Sam DALLA BONA

Great things were expected of 17 year-old Sam Dalla Bona when he joined Chelsea on a free transfer

from Italian club Atalanta in October 1998. The Italian under-18 captain was so highly rated in his home

country that the Italian FA amended the legislation regarding the sale of their young players as a direct

result of his decision to leave for London. A hard-working, tidy midfielder, Dalla Bona was a prolific goal

scorer for Chelsea's youth and reserve teams and little more than a year after signing for The Blues he

was given his debut as a second-half substitute in a Champions League clash against Feyenoord.

He was used only sparingly that season, making just two league appearances, but new manager Claudio Ranieri

gave him more opportunities to shine in the following campaign and he immediately impressed with his vision and

range of passing, his performance during a 6-1 victory over Coventry being particularly outstanding. Sam was quiet

by nature and at times seemed a little overawed by those around him but there was no doubting the raw talent he

possessed. Not surprisingly he found goals a little harder to come by at the top level but the two he did score that

season, a low shot from the edge of the box at Everton and a run from the halfway line followed by a neat finish

against Bradford, gave the supporters a glimpse of what to expect in the future.

The departures of Wise and Poyet, and the retirement of Di Matteo, gave Sam the opportunity to stake a regular

place in the starting line-up in 2001/02 but his form was unconvincing throughout the campaign as rumours abounded

that AC Milan were keen to sign him and that he was equally keen to join the Italian giants. He made 24 appearances

that season, scoring on four occasions including a spectacular injury-time winner against Ipswich Town.
The following summer, recognising that Dalla Bona would be able to walk out on the club twelve months later on a

free transfer, Chelsea accepted an offer of £1 million from Milan to take the youngster to the San Siro. (Kelvin Barker)

1999–2002    Chelsea    55    (6)

2002–2006     Milan    4    (0)
2003–2004     Bologna (loan)    19    (3)
2004–2005     Lecce (loan)    36    (6)
2005–2006     Sampdoria (loan)    29    (0)
2006–2011     Napoli    34    (3)
2009–2010     Iraklis (loan)    2    (0)
2010              Verona (loan)    2    (0)
2010–2011     Atalanta (loan)    0    (0)
2011–2012     Mantova    8    (0)

Total 189 games 18 goals