Rinaldo Fioramonte Martino (; 6 November 1921 – 15 November 2000) was an

Italian Argentine Italian Argentines ( it, italo-argentini; es, ítalo-argentinos, or ''tanos'' in Rioplatense Spanish) are Italian-born people (born in Argentina or Italy) or non-Italian citizens of Italian descent residing in Argentina. Italian is the largest si ...

forward who played for both the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

and the

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

national football teams. Usually a forward, Martino was a player known for his lethal combination of goal scoring ability, playmaking skills and technique.

Club career

Martino was signed by

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, commonly known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or simply San Lorenzo (in English: ''Saint Lawrence''), is a sports club of Argentina in the Boedo district of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football tea ...

in 1941 at the age of 19 from Belgrano de Rosario. He made his debut in 1941 against Newell's Old Boys and in 1942 he became the top scorer in the

Argentine Primera Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

netting 25 goals in 30 games. In 1946 the team won the Primera División championship. In 1949 Martino moved to Italy joining

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

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 Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

to play for Nacional helping them to win the Uruguayan Championship. In 1951 Martino returned to Argentina to play for

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...

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 São Paulo Futebol Clube (), commonly referred to as São Paulo, is a professional football club in the Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil, founded in 1930. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista (the State of São Paulo's premier state lea ...

, 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

160px, 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

. He was part of the Argentina squads that won the

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

and 1946.rsssf: Copa América
/ref> During his time in Italy he also made a single appearance for the Italy national team.

After retirement

In 1964 he served as the president of the Argentine ex-footballers mutual society. Martino's love of

Argentine Tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as ABA ...

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 in 2000 at the age of 79.

Honours

Club

;

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Lawrence of Rome, Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Monte San Lorenzo, a mountain on t ...

Primera División Argentina Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Alí Rafael Primera Rosel ...

: 1946 ;

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

: 1949–50 ; Nacional * Uruguayan Championship: 1950 ; Nacional * Uruguayan Championship: 1952

International

;

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

, 1946

References

External links

Juventus statistics

*
AFA profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martino, Rinaldo 1921 births 2000 deaths Footballers from Rosario, Santa Fe Argentine footballers Association football forwards San Lorenzo de Almagro footballers Juventus F.C. players Boca Juniors footballers Club Nacional de Football players C.A. Cerro players Argentina international footballers Italy international footballers Dual internationalists (football) Serie A players Argentine Primera División players Uruguayan Primera División players Argentine expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Uruguay Copa América-winning players Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery Italian footballers