San Marino, Rotary awards Juve champion Massimo Bonini
On Monday evening, the Rotary Club of San Marino awarded the “Rotary Prize for Professionalism” to Massimo Bonini. With three league titles, an Italian Cup, a Cup Winners’ Cup, a Super Cup, a European Cup and an Intercontinental Cup, the great Juventus champion is the most successful San Marino sportsman ever. As if that were not enough, precisely because of Juventus’ victory in 1985 over Argentinos Junior with the conquest of the Intercontinental Cup, Massimo Bonini was also the first San Marino to have won a world title, followed then, in 2001 and 2003, by Manuel Put them on.
The convivial evening, conducted with style by the vice president of the Rotary Club San Marino Marco Mazza and the radio and television journalist Roberto Chiesa, saw an attentive audience of Rotarian authorities, members of the Club and numerous guests. As Marco Mazza wanted to point out, the “Rotary Award for Professionalism“, Established 30 years ago, is awarded to San Marino citizens or residents who have distinguished themselves in their profession, honoring the country with their activities and giving prestige and prestige to the institutions and the image of the Republic of San Marino, both locally and internationally “.
Italo Cucci told the story of Massimo Bonini’s sporting achievements. The great signature of sports journalism retraced the career of the midfielder from the first Serie B championship won with the Cesena shirt, to the Bianconeri triumphs, up to appearances in the San Marino national team. An experience that Bonini has kept with great nostalgia: “We weren’t competitive, of course. I used to play with guys that I have to sacrifice to cultivate football as a passion. Not all ambitions for results together, yet we all lived and shared a beautiful path ”.
The evening was also attended by the Secretary of State for Sport Teodoro Lonfernini, who wanted to greet the champion and his friend: “Talking about Bonini – he said – means talking about the sportsman and the man who brought the values of San Marino in the world and it is always a pleasure to meet him on these public occasions “.
Sincerely moved, Massimo Bonini wanted to dedicate the award to his parents: “They were exceptional with me, they spoke little and yet with their example they showed me the way. They always left me free to make my choices, when I played in Turin we felt and saw little. Yet the bond was very strong “.
Finally, the vice president of the Rotary Club San Marino Marco, in delivering the silver plate to Massimo Bonini, read the reasons for the award engraved:
“The Rotary Club San Marino, with the aim of recognizing excellence in the field of activities, awarded Massimo Bonini the Rotary Award for Professionalism, to certify his undisputed superiority in the sports field, the first Sam-Marin athlete to have won a world title. A vigorous and handsome football player and athlete, he has exalted his eminent physical skills with special commitment, always turning them with passion and disinterest at the service of the team. Even as a coach and manager he has demonstrated his skills and professional skills, generously placing them at the service of the new generations, thus demonstrating that he respects and puts into practice the ideals of Rotary International in the sporting, professional and human spheres and paying great honor to our Republic“.