For the third time in her career, Juventus Women and Italy star Barbara Bonansea has been ranked among the Top 100 female footballers from around the world.
The 31-year-old is one of three Serie A Femminile players to feature in the list alongside Bianconere teammate Pauline Peyraud-Magnin as well as AC Milan forward Kosovare Asllani, and she is also the only Italian woman present in the 2022 rankings.
For the 2022 ranking, The Guardian consulted 119 people, which consisted of coaches, former players, journalists, and other experts on women’s football. From an Italian perspective, Bonansea has stood out thanks to her prolific scoring as well as being one of the focal points of the Juventus team since the foundation of the women’s team in 2017.
Bonansea a class above all Italians
The Bianconere and Azzurre forward was ranked 97th in the 2022 list, fairly lower than ranking 53rd in 2019 and 85th in 2021.
Since joining from Brescia in 2017, Bonansea has been part of a Juventus team that has dominated women’s football like nothing ever seen on the Italian peninsula. She has won five Serie A Femminile titles, two Coppa Italia Femminile trophies, and three Supercoppa Italiana trophies with the Bianconere.
She is also an important player for Italy under coach Milena Bertolini, and she has scored 30 goals in 86 appearances for the Azzurre.
Peyraud-Magnin and Asllani also represent Serie A Femminile
In a list of 100 footballers, the representation of players based in the Serie A Femminile is paltry at best, making the inclusion of Peyraud-Magnin and Asllani more remarkable.
The 30-year-old France international was ranked 86 in The Guardian’s list and she starred alongside Bonansea at club level as Juventus went on to win the league and cup double in 2021/22. Peyraud-Magnin also represented her country at the Women’s Euro 2022 as the French went on to reach the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Asllani is a recent arrival to Italian football, having joined the AC Milan Femminile squad from Real Madrid in the summer. So far, the 33-year-old has scored seven goals in 11 league games for the Rossonere and has brought a wealth of experience to the team, having been a Sweden international since 2008.
