Julio Libonatti was born in Rosario, Argentina in 1901. He played for Newell's Old Boys from 1919 to 1926, scoring 78 goals in 141 appearances. He also made 15 appearances for Argentina, scoring 8 goals.
In 1926 Libonatti became the first recorded trans-Atlantic transfer when he moved to Torino in Italy.
It was the policy in Mussolini's Italy that people of Italian extraction 'returning' to Italy automatically had dual citizenship.
Consequently Libonatti was able to make his Italy debut in 1926. He won 17 caps and scored 15 goals.
In the 1927-28 season he was Capocannoniere- the top scorer in Serie A. His total of 35 goals that season has only been bettered once.
