Álvaro Recoba
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Álvaro Alexander Recoba Rivero | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward, Left winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Torino | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
Álvaro Alexander Recoba Rivero, nicknamed "El Chino" (born March 17, 1976) is a Uruguayan football forward who plays in the Italian Serie A since 1997, currently on loan from Internazionale to Torino, and participated at the 2002 World Cup with the Uruguay national team.
Club career
Born in Montevideo, Recoba started his career in Uruguay's Danubio. After several years there, he was transferred to Club Nacional de Futbol, one of Uruguay's most traditional teams, where he played the 1996-97 season. The following season, he was sold to Internazionale, where he has played since his arrival to Europe, except for a six month-stint at Venezia.
Notable debut at Inter
Recoba made his debut for Inter on the same day as Ronaldo, against Brescia in San Siro, scoring two goals in the last ten minutes of the match: a powerful 40-yard shot that flew past the keeper, and a free kick into the top corner, goals which allowed Inter to come back and win the match 2-1. In the same season, he scored a lob from only a short distance into the opponent's half.
Loan to Venezia
Despite his spectacular start for Inter, he was eventually loaned out to relegation-battling Venezia. It was there that he proved he could play at the highest level, as he was involved in the majority of the goals that the Venice side scored during his time there; he scored 11 times and made 9 assists in 19 matches. Also thanks to his goals and assist, Venezia escaped relegation in that season.
Return to Inter
After his tenure at Venezia, which lasted less than one season, Recoba returned to Inter. In January 2001, he renewed his contract with club last until June 30, 2006. But during the same month he faced problems with a fake passport, losing the Italian nationality he received in 1999. He was punished with a one-year ban, which was later reduced to four months on appeal.[citation needed]
Recoba has had other notable performances for Inter, an example of which was the 2004-05 Serie A match against Sampdoria on January 9, 2005 where he substituted Adriano in the 32nd minute. Recoba first hit the bar, then in the 43rd minute of the second half he fed the ball to Obafemi Martins who scored to give Inter a chance to equalise; after Christian Vieri equalized the score, Recoba scored making it 3-2 for Inter, the team's third goal in 5 minutes, snatching a last minute win. However, he has performed badly as well, living up to the stamp put on him saying that he had never reach his full potential.[citation needed]
He was once, for a period of many years, the highest paid football player in the world, but took a voluntary paycut when Inter Milan suffered financial difficulties.[citation needed]
On March 16, 2007 Recoba confirmed to SKY Italia that he wanted to leave the team at the end of the 2006-07 season citing lack of appearances with the first team. He was initially linked with Inter's scudetto rivals AS Roma after he claimed if the opportunity arose and Inter president Massimo Moratti approved he would join the capital club immediately.[1] On August 31, 2007 he was loaned to Torino F.C., another Serie A team, where he will rejoin Walter Novellino, his previous boss at Venezia.
Torino
Recoba played his first game for Torino against Reggina. Recoba's performed well although he did not score. Amoruso put Reggina ahead but the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Recoba scored his first goal for Torino in a 1-1 draw with Palermo after a good combination between himself and Rosina.
National team
Recoba played for Uruguay at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and has earned over 50 caps for his country. His only goal at the tournament came against Senegal in Uruguay's final group game, but it was not enough as the match finished in a 3-3 draw and eliminated Uruguay in the first round.
In September 2005, he scored the winning goal against Argentina in a World Cup qualifier. This helped Uruguay qualify as South America's fifth best placed team in order to participate in the intercontinental playoff against Oceania champions Australia.
All seemed to be going well for Uruguay's World Cup prospects for Germany 2006 when Recoba delivered a perfect cross to supply Dario Rodriguez the header to give Uruguay a slender 1-0 advantage in Montevideo. But suddenly, in the return leg in Sydney, everything was against Uruguay, particularly also for Recoba. After managing to beat the entire Australian defence through long ball tactic, Recoba was alone one on one with the goalkeeper but amazingly shot a meter wide. This was a golden opportunity wasted, especially when Australia won the game 1-0 and won 4-2 on penalties to qualify for the World Cup. Recoba was substituted during the match, much to the dismay of Uruguayan fans.
Despite the lack of appearances for Inter, he was in any case picked for the Uruguay national team as the manager recognised his special ability, allowing Recoba to play in most of Uruguay matches when he was not injured. Recoba got his revenge against Australia in a friendly match scoring his 12th goal with the Uruguayan national team in a 2-1 victory on June 2, 2007.
He also played for Uruguay in Copa América 2007.
Playing style
Recoba's strengths are his dribbling, technique, pace and a strong, accurate left-foot shot. He is a free-kick specialist, and has scored goals of great quality, an example of which were his two goals during his debut with Inter, and basically all the goals scored during his time at Venezia.
Recoba is known for being a player who can be one of the world's greatest players, but he always seems to fall short because of his constant injuries. He was in the 1998/1999 season the greatest player in the world but with his poor consistency, he could never hold onto that name or his wage price which was the highest in the world.[citation needed] He was perhaps summed up best in a 2003 Guardian article. The reporter commented that few, if any, have been born with Recoba's ability; however, his mentality continues to fail him at the most crucial moments - he continued by comparing Recoba with Real Madrid's Raul, whom he stated has only half or even a quarter of Recoba's ability and technique, but the mentality of a true champion. In a situation where Recoba loses his heart for the match, Raul's mentality serves only to heighten his workrate and focus his skills. As a result of this Recoba has featured as a substitute in recent seasons, though few would question his ability to turn match when he is on form.
Honours
- UEFA Cup winner: 1998
- Coppa Italia winner: 2005, 2006
- Italian Super Cup winner: 2005, 2006
- Serie A champion: 2005-2006, 2006-2007.
Notes
- ^ Football Italia (2007-03-
16). "Recoba bids farewell to Inter". channel4.com. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
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