The 171 Club: Lautaro joins Boninsegna

171 goals, 171 moments to celebrate. Lautaro Martínez keeps on thrilling, writing new chapters in Inter’s record books. Last season it was Nyers and Lorenzi; this year Cevenini, Mazzola and now Boninsegna. Once again, the captain finds himself alongside one of the greats of Nerazzurri history, moving past each of them with respect and humility. Yet the numbers speak for themselves. Lautaro has drawn level with Bonimba and climbed onto the podium of Inter’s all-time top scorers. A shared third place that connects the Argentine with Boninsegna, two forwards remarkably alike in style, power and the relentless energy they brought to the pitch. Lautaro's latest milestone allows us to revisit the story of Bonimba: the prototype of the perfect centre-forward, with 171 goals in the Nerazzurri shirt (or 173, according to some records that also include the two goals he scored in the 1971 Armando Picchi Trophy).

TOP SCORERS IN INTER HISTORY

Updated on 8 February 2026

An era-defining symbol and a ruthless goal scorer, Roberto Boninsegna was born in Mantua on 13 November 1943, where his destiny was immediately bound with football: “I was born on a football pitch, because my mother used to go and watch Mantova at the Martelli when she was eight months pregnant,” he likes to recall, an anecdote that perfectly explains how the game is part of his DNA. Moreover, that DNA is tied to two very specific colours: black and blue, like the woollen shirt he wore as a child in the kit of Sant’Egidio, his first local football side. His passion for Inter began with Sunday coach trips to Milan to admire Lennart Skoglund, István Nyers and Benito Lorenzi – idols and role models that young Roberto would one day chase down and surpass. He joined the youth sector at just 14, met his heroes and began living the dream that he had held since childhood.

In the youth ranks he grew under the watchful eye of Giuseppe Meazza, another legendary Nerazzurri striker, while observing from afar as Inter rose to dominate world football. At the time, however, his own moment in black and blue had not yet arrived. Boninsegna travelled the length of Italy, playing for Prato, Potenza, Varese and Cagliari, with a spell in the United States in Chicago. In 1969, he finally returned to Inter, when Cagliari agreed to sell him to the Nerazzurri in exchange for Angelo Domenghini, Sergio Gori and Cesare Poli. Boninsegna was asked to become Inter’s new great centre-forward, a demanding role, burdened with immense expectations.

Yet the legend of Bonimba had already been born in Sardinia. The nickname was coined by Gianni Brera, blending his name with that of Bagonghi, the circus dwarf, because Roberto’s running style made him look shorter than he really was. Brera himself later admitted: “I christened him a dwarf, and a dwarf he remains. A dwarf of epic proportions, though.” At Inter, his childhood dream finally came true: Boninsegna played for the team he had always supported. Seven years, a bounty of goals. Roberto was a complete striker, capable of scoring in each and every way possible.

With the number 9 on his back, long hair flowing in the wind, Bonisegna became Inter's goal machine. Powerful, fast, blessed with a thunderous left foot, Bonimba rewrote the striker’s handbook. 281 appearances, 171 goals, and a truly unforgettable Scudetto in 1970/71, won with a dramatic comeback over AC Milan. That season Boninsegna finished as Serie A’s top scorer with 24 goals, many of them moments of magic that sprung from the Mantuan striker’s unmatched poacher's instinct. Just think of the diving header against Napoli, braving the dangerous challenge of defender Panzanato, or the extraordinary overhead kick scored against Foggia on the day the title was secured – a moment etched into memory thanks to Ligabue’s film Radiofreccia, in which Stefano Accorsi plays a DJ who idolises the Inter striker, saying “I believe in Bonimba’s overhead kicks.”

Goals were an obsession for Boninsegna, something that the legendary centre-forward still carries to this day. You sense it when he is keen to point out the importance of his 0.6 goals-per-game average, second only to Giuseppe Meazza among Inter’s top five all-time scorers, or when he regrets having won “only” two Serie A Golden Boots, believing he was denied a third in 1973/74 after a goal against Cesena was officially recorded as an own goal by Ceccarelli.

A long and extraordinary career, marked by other unforgettable moments, including Inter’s run to the European Cup final in 1971/72. Bonimba became an unwilling protagonist in the Round of 16 when he was struck by a can during the infamous match away to Borussia Mönchengladbach, which ended 7–1 and was later replayed in Berlin. That journey ended in the final against Cruyff’s Ajax, one of the two matches Boninsegna says he would most like to play again, alongside the 1970 World Cup final lost to Brazil, in which he scored Italy’s temporary equaliser.

In 1976 Bonimba moved to Juventus, despite his initial refusal driven by a burning love for the Nerazzurri colours. After three years he joined Hellas Verona, where he brought his top-level career to a close before retiring with Viadanese.

“I wanted to play for Inter because I’m an Inter fan: I played and scored here for seven years, I fought and won with all my heart.”

His desire to fight, his willingness to sacrifice and his grit shown in every duel: the very same qualities we can recognise today when watching Lautaro Martínez. Two similar forwards, both complete strikers, who have both demonstrated what it takes to be the perfect centre-forward. Now Roberto Boninsegna finds himself in illustrious company on the third step of the podium of Inter’s all-time top scorers. The two met at San Siro a couple of months ago, when Bonimba spoke admiringly to the Nerazzurri captain before watching him score against Como.

Now Bonimba and Il Toro are ideally side by side once again, united by the 171 goals scored in an Inter shirt.