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Bonucci: I 'owe’ it to Inter…
Thursday 22 July, 2010
New Juventus signing Leonardo Bonucci has thanked Internazionale for showing him the door last summer.
“I left Inter for market reasons and I joined Genoa,” he stated on Thursday. “I was lucky really because if that had not happened then I wouldn’t be at Juventus today.”
Bonucci was signed by the Marassi outfit who instantly sold a half-share in him to Bari, a club who gave the defender a chance to catch the eye of former Italy boss Marcello Lippi last term.
“My explosion was a surprise for everybody,” he added. “I always believed in my potential, but I didn’t think that I would reach the national team so soon.”
The stopper didn’t play a single minute at the World Cup, but he did complete a €15.5m move to the Old Lady on his return from South Africa.
“I’m not emotional or scared, I just have a great desire to start the season and do well,” he noted. “It is a stimulating situation that I’m in.
“I had a good campaign at Bari, but this needs to be the season of my consecration."
When asked what was expected of the squad, he admitted that the players are forced to deliver results.
“This team is condemned to do well in order to cancel out what happened last season,” he continued.
“We’ll just aim to do better with each Sunday that passes in order to get Juventus back to where she belongs.
“There are no internal battles within the squad, just competition for places which helps an individual to push even harder in each training session.
“Then it will be up to the Coach to decide whether he plays Diego or Alessandro Del Piero, myself or Nicola Legrottaglie and so on.”