Álvaro Recoba

1994/95 Danubio (URU) 34 games, 11 goals

1996/97 Nacional (URU) 33 games, 17 goals

1997/2008 Inter Milan (ITA) 261 games, 72 goals

(Italian Championship: 175 games, 53 goals)

(Italian Cup: 29 games, 6 goals)

(Italian Super Cup: 1 game)

(Champions League: 32 games, 6 goals)

(UEFA Cup: 16 games, 7 goals)

1999 Venezia (ITA) (Loan) 19 games, 11 goals

2007/08 Torino (ITA) (Loan) 24 games, 3 goals

(Italian Championship: 22 games, 1 goal)

(Italian Cup: 2 games, 2 goals)

2008/10 Panionios (GRE) 23 games, 6 goals

(Greek Championship: 21 games, 5 goals)

(Greek Cup: 2 games, 1 goal)

2010/11 Danubio (URU) 31 games, 11 goals

2011/15 Nacional (URU) 100 games, 18 goals

(Uruguayan Championship: 82 games, 17 goals)

(Copa Libertadores: 14 games)

(Copa Sudamericana: 4 games, 1 goal)

With the National Team :

69 caps, 11 goals

(Friendly matches: 19 caps, 5 goals)

(World Cup qualifiers: 36 caps, 3 goals)

(World Cup: 3 caps, 1 goal)

(Copa America: 6 caps, 1 goal)

(Confederations Cup: 5 caps, 1 goal)

U23: 1 cap

1st cap: 18 January 1995 against Spain (1-1)

Last cap: 10 July 2007 against Brazil (2-2)

Álvaro Alejandro Recoba Rivera

Born March 17, 1976 in Montevideo (URU)

Uruguayan, Second Striker/Attacking Midfielder/Left Winger, 1m77

Nickname: "El Chino"

Álvaro Recoba was born on March 17, 1976 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He is one of those eccentric players, an excellent dribbler and charismatic on and off the field, that South American style of football stars. From a young age, he impressed with his obvious qualities: short dribbling, sumptuous free kicks and an amazing quality of passing.

He was therefore propelled to the rank of great hope of the country, the left-hander will therefore join in 1994, at 17 years old, the professional world of football in the club Danubio FC, a club in the Uruguayan capital. In 34 matches, he scored 11 goals and impressed the biggest clubs in the country, it was finally Nacional Montevideo who managed to recruit the young player. There, it was obvious that he was endowed with extraordinary talent and he will therefore leave South America to join Europe.

When he was 21, it was the great club Inter Milan that managed to bring him in at the same time as another South American star, Ronaldo Nazario. The two would start on the same day, August 31 against Brescia and it was Recoba who would shine, since while Inter were trailing 1-0, he scored a double and gave his new club victory. And what a double! A shot from over thirty meters straight into the top corner, then a free kick from even further away!

The Inter supporters fell under his spell immediately and three days later, in the Italian Cup, the club would win on the pitch at Foggia on a volley from Recoba's left foot. In 2 games, he scored 3 goals and made a crazy debut, however, he would only play 8 times during his first season in the league, and almost always as a substitute. The fault of a strong competition between Ronaldo, Zamorano and Djorkaeff.

He was therefore loaned in January 1999 to the Venice club where he impressed, 11 goals in 19 matches. He allowed his club to stay in Serie A by finishing in a very nice 11th place. What is crazy is that he scored 11 goals for the Venice club in 6 months, in a season where the Italian club will have scored only 38 goals!

His feat allowed him to make a big name for himself in Italy when he returned to Milan. Problem, the false passport affair broke out and he received a 1-year suspension, finally the sanction will be increased to 4 months.

Uruguayan international since 1995 and a 1-1 draw against Spain, the young player helped his selection qualify for the 2002 World Cup. At club level, the one nicknamed "El Chino" would become an idol of the club's supporters and football lovers. With a silky left foot, he is a passer as splendid as he is efficient who can also turn into a formidable finisher.

He would be one of the symbols of the club in the early 2000s, between periods with Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic. Compared by some journalists to Maradona for his left foot, his dribbling and his style of play, Recoba made a bigger and bigger name for himself in Italy.

In 2001, he even became the highest paid footballer on the planet, with the exorbitant salary of 6 million euros per year. He became a legend of Inter Milan where he stayed until 2008, having a total of matches reaching 261 matches, for 72 goals and 66 assists in the role of a second striker, winger or attacking midfielder depending on the matches.

However, the love story between Recoba and Inter ended badly, here, while the player could play exceptional matches, he suffered from a lack of regularity, worse, he was considered casual, which annoyed the coaches and the management. Capable of the best as well as the worst, he was gradually pushed towards the exit. He who did not bother to make defensive returns would appear as a player to be removed from the club while Inter returned to the forefront of the world stage.

During the 2007-08 season, he had notably made a loan to Torino, rather successfully. But at 32, the player decided to go into early retirement in Greece, in the Panionios club. The experience was a failure, and the day who has not been part of the Uruguayan selection since 2007 will return to his native country.

He played 2 years at Danubio before returning to Nacional and winning a last Uruguayan championship title. In total, he will have played 69 matches for the Uruguayan selection for 11 goals and 8 assists, statistics which do not reflect well the contribution of the player in the game for the player who will have played in 7 different positions in the national selection.

He retired in 2015, at the age of 39 as a legend. He also had his jubilee, very spectacularly organized at the Gran Parque Central in Montevideo where legends like Javier Zanetti, Ivan Zamorano or Juan Roman Riquelme were present. Tifos, smoke bombs and papelitos, everything was there to celebrate the former glory of Giuseppe-Meazza and the Celeste. No wonder, in Uruguay, he is considered a legend.

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