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Tony Bonezzi

Tony Bonezzi was an Argentine-born footballer who played for Beitar Tel Aviv and appeared for the national teams of both the United States and Israel.

1931 to 1967Playing for Beitar Tel AvivPlaying for the United States and IsraelWinning goal in his Beitar debut

Born: 30 November 1931, Argentina
Died: 1 January 1967, Israel
Occupation: association football player

Tony Bonezzi was born in 1931 in Argentina

Antonio Bonezzi was born in Argentina on 30 November 1931. He played football in Mexico, the United States and Canada.

In 1959 he played for Montreal Alouettes in the National Soccer League. In 1962 he played for Ukrainian Nationals, then for the Buffalo White Eagles, and was traded midseason to Toronto Italia.

In March 1961 he came to Israel with his friend Carlos Bustamante, sent by a Beitar support group in the United States to help Beitar Tel Aviv avoid relegation. He scored the winning goal in his debut against Hapoel Haifa. That year the Israel Football Association barred him because he was not Jewish, so he converted and returned to the club.

He played one half for Israel in a friendly against Yugoslavia in December 1962, and helped Beitar Tel Aviv win promotion in 1963. In 1966 he moved to Beitar Kiryat Shmona.

He also did renovation work for extra income. He was killed by electrocution in an accident on 1 January 1967, in which Bustamante was badly hurt.