Alvaro Recoba

Álvaro Alexander Recoba Rivero (Montevideo, Uruguay, March 17, 1976), nicknamed "El Chino", is a former soccer player and Uruguayan businessman. He played as a midfielder and played 69 games with the Uruguayan team between 1995 and 2007. In 2002, he played in the World Cup. He is currently the coach of the 3rd Division of the National Football Club.

Trajectory

Danube

At just 17 years old, a player for the Danubio Fútbol Club, he made his debut against Defensor Sporting on January 11, 1994. His game soon became known, arousing the interest of Nacional.

National

He played in Nacional between 1996 and 1997 and was champion for the first time, winning the Clausura 1996, although he could not win the Uruguayan Championship. He also won the 1997 Apertura, where he was the top scorer for Nacional with 9 goals. El Chino left Nacional as an idol of the club because he showed a football with a lot of talent and great quality, scoring many great goals, leaving all the fans the illusion of a "crack" future.

Inter Milan

In July 1997, halfway through the Uruguayan championship, he was transferred to Inter Milan. He made his debut against Brescia in August 1997, the same day as Ronaldo, scoring twice in the last ten minutes of the game (the first with a powerful shot from 30 meters and the second from a free kick), winning his team 2-2. 1, taking Recoba out of the limelight from Ronaldo and appearing in many Italian newspapers. After two seasons he went on loan to Venezia. Upon his return he signed a US$7,500,000 contract and became the highest paid player in the world. Recoba was a figure in the Inter Milan midfield, beating the goal nets with impressive shots and demonstrating his quality to the maximum. He received a one-year ban for possession of a false Italian passport in 2001. He won Serie A twice, the Italian Cup twice, the Italian Super Cup twice and the UEFA Europa League. In the 2002-03 UEFA Champions League, he reached the semifinals with Inter Milan but was eliminated by Milan after drawing 0 in the first leg and 1 in the second leg, but the team from Milan qualified. by the away goal rule. Before he left the & # 34;Chino & # 34; scored an olympic goal. He played 11 years for Inter and is considered one of the best free-kick takers in Serie A,^{[citation needed]} he is also a great idol of the fans and of Walter Mazzarri played alongside players such as Ronaldo, Luís Figo, Roberto Baggio, Javier Zanetti, Hernán Crespo, Dejan Stanković, Adriano, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Iván Zamorano and Iván Córdoba among others.

Venice

After two seasons at Inter, he was loaned to Venezia. It was there that he showed that he could play at the highest level, where he was involved in most of the goals scored. He had 11 goals and 9 assists in 19 games, scoring one goal against his former club and winning 3-1. His efforts helped Venezia escape relegation and went on to become a club idol. In 1999 he returned to Inter.

Torino

On August 31, 2007, Inter loaned him to Torino in Italy until the end of the season. His performances have been disappointing due to injuries and lack of playing time. He did not have the expected impact despite a good start and ended the season outside of the starting lineup.

Panionios

In September 2008, he was transferred to the Panionios NFC club in Greece, signing a two-year contract. In December 2009 he terminated his contract with said club by mutual agreement. He made his debut in a 2-1 win against Aris on October 18. He showed the quality of him by assisting on both of his teammates' goals. In his next match, he inspired a Panionios with a 5-2 win against Ergotelis where he scored two goals. He finished the season with 5 goals and 7 assists, although he had several injury problems.

Tour around Uruguay

After many rumors that placed him in Chile or Peru, he signed for Danubio, the club that saw him born in football, where he played the closing and opening tournaments of that year.

National

Chino Recoba, celebrating in National.

The following year, on July 8, 2011, his transfer to Nacional was made official, it would have already happened in seasons, which was a big step for him and left a great mark on him.

He had a good performance at the beginning of the season, debuting with a goal, the third in the 3-3 draw against River Plate. Together with the tricolores he scored 5 goals. One of those goals was in the classic match against Peñarol, scoring the second penalty goal in the final to give Nacional the victory (2-1) and another against Liverpool on the last date, which would give the Club the Apertura championship. Football National. He ended the tournament like this, being the greatest reference for Nacional and with appearances in important matches.

In the 2012 Clausura Championship, he scored again against the classic rival Peñarol, in this case he scored the third goal for the 3-2 victory. He had to come back twice from the result and end it with one player less (by expulsion by Darwin Torres in the 90th minute of the game). He also scored the only goal of the game in the final of the Uruguayan Championship & # 34; picándola & # 34; against Defensor Sporting giving the Uruguayan Championship to Nacional and being the figure of the match. At the end of the season he was recognized with the award for Best Player in the Uruguayan Championship and would finish with eight goals.

In the 2012/2013 Apertura he was a figure of the Nacional team by scoring two Olympic goals, but it was not enough for his team to win the title.

At the Opening 2014/2015 the "Chino" He is once again a figure in the team converting another Olympic goal for Wanderers on the 7th date, delivering passes to his teammates in a great way and also converting a free kick goal for Racing on the ninth date although it was badly annulled by the match judges.

On 11/09/2014 on the 12th date of the 2014/2015 Apertura tournament, the "Chino" he converted a goal from a free kick to Peñarol in the Uruguayan soccer Clásico in the 94th minute; giving the victory to Club Nacional de Football after starting losing 1-0 and tying the game through Sebastián Fernández in minute 91'. The execution of the free kick was 26 meters from the goal, shooting over the barrier and converting in the last minute of the match, given that the judge had added 4' after reaching 90' regulations.

Retirement and later years

On March 31, 2016, after announcing his retirement months ago, the farewell party for Álvaro “El Chino” Recoba was held in the Great Central Park. The event featured important internationally renowned soccer figures linked to different milestones in the player's career, including Argentines Juan Román Riquelme, Andrés D'Alessandro and Javier "Pupi" Zanetti, Colombian Carlos Valderrama, Chilean Iván Zamorano and the Italian Francesco Toldo, among others. The initial kickoff of the match was given by the then President of the Republic, Dr. Tabaré Vázquez, in the company of former President José Mujica. Recoba also received video greetings from his compatriot and former Nacional player Luis Suárez, the Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the president of Inter Milan, Massimo Moratti.

Since then, Álvaro Recoba spent some time outside of the soccer environment and media exposure, until in 2020 he stood out by participating in the Uruguayan reality television show MasterChef Celebrity, reaching the final instance in which he was defeated by the artist Aldo Martínez.

Regarding his professional soccer career, he has continued off the pitch, serving since January 2022 as technical director of the third division of the National Football Club.

National team

He has been capped by the Uruguay national soccer team 69 times and has scored 11 goals throughout his national team career. His official debut with the & # 34;celeste & # 34; It occurred on January 12, 1997 in a qualifying match for the 1998 World Cup in France, against the Argentine National Team, a match that ended 0-0 at the Centenario Stadium.

Participations in World Cups

World	Headquarters	Outcome	Part.	Goles
2002 Football World Cup	South KoreaSouth Korea and JapanJapan	First phase	3	1

Goals in the World Cup

#	Date	Place	Oponente	Marker	Outcome	Competition
1	11 June 2002	Suwon World Stadium, Suwon, South Korea	SenegalSenegal	3:3	3:3	Global 2002

Participations in the Confederations Cup

Cup	Headquarters	Outcome	Part.	Goles
Confederations Cup 1997	KSASaudi Arabia	Fourth	5	1

Participations in Copa América

Cup	Headquarters	Outcome	Part.	Goles
Copa América 1997	BoliviaBolivia	First phase	3	1
Copa América 2007	Venezuela Venezuela	Fourth	3	0

America's Cup 1997

Recoba played the 3 games that Uruguay played as a starter. In the first two games he was substituted and in one of them he scored a goal after making a & # 34; wall & # 34; and shoot a left-footed cross.

America's Cup 2007

The "Chinese" he cannot play the first game of the 2007 Copa América due to a muscle contraction and his place in the starting eleven was replaced by Fabián Estoyanoff. substitutes in the next game at 66` of play against Venezuela. In the quarterfinals again against Venezuela, the "Chino" enters the starting team, being replaced at 78` by Nacho González. In the semifinal match Recoba again enters the starting team against the Brazilian team, the "chino" at 16' he tried to convert one of his specialties, an Olympic goal, which he would try again at 28'. Intense minutes from Uruguay and the "chino", who would later be replaced at 45' by Nacho González.

Participation in youth tournaments

Tournament	Headquarters	Outcome	Parties	Goles
Cup of the Americas Sub-23	ColombiaColombia	Subfield	1	0

U23 Americas Cup

Recoba was not taken into account by Rudy Rodríguez for the Sub 17 in 1993, but the following year Púa included him in the Sub 23 for the Tournament of the Americas in Colombia, despite the fact that he had not yet turned 18, so that gave 5 years of advantage. The only participation of the "Chino" in that tournament it was in the last 15'; of the 2-1 win over Brazil in the semifinals, entering for "Pichirica" Vázquez, on February 16, 1994 at the Centenario stadium in Armenia (Colombia).

Statistics

Club	Season	League		Cups National		Cups International		Total
		PJ	G	PJ	G	PJ	G	PJ	G
Danubio Uruguay Uruguay	1994	14	6	0	0	0	0	14	6
	1995	20	5	0	0	0	0	20	5
	Total	34	11	0	0	0	0	34	11
National Uruguay Uruguay	1996	22	8	0	0	0	0	22	8
	1997	11	9	0	0	8	3	19	12
	Total	33	17	0	0	8	3	41	20
Internazionale ItalyItaly	1997/98	8	3	5	2	6	0	19	5
	1998/99	1	0	1	0	2	0	4	0
	Total	9	3	6	2	8	0	23	5
Venezia ItalyItaly	1998/99	19	10	0	0	0	0	19	10
	Total	19	10	0	0	0	0	19	10
Internazionale ItalyItaly	1999/00	27	10	6	0	0	0	33	10
	2000/01	29	8	3	2	9	4	41	14
	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	2	30	7
	2006/07	13	1	3	0	2	0	18	1
	Total	166	50	23	4	48	13	237	67
Torino ItalyItaly	2007/08	22	1	2	2	0	0	24	3
	Total	22	1	2	2	0	0	24	3
Panionians GreeceGreece	2008/09	14	4	3	1	0	0	16	5
	2009/10	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	Total	19	4	3	1	0	0	22	5
Danubio Uruguay Uruguay	2009/10	13	5	-		-		13	5
	2010/11	18	5	0	0	0	0	18	5
	Total	31	10	0	0	0	0	31	10
National Uruguay Uruguay	2011/12	24	8	0	0	10	1	34	9
	2012/13	21	5	0	0	4	0	25	5
	2013/14	20	2	0	0	3	0	23	2
	2014/15	18	2	0	0	1	0	19	2
	Total	83	17	0	0	18	1	101	18
Total Clubs		416	123	34	9	82	17	532	149
Selection		World Cup		CopaAmérica and Copa Confederaciones		Friendly and Elimination		Total
UruguayUruguay		3	1	23	3	43	7	69	11
Total career								601	160

Honours of Prizes

National Championships

Title	Club	Country	Year
Supercopa de Italia	Internazionale	ItalyItaly	2005
Series A			2005-06
Italian Cup			2005-06
Supercopa de Italia			2006
Series A			2006-07
Italian Cup			2006-07
Opening Tour	National	Uruguay Uruguay	2011
Uruguayan Championship			2011-12
Opening Tour			2014
Uruguayan Championship			2014-15

International tournaments

Title	Club	Country	Year
UEFA Cup	Internazionale	ItalyItaly	1997-98

Individual awards

Important Marks

• The "Chino" was the best paid player in the world at the Inter in Milan.
• He is the second player to mark two "olympic" goals in the same Uruguayan Championship, the former was Julio Rodríguez Cristóbal playing for Montevideo Wanderers Football Club.
• He scored a "Maradoniano" goal in 1997, playing for the Football National Club, against Montevideo Wanderers Football Club.
• It is considered one of the best free shooters in Italy.
• He's marked six "optimal" goals in his career.
• He scored two classics against Peñarol in the same championship the goal of victory turning the result.
• He scored the goal of victory at the Uruguayan Championship Final.
• The "chino" again marked against Peñarol at the Uruguayan soccer Classic at the 2014-15 Uruguayan Football Championship, free shooting at the 94th minute, being the last of the meeting to give victory to the National Football Club for 2 to 1.

Olympic goals

Throughout his career, Recoba has scored Olympic goals six times.

On April 29, 2007, in the Italian League match between the teams of Inter Milan and Empoli and which ended with a 3-1 victory in favor of the former, Recoba scored his first Olympic goal playing for Inter.

More than five years later, playing for Nacional, he again scored two Olympic goals in the same championship. It was for the Uruguayan Championship 2012-13. The first of these was in Nacional's 2-1 win against Fénix, which occurred on September 22, 2012. The second was on October 21 of the same year, in Nacional's 3-1 win against Liverpool.

In a friendly match between Nacional and Argentinos Juniors that took place on February 2, 2013, on the occasion of the presentation of the new Nacional squad, Recoba scored the fourth Olympic goal of his career.

In the 2014 Opening Tournament, in Central Park, he once again became an "Olympic" to Wanderers.

Finally, for the 2015 Antel Cup, he scored his sixth and last Olympic goal on January 20, 2015, in Nacional's 3-2 win against Sportivo Luqueño.

Gol	Date	Equipment	Rival	Competition
1	29 April 2007	Internazionale	Empoli	Series A 2006-07
2	22 September 2012	National	Phoenix	Uruguay Championship 2012-13
3	21 October 2012		Liverpool
4	2 February 2013		Argentinos Juniors	Friendly
5	27 September 2014		Wanderers	Uruguay Championship 2014-15
6	20 January 2015		Sportivo Luqueño	Antel Cup 2015

Television

In September 2020, he participated in the television program MasterChef Celebrity Uruguay, on Channel 10, where he reached the final and was proclaimed runner-up in the contest.

Filmography

• Movistar+ (04/04/2016), «Fever Maldini: 'Álvaro Recoba'» in Plus.es