ALVARO 'EL CHINO' RECOBA, THE URUGUAY BOMBER THE OWNER OF THE MAGIC LEFT
"At the time he was the player with the biggest salary. Alvaro Recoba was part of the golden generation of Inter Milan."
Alvaro Alexander Recoba Rivero was born in 1976 in Montevideo, Uruguay. He uses the unusual nickname El Chino, which means The Chinese because of his oriental features.
He was first spotted by Sandro Mazzola, an Inter legend in the 1960s, when Recoba played with Nacional of Montevideo. Although Recoba has honed his skills at the Danubio FC academy, a team that also produced talents such as Diego Forlan and Edison Cavani, but Recoba matured with Nacional.
Evidently, when he was 20 years old, Recoba, who was in the middle of his run, managed to score 30 goals in 27 league matches. Mazzola believes he has found a genius in Uruguay.
Mazzola then told his friend, Massimo Moratti who had served as president of Inter, immediately raised 20 million euros to hijack him to Italy.
In his first game in Serie A, Recoba scored twice in Inter's 2-1 win over Brescia. Recoba's first goal was dubbed the 'thunderbastard' from almost 30 meters away. While the second goal is a free kick which can be considered a violation of the laws of physics.
The amazing debut of a talented young star at the Giuseppe Meazza, even Recoba's slick appearance at that time overshadowed the actions of other debutants such as Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima.
The Uruguayan's left foot has great power and precision. He is very balanced and so clever when making feint moves. His agility in playing is supported by his tiny body while playing the game.
Recoba was then loaned out to Venice in his second season with Inter. They were forced to do that because Recoba was considered the right person to save Venice.
This assumption is proven by Recoba through 11 goals from 19 appearances. He was almost alone in charge of saving them from their slump. Before Recoba left, his teammate in Venice gave him a watch. This gift had nothing to do with his goal of saving Venice, but rather because his best friend was often late for training.
Recoba's work-rate is often criticized. That's what makes him sometimes labeled as a lazy player. However, behind his laziness, there is always a hidden surprise. The surprises were born from his ability to execute dead balls and shoot accurately from outside the opponent's penalty box.
His slick appearance at Venice made Inter want him again in the 1999/2000 season. He then played under the banner of I Nerazzurri and scored 10 goals in 28 matches. He also scored many assists.
This charming action made Moratti pay a salary to Recoba worth 8 million euros. This income made him listed as the highest paid player during that period.
However, this is where things start to go wrong. Tried started to experience a decrease in performance. Partly due to injury, but he also received a ban after obtaining a fake passport.
Even so, Recoba still produces magical moments. He's got free kicks, incredible long-range shots from outside the box, and wonderfully weighty passes. His prowess when carrying the ball can be described with the parable of 'the ball always sticks to his feet'. His phenomenal solo goal against Lecce easily pops into everyone's mind.
In the 2002/2003 season when Inter was coached by Hector Cuper, Recoba enjoyed the best season of his Inter career. Hernan Crespo was bought to replace Ronaldo and the addition of Christian Vieri. These three players were instrumental in Inter's journey to the Champions League semifinals. Relations with the coach began to strain when Cuper was publicly rumored in the case of his persecution of Recoba. The rumors emerged after Recoba's poor performance against Lazio in the last game of the season.
Meanwhile, Moratti eased the news by appointing Alberto Zaccheroni as the next Inter coach. Zaccheroni gave Recoba a free role. The decision proved right as Recoba scored an incredible goals per minute ratio.
Unfortunately, Recoba's performance was hampered again after an injury destroyed almost his entire body (knees, ankles, shoulders). Recoba was busy struggling to get a consistent game.
In 2007, Recoba was loaned to Torino. The loan is intended to make Recoba find his best performance again. Unfortunately, he seems to have succumbed to an injury that actually hampered his playing time more.
Next up was a move to Panionios, where he was arguably the most famous player for the Greek club at the time. Unfortunately, Recoba only lasted for a season and a half. The injury that made him fail to perform well in the Land of the Gods.
As a result, Recoba decided to return to Uruguay. He joined Danubio until k
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