René Alejandro Pontoni is a former Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 footballer

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

. He played club football in Argentina, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 and Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 as well as representing the Argentina national football team

Argentina national football team

The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

 on 19 occasions.

Biography

Pontoni started his career with Gimnasia y Esgrima de Santa Fe before joining Newell's Old Boys

Newell's Old Boys

Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario. The club was founded on November 3, 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell, one of the pioneers of Argentine football...

 in 1940. Pontoni made his debut for the Argentina national team in 1942. He went on to score 19 goals in 19 games for his country, helping them to become South American champions

Copa América

The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...

 in 1945

South American Championship 1945

The eighteenth edition of the South American Championship was held in Santiago, Chile from January 14, 1945 to February 28, 1945. This tournament an extra edition, with no trophy handed to the winners, but considered official by CONMEBOL....

, 1946

South American Championship 1946

The nineteenth edition of the South American Championship was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from January 12, 1946 to February 10, 1946. This tournament, an extra edition with no trophy handed to the winners, is considered official by CONMEBOL....

 and 1947

South American Championship 1947

The 1947 South American Championship was the 20th South American Championship for national teams, and was organized by CONMEBOL. It marked the first time Ecuador hosted the tournament, which hosted all the matches in Estadio George Capwell in Guayaquil. Argentina won the tournament to obtain their...

.

In 1944 Pontoni joined San Lorenzo where he helped the team to win the Primera División

Primera División Argentina

The Primera División is a professional football league in Argentina. It is the country's premier football division and is at the top of the Argentine football league system. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Primera B Nacional. The season runs...

 in 1946. In 1948 he suffered a career threatening injury but he recovered, moving to Colombia in 1949 to play for Independiente Santa Fe

Independiente Santa Fe

Independiente Santafe is a professional Colombian First Division football club based in Bogotá. It has won six First Division titles and two Copa Colombia titles....

 where he remained until 1952.

In 1953 Pontoni moved to Brazil, where he spent one season with Portuguesa

Associação Portuguesa de Desportos

Associação Portuguesa de Desportos, usually called Portuguesa or Lusa, is a sports club, and a Brazilian football team from São Paulo in São Paulo state, founded on August 14, 1920 by the Portuguese population of the city.-History:...

 in São Paulo

São Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 before returning to Argentina for one last season with San Lorenzo in 1954.

Titles

Season	Team	Title
1945 South American Championship 1945 The eighteenth edition of the South American Championship was held in Santiago, Chile from January 14, 1945 to February 28, 1945. This tournament an extra edition, with no trophy handed to the winners, but considered official by CONMEBOL....	Argentina Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...	Copa América Copa América The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
1946	San Lorenzo Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro is an Argentine sports club based in Boedo neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, mostly known because of its football team....	Primera División Argentina Primera División Argentina The Primera División is a professional football league in Argentina. It is the country's premier football division and is at the top of the Argentine football league system. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Primera B Nacional. The season runs...
1946 South American Championship 1946 The nineteenth edition of the South American Championship was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from January 12, 1946 to February 10, 1946. This tournament, an extra edition with no trophy handed to the winners, is considered official by CONMEBOL....	Argentina Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...	Copa América Copa América The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
1947 South American Championship 1947 The 1947 South American Championship was the 20th South American Championship for national teams, and was organized by CONMEBOL. It marked the first time Ecuador hosted the tournament, which hosted all the matches in Estadio George Capwell in Guayaquil. Argentina won the tournament to obtain their...	Argentina Argentina national football team The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...	Copa América Copa América The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...

Later years

Pontoni went on to set up a pizzeria with fellow Argentina player and brother in law Mario Boyé

Mario Boyé

Mario Emilio Heriberto Boyé Auterio was an Argentine footballer. A powerful striker, he played for Boca Juniors, Racing Club de Avellaneda and Huracán in Argentina, Genoa in Italy and Millonarios in Colombia....

. He also had several spells as a football manager in the lower leagues of Argentine football.