Álvaro Recoba

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Personal information
Álvaro Recoba
Full name	Álvaro Alexander Recoba Rivero
Date of birth	March 17, 1976
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height	177 cm (5'10")
Nickname	El Chino
Position	Striker, wing-forward
Club information
Current club	Internazionale
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1993-95 1996-97 1997-98 1999 1999-	Danubio Nacional Internazionale Venezia Internazionale	31 (32) 27 (30) 9 (3) 19 (11) 135 (44)
National team
1995-	Uruguay	57 (9)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Álvaro Alexander Recoba Rivero (born March 17, 1976 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan football player.

1 Career
2 Trivia
3 Clubs
4 External links

[edit] Career

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Recoba started his career in Uruguay's Danubio. After several years there, he was transferred to Nacional, one of Uruguay's most powerful teams, where he played the 1996/1997 season. The following season, he was sold to Inter, where he has played since his arrival to Europe, except for a six month-stint at Venezia.

Recoba made his debut on the same day as Ronaldo (against Brescia in San Siro), scoring a 40-yard screamer that flew past the keeper as well as a free kick into the top corner. In the same season, he scored a lob from only a short distance into the opponent's half. Despite his spectacular start for Inter, he was eventually loaned out to Venezia. It was there that he proved he could play at the highest level, as he scored 11 times in 19 matches and was involved in more or less every goal the Venice side scored during his time there (9 assists). Recoba has performed miracles for Inter, often stunning the crowd, the best example would be the 2004/2005 Inter vs Sampdoria match in San Siro on January 9th, 2005 where he subsituted Adriano in a shock change by Roberto Mancini afetr Adriano failed to score despite giving out a good performance, the crowd was astonished but gradually the Inter fans were to be stunned, coming back from a 0-2 loss on home ground from the Sampadoria players, with Recoba being introduced in the 32nd minute, Recoba hits the bar, then in the 43rd minute he feeds the ball to Martins who shoots with awkwardly with his left to give Inter a goal and a chance to equalise, in the 46h minute a brillient Martins manages to awkwardly assist Vieri who slots the ball hom with a close range right-foot volley to give Inter the equalizer, the fans were astonished at this comeback, but Recoba was not finished, he hits a rocket to the far right corner only to be denied by a brillient Antoniolli, Sampdoria's goalkeeper, but after a cross from the right side and a poor clearance Stankovic managed to assist brilliently Recoba with a perfect left-foot bullet that hit the net on the right bottom side of Antoniolli, the fans with the whiole of Italy were stunned, 3-2 to Inter, 3 goals in 5 minutes. However, he has performed badly as well, living up to the stamp put on him saying that he'd never reach his full potential.

In January 2001, he renewed his contract with club last until 30 June 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.

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 wasn't enough as the match finished in a thrilling 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 the 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.

A few days prior to the qualifying decider in Sydney, Recoba infamously exclaimed that his country had a "divine right" to participate in the World Cup. He was quoted as saying:

"I'm not saying that we have to force our way into the finals, but it is normal for a country like ours to be at the game's biggest event. The Australians obviously will try their utmost to beat us and this is only logical. But the fact is that Uruguay are Uruguay, and the Australians should respect us for this. Uruguay has a divine right to play. We are a big country with a rich past, a major footballing country that has won far more (than Australia)."

This comment came back to haunt Recoba in the aftermath of Uruguayan football's most depressing defeat in the dawn of the 21st century.

Recoba was substituted during the match, much to the dismay of Uruguayan fans; and following the country's painful elimination, speculation is mounting about Recoba's international future with La Celeste.

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 perhaps summed up best in 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 perhaps only half of Recoba's ability, but the mentality of a true champion. In a situation where Recoba loses his heart for the match, Raul 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. He was once, for a period of many years, the highest played football player in the world, but took a voluntary paycut when Inter Milan suffered financial difficulties.

Recoba's strengths are his dribbling, technique, and a strong, accurate left-foot shot. He is a free-kick specialist, and has often scored goals of great quality.

[edit] Trivia

He is known to Spanish speakers as El Chino ("The Chinaman"), due to his East Asian facial appearance, but indeed his maternal grandmother was Chinese.

[edit] Clubs

Danubio (1994-1995)
Nacional (1996-1997)
Internazionale (1997-1999)
Venezia (1999)
Internazionale (1999-)

[edit] External links

F.C. Internazionale Milano - Current Squad

	Uruguay squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Carini \| 2 Méndez \| 3 Lembo \| 4 Montero \| 5 García \| 6 Rodríguez \| 7 Guigou \| 8 Varela \| 9 Darío Silva \| 10 O'Neill \| 11 Magallanes \| 12 Munúa \| 13 Abreu \| 14 Sorondo \| 15 Olivera \| 16 Romero \| 17 Regueiro \| 18 Morales \| 19 Bizera \| 20 Recoba \| 21 Forlán \| 22 De los Santos \| 23 Elduayen \| Coach: Púa