Mauro Bonomi was born in Cremona, on August 23, 1972.
He started playing football in his hometown club Cremonese. His debut came on September 1, 1991 against Genoa. He went on to play 49 times for the Grigiorossi.
In 1992 he was signed by Lazio along with two other promising Cremonese players, fellow defender Giuseppe Favalli and midfielder Dario Marcolin.
He made his debut for the Biancocelesti on August 26, 1992, in a 4-0 win against Ascoli.
In his first year in Rome he played under Dino Zoff and made 10 league appearances (plus 3 in Coppa Italia). He was unlucky breaking his leg in November at Pescara, in the game Paul Gascoigne scored his unforgettable goal, swerving his way through the whole defence.
Bonomi's second year was his best and he played 22 league games, 1 in Coppa Italia and 1 in the UEFA Cup, again under Zoff. Things changed when Zdenek Zeman arrived in 1994-95 but he was also penalised by injury and the emergence of young outstanding talent Alessandro Nesta who paired up well with Paolo Negro. In his last season in Rome he only played 6 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia.
Bonomi played three seasons for Lazio and made 38 league appearances. Lazio achieved a 5th, 4th and 2nd place in his time in Rome.
In 1995 he signed for Cagliari where he played 12 league games first under Giovanni Trapattoni and then Bruno Giorgi. The islanders had a decent season finishing 10th. In 1996 he went to Cesena in Serie B, where he played more regularly, 34 league games.
In 1997 he joined Bologna but played only one game before moving to Torino in Serie B.
At Torino he finally found some continuity and over the next four years played 103 league games with 3 goals. In 1998 "Toro" were promoted to Serie A under Emiliano Mondonico and he played 33 league games with 3 goals (Chievo, Reggiana, Napoli) plus 3 games in Coppa Italia. The following year however they were immediately relegated again. In his last year with the "Granata" he helped them back up with 13 league games.
In 2001 he joined Napoli in Serie B. The "Partenopei" arrived 5th under Luigi De Canio. Bonomi was a regular with 35 league appearances and 2 goals (Genoa, Cosenza).
The following year Napoli changed managers twice, Franco Colomba to Franco Scoglio and back to the first Franco. They had an awful season coming 16th. Bonomi played 32 league games with 1 goal (Genoa) and 3 in Coppa Italia.
In 2003-04 only a slight improvement for the "Azzurri", a 14th place, first under former Lazio Andrea Agostinelli and then another Lazio connection Gigi Simoni. Bonomi played 30 league games and 1 in Coppa Italia. Napoli though went bankrupt and were relegated to C1. The club however was bought by film producer Aurelio De Laurentis, so better things were on the way.
In 2004-05 however Bonomi did not follow Napoli down to C1. He joined newly promoted Catanzaro in Serie B. The Calabresi were then relegated with a last place finish but then kept their B status due to other clubs misdemeanors. Bonomi played 18 league games for the Red and Yellow Eagles.
The following year he kept the same colours but went down a league to Ravenna in C1. He played 20 league games for the Lions as they came 13th.
Bonomi then retired at 34.
At International level he won 8 Italy U18 caps. He played 12 times for the U21's and won a European Championship in 1992 in Spain. He also made 5 appearances for the Italy Olympic team in Barcelona 1992.
The fact that 1992 was his last national experience probably has a reason. He was one of the most promising defenders of his generation until his injury, in November 1992. After that he recovered, had a decent career but never reached the heights many had predicted.
At Lazio when he arrived from Cremonese with Favalli and Marcolin he was the one people were most excited about. As it turned out the others would have more illustrious careers, also winning the Scudetto with Lazio.
Bonomi was a tenacious defender. At 1.83 for 80 kilos he was also quick. This asset was affected by his injury but he remained a solid defender. He could play either full-back or centre-back. He was best at man-to-man marking which met his physical and aggressive style of play. He was "un lottatore", a fighter. At Lazio he did not fulfil his potential but will always be connected to a period where Lazio could beat off competition and buy three promising talents at the drop of a hat.
Bonomi since retiring has left football and he now runs a restaurant in a popular sea resort frequented by many footballers, Milano Marittima (Ravenna).
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia | UEFA Cup |
1992-93 | 13 | 10 | 3 | - |
1993-94 | 24 | 22 | 1 | 1 |
1994-95 | 7 | 6 | 1 | - |
Total | 44 | 38 | 5 | 1 |
Source
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