Álvaro Recoba: Nine Minutes at the Top, Ten Years in the Queue

The debut reads like a verdict: 72nd minute, on for Ganz, 0-1 down; 79th minute, the first goal — struck from 30 metres into the corner; 87th minute, the second. Nine minutes, two goals, 2-1. The only dispute is the order: one source has a free kick first, then a strike from open play; two have the strike first, then the free kick — the ledger records the disagreement as found (see sources).

That same night, the most expensive footballer on earth was also making his Serie A debut, in the same shirt. The next morning the papers gave their front pages to the man nobody could pronounce. One headline from that day was quoted ever after — it became the motif of his whole life:

In January 1999 he was loaned to Venezia for half a season — the only stretch of his career in which he was the man: 19 games, 10 goals (11 in the English Wikipedia count), a hat-trick against Fiorentina — his only one in Serie A — and a promoted minnow dragged to safety by one left foot. Venice still remembers.

In the summer, Moratti did not hesitate: "Recoba must come back to Inter." He went back — to a queue he would never reach the front of again.

His best statistical season was 2000/01: 16 goals in 41 games across all competitions. Then the paper arrived. In January 2001 he was charged with using a forged Italian passport (to occupy an EU roster slot); on June 27 a one-year ban was announced, with FIFA promising worldwide enforcement; he missed the 2001 Copa América; Inter were fined €1 million; the Italian citizenship granted in 1999 was revoked. On October 12, 2001, the appeal cut the ban to four months. He returned that winter — the ledger for that season shows only 18 league games.

Twenty-five years old: a player’s best growing window, partly erased by paperwork. This curve has no cliff — it was sawn. The worst part: he had never left. The documents had been waiting for him.

Back at San Siro, there was always a queue. Up front stood Ronaldo, stood Vieri, stood Baggio — then Crespo, Adriano, Ibrahimović: every new signing made the line longer. He was never not good enough; he was good at the wrong time. When the coach called, he played; when benched, he sat. He never agitated, never complained. Ten years in blue and black: 175 Serie A games, 53 goals; 261 appearances and 72 goals in all competitions — and seven trophies: two Serie A titles (one awarded after Calciopoli), two Coppa Italia, one UEFA Cup, one Supercoppa.

On April 7, 2007, he scored his final Inter goal against Empoli — directly from a corner kick. He may have been the finest direct-corner specialist who ever lived (around six such goals by Chinese-media count). Ten years at Inter, closed the only way he would have chosen.

August 31, 2007 — exactly ten years after the debut — he was loaned to Torino: 24 games, 3 goals; a brace against Roma in the cup was the only light. Then Greece, Panionios: two assists on debut, then injuries, and a friendly parting in December 2009. Nine days without a club later, he announced he was going home — to Danubio, where everything began. In July 2011 he signed for Nacional.

The homecoming was no farewell tour; it was a second career: two Uruguayan league titles (2011/12, 2014/15); the only goal of the 2012 title decider against Defensor; last-gasp clásico winners against Peñarol more than once — on November 9, 2014, on the eve of his 38th birthday, a 30-metre free kick in the 95th minute to win the derby outright.

On March 30, 2016, he announced his retirement. The next day, at the Gran Parque Central, Nacional hosted his farewell: "Amigos del Chino" against Nacional past and present. Aged 40. The curve closes here.