Lecce (swapped with Mauro Rizzo), where he remained for two years and made his debut in Serie A on 5 October 2003 in Lecce–Brescia (1–4). On 2 May 2, 2004 he scored in a 2–1 home win against Internazionale, contributing to saving Lecce from relegation. With 2 goals in the league, he achieved his personal record of goals in a season.[5] In June 2004, he was redeemed by Roma for €10,000, while Rizzo returned to Lecce for €40,000.[6]
On 31 July 2004 he moved to Parma in temporary deal for €100,000, as part of the signing of defender Matteo Ferrari,[7]where he showed good performances, such that[citation needed] Palermo bought half of his contract on 31 August 2004 for €1.5 million (in pure player exchange: Francesco Milano and Paolo Comi)[8][9] Even this season he scored 2 goals in the league, equaling his record. The transfer of Bovo, Gianluca Curci, Simone Pepe and Valerio Virga were also accused uneconomical, and were compensation to Maurizio Zamparini for the acquirement of Palermo from Franco Sensi.,[10] which Roma denied,[11] despite the sales of 4 players only received one thousand and five hundred euro cash plus half of the registration rights of two reserve players Comi and Milano. Roma did have a net short term debt to Palermo of €1.75 million on 30 June 2004 due to the transfer of Brienza–Bombardini, which paid by Roma in cash but counter-weighted on 30 June 2006 due to the full purchase of Bovo by Palermo .
After the insistence of the president of Palermo, Maurizio Zamparini, who had declared his intention to redeem at all costs the remaining contract of Bovo,[citation needed] the transfer of the defender in rosanero materialised in June 2006 for €2.05 million; while Virga returned to Roma for €50,000.[13][14] Roma made around €200,000 less to the bid of Palermo.[15]
In the final day of the transfer market of January 2007, he moved to
On 19 June 2008 he was redeemed from Palermo for €4.5 million cash plus the transfer of Giuseppe Biava.[19][20]
He made his debut with Palermo in the second game of the third round of
Ravenna (1–2), while his first goal for Palermo came in the third day of the championship against Genoa, with a great shot from outside the box. Along with Simon Kjær and Andrea Raggi, his task was to replace the vacancies left by departures of Andrea Barzagli, Cristian Zaccardo and Leandro Rinaudo. He finished the season with only 28 appearances due to the number of cards received. He was Palermo's vice-captain along with Fabrizio Miccoli
.
In the
A.C. Milan. He closed the season with a total of 29 appearances in the league (and 2 goals, a record equaled again)[5] plus 3 appearances in Coppa Italia
.
In the 2010–11 season, on 11 December 2010, he wore the captain's armband for the first time at home against Parma.[23] On 22 January 2011, in Palermo–Brescia (1–0) of the 21st round, he scored the winning goal from a free kick in the 86th minute,[24] equaling once again the personal record of goals scored in a season.
On 10 April 2011, in Palermo–
Cesena (2–2),[25] he made his 100th appearance with the shirt of Palermo; 86 in the league, 7 in Coppa Italia and 7 in European competition.[26]
On 23 April, in a home game against
Napoli, played on the 34th day, and won 2–1,[27] he scored his third league goal with a penalty kick, thus overcoming his personal scoring record.[28]
On 10 May, in the second leg of the
Europa League
.
In the 2011–12 season, after playing the two matches of the third qualifying round of the
, he left the rosaneri after a total of 108 appearances and 8 goals.
Return to Genoa
On 23 August 2011 he returned to
Genoa in a loan move for €200,000[30] with an option to make the move permanent for €1.3 million.[30][31]
He made his debut in Genoa–
Atalanta (2–2) on the second day of the championship held on 11 September 2011. He was injured early in the season, missing much of it.[32][33]
On 13 January 2012 Genoa acquired full ownership of the player for pre-agreed €1.3M[30] and sold half of the registration rights of goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano to Palermo for €5M.[30]
He returned to the field 7 April 2012, the 31st round, replacing
Novara–Genoa (1–1).[34] In a match against Siena he sprained his right knee, tearing his outer meniscus,[35]
which prematurely closed his season with 8 appearances.
On 18 November 2012, he scored an own goal during the
Torino on a free transfer,[37][38] six years after his previous experience in Turin. During the 2013–14 season, he played in 20 league games for Torino. On 2 June 2014 he renewed his contract until 2016.[39]
He scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season on 31 October 2015, during the
Atalanta, 1–0, in Bergamo. Three days later he renewed his contract with the club until 2017.[40]
Pescara
On 4 January 2017 he was sold to Pescara.[41] He spent two seasons in Abruzzo.
Return to Lecce
On 12 September 2018 he made his return to
Lecce
.
International career
Bovo was part of the Italy
2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. He scored the momentary 2–0 in the 81st minute during the final against Serbia
. The match ended 3–0 for the Azzurri.
He also represented Italy at the 2004 Summer Olympicsfootball tournament. During the quarterfinals, he scored the winning goal during extra time against Mali. He won a bronze medal.
free-kick specialist, possessing a strong shot from range.[44][47][48]
Coaching career
After retirement, Bovo joined
Lecce as a technical collaborator for the 2019–20 Serie A season.[49] He successively followed Liverani at Parma for the 2020–21 Serie A season.[50] On 8 June 2022, he signed for Cagliari as part of Fabio Liverani's staff.[51]
^"Comunicato Ufficiale N. 24" [Official Press Release No. 24] (PDF) (in Italian). Lega Serie A. 30 August 2016. p. 4. Archived(PDF) from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
