John Bonello (footballer)

John Bonello
Personal information
Date of birth (1958-05-10) 10 May 1958
Place of birth Msida, Malta
Position Goalkeeper
Youth career
-1972 Fgura United
1972-1974 Hibernians
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1980 Hibernians 62 (0)
1980–1981 SC Herford 6 (0)
1981–1993 Hibernians 151 (0)
1996–1999 Ħamrun Spartans 32 (0)
Total 251 (0)
International career
1979–1987 Malta 29 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

John Bonello (born 10 May 1958) is a Maltese former footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Born in Msida, Bonello has played the majority of his career at Hibernians Paola, whom he joined from Fgura United. After being sidelined by Hibs for a few seasons he joined Ħamrun Spartans in 1996.[1] He also had a season abroad at West German lower league side SC Herford. He was voted Malta Footballer of the Month in March 1986.[2]

International career

Bonello made his debut for Malta in an August 1979 friendly match against Tunisia. He earned a total of 29 caps, scoring no goals. He has represented his country in 7 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[3] Bonello was the goalkeeper in the infamous December 1983 European Championship qualification defeat by Spain, which Malta lost 1–12, ensuring that Spain qualified for Euro 1984 ahead of the Netherlands.[4]

His final international was a January 1987 European Championship qualification match against Italy.[5]

Personal life

His son Henry is an international goalkeeper as well.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Baldacchino, Carmel (7 October 2010). "Bonello a suitable replacement for Hibs legend Mizzi". Times of Malta. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  2. ↑ "Player of the Month". Malta Football. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  3. ↑ John Bonello – FIFA competition record (archived)
  4. ↑ Vella, Matthew (22 May 2008). "Ola! John Bonello is Spain's amigo, but that beer ad is not so funny". Malta Today. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  5. ↑ International stats – EU Football
  6. ↑ Maltese Goalkeeper Seeking To Avenge His Father And Banish Spanish Ghosts Tonight - Lovin Malta
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.