| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1964-08-01)1 August 1964 (age 61) | ||
| Place of birth | Brescia, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Left midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1981–1984 | Brescia | 70 | (3) |
| 1984–1985 | Genoa | 31 | (1) |
| 1985–1987 | Juventus | 18 | (2) |
| 1987–1988 | Atalanta | 26 | (2) |
| 1988–1990 | Bologna | 62 | (3) |
| 1990–1993 | Sampdoria | 61 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Bologna | 18 | (2) |
| 1994 | Torino | 5 | (0) |
| 1995 | Brescia | 16 | (0) |
| 1995–1996 | Grimsby Town | 19 | (3) |
| 1996 | Tranmere Rovers | 13 | (2) |
| 1997 | Crystal Palace | 2 | (0) |
| 1997–1999 | Genoa | 55 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | Sestrese | 19 | (0) |
| 2000–2002 | Dundee | 18 | (2) |
| Total | 433 | (20) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2000–2002 | Dundee | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ivano Bonetti (born 1 August 1964) is an Italian professionalfootballmanager, executive and former player.
As a player, he was amidfielder from 1981 to 2002. He made appearances for several clubs in Italy in bothSerie A andSerie B most notablyJuventus,Sampdoria,Bologna andBrescia. He became notably remembered in England for his spell atGrimsby Town, where, despite being a fan favourite, he was involved in an infamous half-time bust-up with his manager that left him with a broken cheekbone. He also turned out in his home country forGenoa,Atalanta,Torino andSestrese as well as spells in England withTranmere Rovers andCrystal Palace. In 2000, he was appointed player-manager ofScottish Premier League sideDundee, where he remained for two years, before being appointed director of football ofLega Pro Prima Divisione clubValle del Giovenco where he remained until 2010.
Born inBrescia, Bonetti made his debut for his hometown club,Brescia (1981–84), before moving toSerie B sideGenoa (1984–85), and subsequently defending European ChampionsJuventus (1985–88), where he won the1985 Intercontinental Cup, and the1985–86 Serie A title; he made hisSerie A debut on 10 November 1985, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–1 home win overRoma, 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 toAtalanta for the1987–88 Serie B season, helping the club to obtain a fourth-place finish and Serie A promotion. He later played forBologna (1988–90), andSampdoria (1990–93), where he won his second Serie A title in1991, also reaching theEuropean Cup final the following year, playing alongside his brother Dario once again. He later returned to Bologna (1993–94) inSerie C1, before briefly returning to Brescia the following season (1994–95), and spending the second half of the1994–95 Serie A season withTorino, before moving to England later in 1995.[1]
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, underFIFA regulations, was not allowed to deal with the company and probably could not have afforded the money anyway.[2]
The love affair was completed when he scored the winning goal againstWest Brom, then managed by former Grimsby bossAlan Buckley and featuring several former Grimsby players.[3]
On 10 February 1996, an incident after a 3–2 defeat away toLuton Town led to the departure of Bonetti fromBlundell Park.[4] Just a month before, Grimsby had beaten them 7–1 in theFA Cup third round. ApparentlyBrian 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.[5]At the end of the season, Bonetti left forTranmere Rovers on a free transfer; Laws lasted until November of the next season. At Tranmere, Bonetti scored twice, including a late winner in a 4–3 win overPortsmouth.[6] At the start of the 1997–98 season, Bonetti turned up atCrystal Palace, making two substitute appearances in thePremier League, shortly before returning to Italy to joinGenoa.
In 1998, a consortium looking to take over Grimsby Town was planning to install Bonetti as manager, though this later fell through.[7]
Ivano, along with brotherDario, enjoyed a stint as a coach, serving as a player-manager of the Scottish clubDundee, replacingJocky Scott.[8] During his first season at Dundee, he signed in several foreign players such asFabián Caballero,Georgi Nemsadze and, most notably, Argentine superstarClaudio Caniggia, the latter being signed byRangers only one year later, following an impressive season with the club. Despite this, he made only a sixth place inhis first season, but was, however, publicly backed by the club. Further top signings such asTemuri Ketsbaia,Zurab Khizanishvili andFan Zhiyi failed to make an improvement to the team results, and Dundee ended the2001–02 season in a disappointing ninth place. He was sacked on 2 July 2002 by the club management.[9] 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.[10]
Between 2004 and 2010, he had a spell as director of football ofLega Pro Prima Divisione clubValle del Giovenco.[11]
In August 2020, Bonetti joinedSerie D clubRimini as head youth coach.[12]
Bonetti is married and has three children.[13] He is the son of Aldo Bonetti who played forBrescia until theSecond World War. His brother Mario played forAtalanta, and his brotherDario played over 100 games forRoma and won two caps for Italy.[1]
Bonetti became an entrepreneur in 2013. He is the founder, CEO and president of Mobisafe, a company that deals with technology applied to health.[14] He sells a product that, when applied to mobile phones, can reduce electromagnetic waves, the Skudowave.[15] The medical device has been sold in pharmacies and distribution of the Skudowave to several football clubs, among othersBayern Munich,Juventus andManchester United.[13]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Dundee | 29 July 2000 | 12 May 2002 | 90 | 29 | 21 | 40 | 032.2 |
| Total | 90 | 29 | 21 | 40 | 032.2 | ||
Juventus[1]
Sampdoria[1]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |