Rinaldo Fioramonte Martino (Italian pronunciation: [riˈnaldo fjoraˈmonte marˈtiːno]; 6 November 1921 – 15 November 2000) was an Italian Argentine forward who played for both the Argentine and the Italy national football teams.[1] Usually a forward, Martino was a player known for his lethal combination of goal scoring ability, playmaking skills and technique.

Rinaldo Martino
Martino in 1943
Personal information
Full name Rinaldo Fioramonte Martino
Date of birth (1921-11-06)6 November 1921
Place of birth Rosario, Argentina
Date of death 15 November 2000(2000-11-15) (aged 79)
Place of death Buenos Aires, Argentina
Position(s) Second Striker
Youth career
Belgrano de Rosario
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1941–1948 San Lorenzo 223 (142)
1949–1950 Juventus 33 (18)
1950 Nacional
1951 Boca Juniors 15 (3)
1951–1953 Nacional
1953 São Paulo FC 5 (1)
1953 C.A. Cerro
International career
1942–1948 Argentina 20 (15)
1949 Italy 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Martino was signed by San Lorenzo de Almagro in 1941 at the age of 19 from Belgrano de Rosario. He made his debut in 1941 against Newell's Old Boys[2] and in 1942 he became the top scorer in the Argentine Primera netting 25 goals in 30 games. In 1946 the team won the Primera División championship.

 
Rinaldo Martino at Juventus

In 1949 Martino moved to Italy joining Juventus and helping them to record their first championship since the 1930s. During his time in Italy he made one appearance for the Italy national team.

Martino then moved to Uruguay to play for Nacional helping them to win the Uruguayan Championship. In 1951 Martino returned to Argentina to play for Boca Juniors but he was sold back to Nacional in 1952 for 300,000 pesos. He played there until 1953, helping the team to win another Uruguayan league title and several other minor titles. In 1953, Nacional released his pass, and Martino went to São Paulo FC, for a period of testing during the Rio–São Paulo Tournament. After five games, he didn't like it and was released. Still in 1953 he joined C.A. Cerro who were his last club.

International career

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Martino in the Argentina team in 1945.

Martino played for Argentina in the 1940s, he made his debut in 1942 in a 4–1 win over Uruguay. He was part of the Argentina squads that won the Copa América in 1945[3] and 1946.[4] During his time in Italy he also made a single appearance for the Italy national team.

After retirement

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In 1964 he served as the president of the Argentine ex-footballers mutual society.

Martino's love of Argentine Tango led him to establish a Casa Porteño called Caño 14 in the 1960s which featured traditional tango music for 18 years. He died in Buenos Aires on 15 November 2000 at the age of 79.[5]

Honours

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Club

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San Lorenzo
Juventus
Nacional

International

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Argentina

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Argentines in the Italian National Team". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
  2. ^ San Lorenzo profile[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ rsssf: Copa América 1945
  4. ^ rsssf: Copa América
  5. ^ "Martino: el adiós a un mago de la pelota". La Nacion. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
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