Italy hardman Leonardo Bonucci ate garlic to breathe on Roma rivals during Serie A clash

Leonardo Bonucci's motivational coach revealed to giving him garlic sweets before their clash with rivals Roma so he could breathe in the face of the opposition players

Posted Sunday, May 01, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk

Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci was once given garlic sweets by his motivational coach Alberto Ferrarini before a controversial 3-2 Serie A win over rivals Roma back in 2014.

Carlos Tevez' controversial penalty was cancelled out by Roma's Francesco Totti from the spot, before the Argentinian levelled matters on the brink of half-time after Juan Iturbe had scored the second.

With five minutes remaining, Bonucci restored Juventus' lead with a wonder-goal from the edge of the area, before both Alvaro Morata and Kostas Manolas were dismissed after receiving a red card. However, Bonucci's inspiration to score the winner may have come from an unexpected source.

Ferrarini who admitted to giving the defender sweets before the match, said he instructed his player to breathe on Totti and Gervinho during the game. "On Saturday night we spent three hours in the hotel to prepare for the game," he explained.

"Once we'd finished, I gave Leonardo a garlic sweet. Hundreds of years ago, soldiers ate garlic to keep them strong, healthy and alert. Leo is a soldier and, eating those sweets, it was like taking him back to his roots. I told him to breathe into the face of Gervinho and [Francesco] Totti. Most importantly, we achieved our objective: to win."

With Roma supporters not taking the matter lightly, Bonucci turned to Twitter to address the fans: "There is no reference to the Roma fans, nor to anyone else in yesterday's celebrations, it's just me celebrating, like on other occasions too," he said.

Ferrarini added: "To make him get over the weight of the judgements and all the whistles, there were even times when I would insult him or pepper him with punches, even locking him in my cellar."

The now 34-year-old is still representing the Turin side, having made over 105 appearances since returning for a second spell at the club from AC Milan in 2018.

The 36-time Serie A champions are currently fourth in the league table, seven points off first placed, Milan. Juve were last crowned champions in the 2019/20 season, after edging past Inter by a single point.