted to free myself from him and everybody has seen what happened. I apologised to him at the end of the game and I’m really sorry for what happened.
Having said that, I’ll accept the verdict. We’re in a technological era and freeze-framing can lead to this kind of evaluation. I’ll miss the game against Juventus and I’m sad about that, but it was clearly destiny. I have faith in my teammates to give me something to smile about.”
Orgoglioso per questo riconoscimento // I am proud for this award #TheBest FIFA Football Awards @LaPresseOfficial https://t.co/pjx9XVqpHh pic.twitter.com/j5zZ5RVrp6
— Leonardo Bonucci (@bonucci_leo19) October 23, 2017
The 30 year old was named to the FIFPro team of the year, alongside former teammate Gianluigi Buffon, Neymar, Lionel Messi among others. But despite that, Leonardo Bonucci has failed to live up to his €42 million price tag since moving to the San Siro. AC Milan are 11th on the Serie A table, with only four points and have as many defeats in nine games, and have often looked defensively weak.
He further added, “We need points because the league table shows that we’re losing too many, but with 10 men on Sunday, we saw the real Milan, with character, which you need to respond to your critics.”
Author’s take:
The 30-year-old joined AC Milan during the summer in an incredible coup by the Rossoneri and became the highest paid player in Italy with a five-year contract worth up to €10 million. But Leonardo Bonucci hasn’t been at his best and has struggled to find his standing at AC Milan, something he did brilliantly at Juventus. For the Rossoneri to have a chance of outdoing Juventus, they need their marquee man to find his footing and fast.
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