Samuele Dalla Bona

Chelsea

By the time he was 17 years old, he was captain of the under 18 national side, and was signed by Premier League club Chelsea in October 1998. Dalla Bona's move to London saw the Italian Football Federation amend the legislation regarding the sale of their young players. The young midfielder was brought into the youth and reserve team squads at Chelsea first, gaining a reputation for prolific goalscoring with 16 reserve team goals, winning the club golden boot in 1998–99. In the same season, he was voted Chelsea's young player of the year. He made his senior team debut for the club against Feyenoord in the Champions League a year later in November 1999. The following season, 2000–01, Dalla Bona got an extended run in the side, making 32 appearances in that season and scoring 2 goals. He was boosted further by the departure of older midfielders Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet in 2001 and some impressive performances. In his final season at Chelsea, 2001–02, he contributed 4 more goals in the Premier League, including an injury time winner against Ipswich Town and the third in a 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool. He also played during some of the matches in Chelsea's 2001–02 FA Cup run; the team were eventual runners-up to Arsenal, though Dalla Bona did not play in the final. However, Dalla Bona turned down a contract extension, citing his desire to return to Italy, and was placed on the transfer list. Consequently, Dalla Bona fell out of favour and was forced to train with…

A.C. Milan

Coppa Italia: 2002–03 UEFA Champions League: 2002–03