Fiorentina talisman Giacomo Bonaventura kicked off a spectacle at Stadio San Nicola in Bari as Italy thrashed Malta 4-0 in a must-win Euro 2024 qualifier. Back to the national team after a three-year hiatus, the 34-year-old slotted home a spectacular shot from long range to open the scoring, setting the tone for a goal fest in Puglia.
It’s been almost half a decade since Bonaventura last featured for Italy. He couldn’t have hoped for a better way to mark his return to the national team than scoring a stunning goal to open his international account. As bizarre as it sounds, this was the veteran’s first-ever goal for Gli Azzurri. To his credit, it was a state-of-the-art debut goal.
Bonaventura dedicated his well-deserved call-up to his father, who died last year. By extension, the goal was in his honor as the Italy midfielder shared his overwhelming feelings with the press in the aftermath.
“It was a wonderful moment for me. I am doing well with Fiorentina, I scored today with practically the first shot I had. I am super happy, I will enjoy this night, then from tomorrow we think about England,” he told Sky Sport Italia, as quoted by Tuttomercatoweb.
He also joked about becoming the oldest player in the Italy national team history to score his breakthrough goal.
“Sorry it took so long, I got there eventually! I was lucky, it went well and at the end of the day these games against a very defensive team are tough to open the scoring. Once we got the goal, it allowed us to play with less pressure.”
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