Álvaro Recoba

Infobox Football biography


playername = Álvaro Recoba
fullname = Álvaro Alexander Recoba Rivero
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1976|3|17
cityofbirth = Montevideo
countryofbirth = Uruguay
height = height|meter=1.79
currentclub = Panionios
clubnumber = 9
position = Forward, Left winger
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1993–1995
1996–1997
1997–1999
1999
1999-2007
2007–2008
2008–
clubs = Danubio
Nacional
Internazionale
→ Venezia (loan)
Internazionale
→ Torino (loan)
Panionios
caps(goals) = 031 (32)elchino.main.jp: [http://elchino.main.jp/data/data.html Statistics of Recoba playing in Uruguay and Europe.] Retrieved on 2008-07-31.]
027 (30)
009 0(3)
019 (11)
167 (50)
022 0(3)zerozero.pt: [http://www.zerozero.pt/jogador.php?id=2026&epoca_id=137&op=zoomstats Statistics of Recoba playing for Torino.] Retrieved on 2008-07-31.]
nationalyears = 1995–2007
nationalteam = Uruguay
nationalcaps(goals) = 069 0(11)cite web |url=http://www.tenfieldigital.com.uy/servlet/hprfchsj?0,2,2%2F43%2F,1,502 |title=Álvaro Recoba Ficha del jugador |publisher=Tenfield |accessdate=2008-04-11] cite web
url=http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/recoba-intl.html |title=Alvaro Recoba - International Appearances |publisher=RSSSF |accessdate=2008-04-11 |date=2007-09-07 |author=Luis Fernando Passo Alpuin]
pcupdate = 10:36, 11 April 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 10:36, 11 April 2008 (UTC)

Álvaro Alexander Recoba Rivero (born March 17, 1976), nicknamed "El Chino", is a Uruguayan football forward or Left Midfielder currently playing for Panionios GSS. He has played in the Italian Serie A since 1997 for ten seasons straight (apart from a six months spell with S.S.C. Venezia) with current Italian champions Internazionale; after a one-year loan to Torino his contract with the Milan side expired on June 30th, 2008 and he spent last summer as a free agent. He has 69 caps for the Uruguay national team, with whom he participated at the 2002 World Cup.

Club career

Born in Montevideo, Recoba started his career with Uruguay's Danubio. 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.

Notable debut at Inter

Recoba made his debut for Inter on the same day as Ronaldo (31 August 1997), against Brescia in San Siro, scoring two goals in the last ten minutes of the match: one, a powerful 40-yard shot that flew past the keeper, the next, a free kick into the top corner after a Cristiano Doni foul. The goals 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. His efforts helped Venezia escape relegation 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 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. [cite news
url=http://www.wldcup.com/news/2001Oct/20011012_10810_world_soccer.html |title=Inter get Recoba back from ban |publisher=World Soccer News |date=2001-10-12 |accessdate=2004-04-11]

Recoba has had other notable performances for Inter, an example being the 2004–05 Serie A match against Sampdoria on January 9, 2005 in which he entered the game as a 32nd-minute substitute for Adriano. 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 who scored to bring Inter back into the game; this was followed three minutes later by an equaliser from Christian Vieri, and in the last minute of stoppage time, Recoba scored Inter's third goal in six minutes to snatch a 3–2 win. [cite web |url=http://www.inter.it/aas/partita/mc?L=en&ALEA=321659359&IDPARTITA=3470&SHOW=FORM |title=Match centre |publisher=F.C. Internazionale Milano |date=2005-01-09 |accessdate=2008-04-11]

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. [cite web |url=http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=308988 |title=I Would Move To Roma Immediately - Recoba |publisher=Goal.com |date=2007-05-21 |archivedate=2008-03-28 |archiveurl=http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:mkM5gvCQSTgJ:www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx%3FContenutoId%3D308988 ] He was initially linked with Inter's scudetto rivals A.S. Roma after he claimed that if the opportunity arose and Inter president Massimo Moratti approved he would join the capital club immediately.cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/mar16k.html |title=Recoba bids farewell to Inter |work=Football Italia |publisher=Channel 4 |date=2007-03-16 |archivedate=2007-03-19 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070319181350/http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/mar16k.html ] On August 31, 2007 he was loaned to fellow Serie A club Torino F.C. where he rejoined Walter Novellino, his previous boss at Venezia. [cite news |url=http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/sep1l.html |title=Toro crowds hail Recoba |work=Football Italia |publisher=Channel 4 |date=2007-09-01 |accessdate=2008-04-11]

Torino

Recoba scored his first goal for the club in the second match of the season, a 1–1 draw with Palermo, after a good combination between himself and Alessandro Rosina. [cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/sa0708/pal-tor.html |title=Palermo 1 – 1 Torino |work=Football Italia |publisher=Channel 4 |date=2007-09-16 |accessdate=2008-04-11] On December 19, 2007 Recoba gave a top-class performance against A.S. Roma in the Coppa Italia, scoring two excellent goals in Torino's 3–1 win. [cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/dec19p.html |title=Coppa: Recoba breaks Roma |work=Football Italia |publisher=Channel 4 |date=2007-12-19 |accessdate=2008-04-11] However, his performances have been disappointing since 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. [cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/dec3c.html |title=Novellino defends El Chino |work=Football Italia |publisher=Channel 4 |date=2007-12-03 |accessdate=2008-04-11]

Panionios

Recoba signed for Panionios of the Greek Super League on the 5th of September 2008, making him one of the clubs biggest signings in recent history. He will join former Inter team mate and close friend Lambros Choutos. [ [http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=850004] ]

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 placed team and put them in position to play for the intercontinental playoff against Oceania 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 Inter, 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 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, examples 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 could have been one of the world's greatest, but he always seemed 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 title or his salary which was the highest in the world [cite web |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/gabriele_marcotti/news/2001/02/20/marcotti_insider/ |title=Don't get discouraged |work=cnnsi.com |publisher=Sports Illustrated |date=2001-02-20 |accessdate=2008-06-13] . He was perhaps summed up best in a [http://football.guardian.co.uk/championsleague/story/0,,1091434,00.html 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

External links

* [http://msnsport.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4068914,00.html Blackburn Rovers and Monaco show interest in Recoba!]
* [http://www.holstonline.dk/recoba/ Recoba.net]
* [http://www.recobamania.com Recobamania.com]
* [http://www.recoba.com Recoba.com]
* [http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/recoba-intl.html International statistics] at rsssf
* [http://www.tenfieldigital.com.uy/servlet/hprfchsj?0,2,2%2F43%2F,1,502 Profile] at Tenfield
* [http://br.youtube.com/results?search_query=%C3%81lvaro+Recoba&search_type=&aq=f Álvaro Recoba] at YouTube
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/site/players/index.php?dumpPlayer=511 FootballDatabase provides Álvaro Recoba's profile and stats]
* [http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=reu-worldaustralia_preview&prov=reuters&type=lgns Uruguay's divine right for finals-Recoba]
* [http://football.guardian.co.uk/championsleague/story/0,,1091434,00.html Guardian article on Recoba's Riddle]