Samuele Dalla Bona
Encyclopedia
Samuele Dalla Bona sometimes referred to as Sam Dalla Bona, is an Italian
footballer
who currently plays for Mantova F.C..
in October 1998. Dalla Bona's move to London
saw the FIGC amend the legislation regarding the sale of their young players.
The young midfielder was brought into the youth and reserve team squads at Chelsea first, gaining a reputation for prolific goalscoring with 16 reserve team goals, winning the club golden boot in 1998–99. In the same season, he was voted Chelsea's young player of the year.
He made his senior team debut for the club against Feyenoord
in the Champions League
a year later. With the departure of older midfielders Dennis Wise
and Gustavo Poyet
in 2001 and some impressive performances, Dalla Bona got an extended run in the side, making 32 appearances in that season and scoring 2 goals. He also played during some of the matches in Chelsea's 2001–02 FA Cup
run; the team were eventual runners-up to Arsenal
, though Dalla Bona did not play in the final.
The following season, Dalla Bona turned down a contract extension, citing his desire to return to Italy, and was placed on the transfer list. Consequently, Dalla Bona fell out of favour and was forced to train with the reserves by Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri.
He moved to AC Milan
for around £1million in July 2002, having played 73 games for Chelsea in all competitions and scored 6 goals. Dalla Bona made his Serie A
debut on 6 October 2002 as Milan defeated Torino
6–0. During his first season at Milan, he received Champions League and Coppa Italia
winners medals along with the rest of the squad.
Facing competition from a star-studded AC Milan midfield containing the likes of Gennaro Gattuso
, Clarence Seedorf
and Andrea Pirlo
, Dalla Bona's opportunities at the club were limited and he spent various seasons on loan at different clubs in Italy, the first of which was a year long loan at Bologna
. The following season he was loaned to Lecce
having made just a handful of appearances for Milan and in 2005 he was loaned to Sampdoria for a season.
then in the Italian
Serie B
league, on free transfer, despite still had a year left in his contract. Dalla Bona had a positive start at Napoli, with the club performing well in Serie B. His contributions to the team included a particularly stunning goal, a left footed volley from outside the box against Treviso
. However, as Napoli made their return to Serie A, Dalla Bona was again regularly left out of the starting line, with Napoli signing new players.
On 4 February 2009, Dalla Bona announced that he had left Napoli and was hoping to train with West Ham United in order to secure a permanent contract under former Chelsea
team-mate Gianfranco Zola
. Dalla Bona announced he had rejected an offer from Serie B
side Triestina because of this. He ultimately failed to secure a contact with West Ham and after another unsuccessful training spell with Fulham, he returned to Napoli.
On August 7, 2009 Iraklis have signed the Italian midfielder on loan from Napoli for a season. However, Dalla Bona failed to adjust in the team, mainly due to lack of fitness and his contract was terminated in December 2009, after making just three appearances (all as a substitute) in competitive matches. On 1 February 2010 he was signed by third division side Verona
.
On 31 August 2010, he was loaned to Atalanta
. However, Dalla Bona failed again to adjust to the team, and by the end of the season managed just a single appearance (at Coppa Italia
).
, Dalla Bona signed a one year contract for Mantova F.C.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
footballer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who currently plays for Mantova F.C..
Chelsea
By the time he was 17 years-old, he was captain of the under 18 national side, and was signed by English football club ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
in October 1998. Dalla Bona's move to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
saw the FIGC amend the legislation regarding the sale of their young players.
The young midfielder was brought into the youth and reserve team squads at Chelsea first, gaining a reputation for prolific goalscoring with 16 reserve team goals, winning the club golden boot in 1998–99. In the same season, he was voted Chelsea's young player of the year.
He made his senior team debut for the club against Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Feyenoord is a Dutch professional football club located in Rotterdam. Along with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands. These three clubs and Utrecht and Roda JC are the only clubs never to have been relegated from the Dutch first division...
in the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
a year later. With the departure of older midfielders Dennis Wise
Dennis Wise
Dennis Frank Wise is an English former football manager and player, and former Executive Director at Newcastle United....
and Gustavo Poyet
Gustavo Poyet
Gustavo Augusto Gus Poyet Domínguez is a former Uruguay international footballer and current manager of English side Brighton & Hove Albion.During his playing career, Poyet featured for teams including Real Zaragoza, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur....
in 2001 and some impressive performances, Dalla Bona got an extended run in the side, making 32 appearances in that season and scoring 2 goals. He also played during some of the matches in Chelsea's 2001–02 FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
run; the team were eventual runners-up to Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
, though Dalla Bona did not play in the final.
The following season, Dalla Bona turned down a contract extension, citing his desire to return to Italy, and was placed on the transfer list. Consequently, Dalla Bona fell out of favour and was forced to train with the reserves by Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri.
AC Milan
Dalla Bona had decided to move back to his home nation of Italy. Numerous clubs were interested in the player, including his home town club Venezia who had a £5 million offer accepted but Dalla Bona decided his future lay elsewhere and turned down the opportunity.He moved to AC Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
for around £1million in July 2002, having played 73 games for Chelsea in all competitions and scored 6 goals. Dalla Bona made his Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
debut on 6 October 2002 as Milan defeated Torino
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
6–0. During his first season at Milan, he received Champions League and Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
winners medals along with the rest of the squad.
Facing competition from a star-studded AC Milan midfield containing the likes of Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Ivan Gattuso, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian footballer, who plays for Serie A club Milan. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder. Gattuso is an aggressive, hard tackling player and in his prime, was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world...
, Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Clyde Seedorf OON is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Milan. Seedorf is the first player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007...
and Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus, and for the Italian national team. He is usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker for both Juventus and Italy and is regarded as one of best players in this position...
, Dalla Bona's opportunities at the club were limited and he spent various seasons on loan at different clubs in Italy, the first of which was a year long loan at Bologna
Bologna F.C. 1909
Bologna Football Club 1909, known simply as Bologna, is an Italian Football League club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, formed in 1993. The club are nicknamed the rossoblù because of the red and blue striped shirts they wear. Red and Blue are the official colours of the town.During its history...
. The following season he was loaned to Lecce
U.S. Lecce
Unione Sportiva Lecce or simply U.S. Lecce is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia who play in the Italian Serie A. After being crowned Serie B champions in 2009–10, the team successfully managed to avoid relegation in 2010-11....
having made just a handful of appearances for Milan and in 2005 he was loaned to Sampdoria for a season.
Napoli
At the end of the championship he returned to AC Milan but after a few weeks he transferred to NapoliS.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
then in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
league, on free transfer, despite still had a year left in his contract. Dalla Bona had a positive start at Napoli, with the club performing well in Serie B. His contributions to the team included a particularly stunning goal, a left footed volley from outside the box against Treviso
Treviso F.B.C. 1993
Football Club Treviso is an Italian football club based in Treviso. The club was formed in 1909, and refounded in 1993 and in 2009. The club currently plays in Lega Pro Seconda Divisione.Treviso's official colours are light blue and white.-History:...
. However, as Napoli made their return to Serie A, Dalla Bona was again regularly left out of the starting line, with Napoli signing new players.
On 4 February 2009, Dalla Bona announced that he had left Napoli and was hoping to train with West Ham United in order to secure a permanent contract under former Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
team-mate Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola, OBE, Ufficiale OMRI is a retired Italian footballer and manager, who most recently managed West Ham United from 2008 to 2010, after having been assistant manager of the Italy U-21 under Pierluigi Casiraghi...
. Dalla Bona announced he had rejected an offer from Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
side Triestina because of this. He ultimately failed to secure a contact with West Ham and after another unsuccessful training spell with Fulham, he returned to Napoli.
On August 7, 2009 Iraklis have signed the Italian midfielder on loan from Napoli for a season. However, Dalla Bona failed to adjust in the team, mainly due to lack of fitness and his contract was terminated in December 2009, after making just three appearances (all as a substitute) in competitive matches. On 1 February 2010 he was signed by third division side Verona
Hellas Verona F.C.
Hellas Verona Football Club is a professional Italian association football team, based in Verona, Veneto. The team's colours are yellow and blue and gialloblu is the team's most widely used nickname...
.
On 31 August 2010, he was loaned to Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...
. However, Dalla Bona failed again to adjust to the team, and by the end of the season managed just a single appearance (at Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
).
Mantova
On 31 August 2011, the final day of the summer transfer windowTransfer window
The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA...
, Dalla Bona signed a one year contract for Mantova F.C.