Álvaro Recoba
Encyclopedia
Álvaro Alexander Recoba Rivero (born March 17, 1976 in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

), nicknamed "El Chino", is a Uruguayan
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

 footballer currently playing for Primera División Uruguaya
Primera División Uruguaya
The Liga Profesional de Primera División , also known as the Primera División Uruguaya or Primera División de Uruguay , is a professional football league in Uruguay at the top of the country's football league system. It is organized by the Uruguayan Football Association and is contested by 16 teams...

 side Club Nacional de Football
Club Nacional de Football
Club Nacional de Football is a Uruguayan sports club based in Montevideo. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Uruguayan Primera División....

. He has played also within European football, most notably during eleven years with Inter Milan of the Italian Serie A, and Panionios FC of the Greek Super League.

Recoba can operate as an attacking midfielder and won 69 cap
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

s for the Uruguay national team
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...

 between 1995 and 2007, participating at the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

.

Early career

Recoba started his career with Uruguay's Danubio
Danubio F.C.
-History:Danubio was founded by the Bulgarian born brothers, Miguel and Juan Lazaroff, on March 1, 1932 together with other youths from the "Republica de Nicaragua" school in Montevideo...

. After several years there in the youth teams, he appeared on the first team at just 16 years old and played seasons 1994–95 where he captured everyone's attention with his marvelous left foot. For the 1996–97 season he was transferred to Club Nacional de Futbol, one of Uruguay's most successful teams. The following season, he was sold to Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...

.

Internazionale

Recoba made his debut for Internazionale on the same day as Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...

 (August 31, 1997), against Brescia
Brescia Calcio
Brescia Calcio , known simply as Brescia, is the largest football club in the Lombard city of Brescia, where it was founded in 1911.In the 2009–10 season, in the return leg of the Serie B playoff final, they defeated Torino 2-1 at home , returning to Serie A after a 5-year absence...

 in San Siro, scoring two goals in the last ten minutes of the match: one, a powerful 30-yard shot that flew past the keeper, the next, a free kick into the top corner after a Cristiano Doni
Cristiano Doni
Cristiano Doni is an Italian professional footballer who plays for Atalanta B.C. as an attacking midfielder.Most of his senior career was associated with Atalanta, as he appeared in more than 300 official games for the club, netting more than 100 goals.Doni represented Italy at the 2002 World...

 foul. The goals allowed Internazionale 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

After two seasons with Internazionale, 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
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 side scored during his time there; he scored 11 times and made 9 assists in 19 matches. His efforts helped Venezia escape relegation that season.

Return to Internazionale

After his tenure at Venezia, which lasted less than one season, Recoba returned to Inter. In January 2001, he renewed his contract with the club 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.

Recoba has had other notable performances for Internazionale, an example being the 2004–05 Serie A match against Sampdoria
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria is an Italian association football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria...

 on January 9, 2005 in which he entered the game as a 32nd-minute substitute
Substitute (football)
In association football, a substitute is a player who is brought on to the pitch during a match in exchange for an existing player. Substitutions are generally made to replace a player who has become tired or injured, or who is not performing well; there may also be tactical reasons such as...

 for Adriano
Adriano Leite Ribeiro
Adriano Leite Ribeiro , commonly known as simply Adriano, is a Brazilian footballer who played striker who currently plays for Corinthians...

. In the 42nd minute of the second half with Sampdoria leading 2–0, he hit the post. He then fed the ball to Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....

 who scored to bring Internazionale back into the game; this was followed three minutes later by an equaliser from Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri
Christian Vieri is a retired Italian footballer who played as a centre forward.Vieri was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations...

, and in the last minute of stoppage time, Recoba scored Internazionale's third goal in six minutes to snatch a 3–2 win.

On March 16, 2007 Recoba confirmed to SKY Italia
Sky Italia
Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian digital satellite television platform owned by News Corporation launched on 1 August 2003, when the former platforms TELE+ and Stream TV merged together...

 that he wanted to leave the team at the end of the 2006–07 season citing lack of appearances with the first team. Though he did score 1 goal for the team including a goal direct from a corner He was initially linked with Internazionale's scudetto rivals A.S. Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

 after he claimed that if the opportunity arose and Inter president Massimo Moratti approved he would join the capital club immediately. On August 31, 2007 he was loaned to fellow Serie A club Torino F.C.
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....

 where he rejoined Walter Novellino, his previous boss at Venezia. He has played for Italian champions Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...

 in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

 for ten seasons from 1997.

Torino

Recoba scored his first goal for the club in the second match of the season, a 1–1 draw with Palermo
U.S. Città di Palermo
Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...

, after a good combination between himself and Alessandro Rosina
Alessandro Rosina
Alessandro Rosina is an Italian footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Russian Premier League club Zenit St. Petersburg.-Early career:...

. On December 19, 2007 Recoba gave a top-class performance against A.S. Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...

 in the Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...

, scoring two excellent goals in Torino's 3–1 win. However, his performances have been disappointing due to injuries and lack of playing time; he has not made the expected impact despite a good start and finished the season out of the starting formation.

Panionios

Recoba signed for Panionios of the Greek Super League on the September 5, 2008, making him one of the clubs biggest signings in recent history. There he joined former Inter team mate and close friend Lampros Choutos
Lampros Choutos
Lampros Choutos is a Greek footballer who plays as a striker.During his career, he played equal periods of time in his country and Italy.-Early years:...

 as well as Uruguay national team player Fabián Estoyanoff
Fabián Estoyanoff
Fabián Larry Estoyanoff Poggio is an Uruguayan footballer of Bulgarian descent who plays for Greek club Panionios as a right winger.-Early years:...

. He made his debut by the p.t. Fabio Martella against Aris on October 18, 2008 in a 2–1 win for Panionios F.C. He proved his quality by assisting both goals for his teammates Maniatis and Gonzaga. In his next match, he inspired Panionios to a 5–2 away win against Ergotelis where he scored two goals, and dominated as an attacking midfielder with his brilliant passing skills. He finished the season with five goals and seven assists, though had several injury problems.

On June 9, 2009 Recoba agreed to remain at Panionios squad for the following season as well, thus fulfilling the original duration of his contract despite the fact that Lampros Choutos
Lampros Choutos
Lampros Choutos is a Greek footballer who plays as a striker.During his career, he played equal periods of time in his country and Italy.-Early years:...

 had left the team after having consecutive arguments with his former coach Ewald Lienen
Ewald Lienen
Ewald Lienen is a German former footballer and manager.-Playing career:Lienen began his professional career at Arminia Bielefeld of the 2.Bundesliga North in 1974. After three seasons, he moved up to the top flight with Borussia Mönchengladbach...

.

After being constantly injured and because of his very high wages, Recoba agreed to mutually rescind his contract with Greek club Panionios on Dec. 16, 2009. The club indicated that the meeting was friendly and they were honored by his association with their club despite his injury riddled career at Panionios. On December 16, 2009 upon his request Panionios officials have released the Uruguayan attacking midfielder.

Back to Uruguay

After nine days without a club it was announced on December 24, 2009 that he would sign with Danubio F.C.
Danubio F.C.
-History:Danubio was founded by the Bulgarian born brothers, Miguel and Juan Lazaroff, on March 1, 1932 together with other youths from the "Republica de Nicaragua" school in Montevideo...

 The former Uruguayan international has already played for Danubio from 1993 to 1995.

International career

Recoba played for Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...

 at the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...

 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 placed team and put them in position to play for the intercontinental playoff against Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

 champions Australia. However, Uruguay was unsuccessful in its bid for World Cup 2006; losing 4–2 in a penalty shootout after a draw in aggregate score.

Despite the lack of appearances for Internazionale, he was again picked for the Uruguayan national team. This allowed Recoba to play in most of the Uruguay matches for which he was healthy. He scored his 12th goal with the Uruguayan national team in a 2–1 victory on June 2, 2007 in a friendly match against Australia.

Recoba also played for Uruguay
Uruguay national football team
The Uruguayan national football team represents Uruguay in international association football and is controlled by the Uruguayan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uruguay. The current head coach is Óscar Tabárez...

 in Copa América 2007
Copa América 2007
The 2007 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, known simply as the 2007 Copa América or 2007 Copa América Venezuela, was the 42nd edition of the Copa América, the South-American championship for international association football teams...

. He made his debut on January 18, 1995 in a friendly match against Spain
Spain national football team
The Spain national football team represents Spain in international association football and is controlled by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. The current head coach is Vicente del Bosque...

 (2–2) in the Estadio Riazor in La Coruña, substituting Enzo Francescoli
Enzo Francescoli
Enzo Francescoli Uriarte is a former uruguayan football player of Italian and Spanish origin, who retired in 1997. An elegant and highly skillful dribbler, passer, and goal-scorer, Francescoli was nicknamed El Príncipe or Le Prince...

 in the 65th minute.

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, examples of which were his two goals on his debut with Inter. Recoba is known for being a player who could have been one of the world's greatest, but always seemed to fall short because of his constant injuries. He was also for a period the highest paid football player in the world.

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
Raúl González
Raúl González Blanco , known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for German club Schalke 04....

, 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.

Club statistics

|-
|1994||rowspan="2"|Danubio||rowspan="2"|Primera División
Primera División Uruguaya
The Liga Profesional de Primera División , also known as the Primera División Uruguaya or Primera División de Uruguay , is a professional football league in Uruguay at the top of the country's football league system. It is organized by the Uruguayan Football Association and is contested by 16 teams...

||14||6||||||||||14||6
|-
|1995||20||5||||||||||20||5
|-
|1996||rowspan="2"|Nacional
Club Nacional de Football
Club Nacional de Football is a Uruguayan sports club based in Montevideo. It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Uruguayan Primera División....

||rowspan="2"|Primera División
Primera División Uruguaya
The Liga Profesional de Primera División , also known as the Primera División Uruguaya or Primera División de Uruguay , is a professional football league in Uruguay at the top of the country's football league system. It is organized by the Uruguayan Football Association and is contested by 16 teams...

||22||8||||||||||22||8
|-
|1997||11||9||||||||||11||9

|-
|1997/98||rowspan="2"|Internazionale Milano||rowspan="2"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

||8||3||5||2||6||0||19||5
|-
|1998/99||1||0||1||0||2||0||4||0
|-
|1998/99||Venezia||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

||19||11||0||0||0||0||19||11
|-
|1999/00||rowspan="8"|Internazionale Milano||rowspan="8"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

||27||10||6||0||0||0||33||10
|-
|2000/01||29||8||3||2||9||5||41||15
|-
|2001/02||18||6||0||0||4||0||22||6
|-
|2002/03||27||9||1||0||14||3||42||12
|-
|2003/04||19||8||3||0||7||3||29||11
|-
|2004/05||13||3||4||2||5||1||22||6
|-
|2005/06||20||5||3||0||7||1||30||6
|-
|2006/07||13||1||3||0||2||0||18||1
|-
|2007/08||Torino||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

||22||1||2||2||0||0||24||3

|-
|2008/09||rowspan="2"|Panionios||rowspan="2"|Super League
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...

||14||4||2||1||colspan="2"|-||16||5
|-
|2009/10||5||0||0||0||colspan="2"|-||5||0

|-
|2009/10||rowspan="2"|Danubio||rowspan="2"|Primera División
Primera División Uruguaya
The Liga Profesional de Primera División , also known as the Primera División Uruguaya or Primera División de Uruguay , is a professional football league in Uruguay at the top of the country's football league system. It is organized by the Uruguayan Football Association and is contested by 16 teams...

||13||5||||||||||13||5
|-
|2010/11||||||||||||||||
80||33||||||||||80||33
216||65||31||8||56||13||303||86
19||4||2||1||colspan="2"|-||21||5
315||102||33||9||56||13||404||124
|}

National team statistics

|-
|1995||2||0
|-
|1996||3||3
|-
|1997||12||3
|-
|1998||0||0
|-
|1999||2||0
|-
|2000||9||1
|-
|2001||11||1
|-
|2002||7||1
|-
|2003||8||0
|-
|2004||4||0
|-
|2005||6||1
|-
|2006||0||0
|-
|2007||5||1
|-
!Total||69||11
|}

Honours

Nacional
  • Liguilla Pre-Libertadores de América: 1996


Internazionale
  • UEFA Cup
    UEFA Cup
    The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

    : 1997–98
  • Coppa Italia
    Coppa Italia
    The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...

    : 2004–05, 2005–06
  • Supercoppa Italiana
    Supercoppa Italiana
    The Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...

    : 2005
    2005 Supercoppa Italiana
    The 2005 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by 2004-05 Serie A champions Juventus and 2004-05 Coppa Italia winners Internazionale. The match took place on 20 August 2005, and resulted in a 1-0 win for Internazionale after extra time.-Match details:...

    , 2006
    2006 Supercoppa Italiana
    The 2006 Supercoppa Italiana was a match contested by the 2005-06 winners Internazionale and the 2005-06 Coppa Italia runners-up Roma. The Coppa Italia runners-up were chosen to play instead of the winners because of the aftermath of the 2006 Serie A match-fixing scandal...

  • Serie A
    Serie A
    Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

    : 2005–06, 2006–07

External links

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