'I played Messi and Ronaldo but this little-known striker made me lie awake at night'

Nine league titles, 10 domestic cups, a Euros triumph with Italy and more than 500 appearances for Juventus make up the glittering CV of tough-tackling central defender Leonardo Bonucci.

The 37-year-old, who retired last year following a short spell with Fenerbahce, has been involved in direct battles with the best players of his generation. Bonucci played against Cristiano Ronaldo and shared a dressing room with him in Turin, while he can also tick Champions League battles with Lionel Messi off his bucket list.

But it was neither of those players – both of whom are considered to be two of the greatest of all time – who stirred up the largest sense of dread inside Bonucci the night before a game.

That honour, somewhat surprisingly, goes to Duvan Zapata. “My nightmare, who didn’t make me sleep at night, was Zapata,” Bonucci told Sky Italia.

“God, before games against his Atalanta side, I couldn’t sleep at night. His power and physicality made him my nightmare. Then, I was lucky enough to play against so many champions. [Didier] Drogba, Ronaldo, Messi, [Fernando] Torres, and I forget others, but it was too good.”

Speedy, strong and standing 6ft 2in tall, the peak of Zapata’s career came during a five-season spell with Atalanta between 2018 and 2023. The Colombian bulldozed his way through Serie A defences to score 23 league goals in his first campaign, and went on to hit double figures in each of his next four.

West Ham, Everton and Fulham were all credited with interest in bringing Zapata to the Premier League in recent years. But the Colombian, now 33, prolonged his 11-year stay in Serie A by signing for Torino on a permanent basis this summer.

He is still finding the back of the net with regularity, notching four goals already this season to add to the 12 he managed on loan with the Turin side last term, though a devastating ACL injury has stopped him in his tracks.

Bonucci naming Zapata his nemesis is an eye-opener primarily due to the standard of opponents faced by the Italian during his 19-year career. Not every player who gave him a physical battle was a ‘nightmare’, however, as the veteran defender revealed he loved going toe-to-toe with Luis Suarez.

“He was the one that hit me the most and the one I had the most fun with,” Bonucci explained. “Because he hit and got hit without any problem.”