Last Friday was the 47th birthday of Uruguayan star who played for Inter for 10 years, Alvaro Recoba, who won a UEFA Cup, two Serie A, two Coppa Italia and two Italian Super Cup trophies for the team during his time in the blue and black shirt, and after leaving Inter, he played for Panionhos and Danubio in Greece, and then chose to join the Uruguayan national team, which is also the last stop of Rekoba's player era. At the age of 40, he ended his 22-year green career, as one of only two stars who have been regarded as his own by his father Morati, Rekoba and the alien Ronaldo are also the deepest memories of a generation of fans, and the story of this Uruguayan talent with Mr. Moratti and Mr. Moratti have a father-son relationship.
Last Friday was the 47th birthday of former Inter star Uruguayan Rekoba
Xiao He showed his sharp horns and dragonflies stood on his head
Every player has a different definition of career perfection, some have spent their lives chasing a trophy, others have fought for those legendary records until the last minute, and for Rekoba, who made a stunning appearance at the 97 World Youth Championship at the age of 21, the golden left foot that seemed to be given magic by God, his legendary experience is enough to make everyone remember;
After the emergence of the World Youth Championship, soon a videotape with the words "Francisco Li's successor - Alvaro Rekoba" on the cover was sent to the desk of the then head of Inter Morati, for the dad who had a hobby of collecting the world's top strikers at the time, after witnessing the dazzling collection of the little-known Uruguayan youngster, he quickly bought the rising football star born in 1976 with the alien Ronaldo without thinking;
Papa Morati, who has a penchant for collecting the world's best strikers, quickly bought Rekoba, who had made a splash at the World Junior Championships
At that time, not to mention that Moratti himself, even those scouts in European clubs who have been in South America for many years, do not know much about the young player, but with a highlight video called "Francescoli's successor - Alvaro Recoba", without much hesitation, he spent $3.7 million to sign Rekoba, which can be said to be the full embodiment of Daddy's willfulness in collecting various forward talents during that period;
However, it was not only a Uruguayan striker who landed at the Meazza Stadium during that period, and the alien who spent $27.9 million from Catalonia to the Apennines was the focus of everyone's attention at that time, in the original words of the Milan Sports newspaper quoting two South American recruits on the scene, "80,000 fans came to the stadium to see Ronaldo, but on the contrary, they were impressed by Recoba's golden left foot." "It shows how good the 21-year-old Rekoba is, and how high he started after landing in Europe.
Recoba stole the limelight that belonged to the Brazilian alone in his alien debut
He is the best at direct goals from corner kicks, and he is also the man who knows how to be grateful the most
From landing in Europe to join Inter until his departure, Recoba handed over an answer sheet of 72 goals in 261 games in ten years, obviously for the original name of Francescoli's successor, and let his father pay real money to sign his decision, the Uruguayan did not contribute enough to the team, although there are many reasons that can be used as an excuse: endless injuries, fierce competition within the team, frequent changes of team coaches, off-field disputes, etc., but as a decisive purchase of Mr. Moratti that year, he never regretted it. As he said it later, "He's not a simple player, he's football itself, and he's done things that are difficult for a player in the ordinary sense to do." ”
Papa Moratti spoke highly of Recoba
For Dad who has worked with countless world big stars to say this, there must be a unique irreplaceable trait that others cannot replace in Recoba, which may have started on August 31, 1997, the day he appeared with aliens at the Meazza Stadium, Ronaldo, who is almost 7 times more expensive than Uruguayan, is undoubtedly the focus of all media and fans, but after that game against Brescia, the outside world seems to have forgotten what the original protagonists did in the game. Because Rekoba used his two kicks in the last moments of the game to help the new owner win and gain 3 points, that game can be called Rekoba's fame in Inter's career and it is a classic;
Years later, when Moratti was asked who his two South American lovers would prefer at the time, his dad's answer did not hide his preference for Uruguayans: "Rekoba is no ordinary player, he can do unexpected things. Who do Ronaldo and Rekoba choose? I would choose Recoba. Ronaldo was already the greatest player in the world when he came to Inter, but I prefer Recoba, he surprised me and signed without expecting people to be so impressed. ”
The stunning Inter debut made all fans remember the name of the Uruguayan striker with his golden left foot
Unfortunately, as Mr. Moratti said, before joining Inter, the alien was already a "finished product" who had experienced two European clubs, and he was also a world-class star who did not need to prove how good he was, but Rekoba still has many goals to complete in Meazza to continue to prove that he was not seen in the first place;
After the amazing performance of his debut, compared to Ronaldo, who scored 34 goals in one season, the same 21-year-old Rekoba only scored a pitiful 1 goal, which made the people who originally touted him quickly forget him, and in order to help the young Uruguayan get more opportunities, the team loaned him to the water city of Venice for training in the second season, and this experience was also another highlight of Recoba's in Serie A;
Unlike the high career height when the alien joined Inter, Recoba clearly needed more opportunities to prove himself, and going to Old Venice on loan was an important experience
From the giants to the then relegation favourites Venice, it was clear that Recoba was the team's first choice in the forward line, and one of the key figures who made the deal at the time has now become the biggest name manager in the Apennine arena: Giuseppe Marotta;
The famous Italian professional manager Marotta, known as the horse's squint, was wise enough to loan the Uruguayan from the Inter bench, so that the young player, who could not compete with the Nerazzurri, a top striker killer, soon got full experience in Water, Recoba quickly formed the team's golden double gun with Maniero after arriving in Venice, and he used perfect statistics of 11 goals and 9 assists in 19 games, which not only made Moratti feel happy but also made the introduction of his Marotta. He became the chief behind-the-scenes contributor to Venice's eventual stay in Serie A.
Joining Venezia on loan has benefited both teams and the i player himself
At that time, the general manager of the Venice club was already Giuseppe Marotta, a famous professional manager in Italian football
With the success of the external training, Rekoba was also withdrawn by the club to let his precise footwork for his own use, and Rekoba, who has gradually matured through Serie A, also began to carry the task of the national team to the World Cup on his shoulders, in the play-off of the 02 World Cup qualifiers, facing Australian Kangaroos Team Rekoba with an assist hat-trick to help Uruguay reach the round of 32, which is also their first return to the arms of the World Cup family since the 90s fell into a trough, although the group stage was ultimately unsuccessful. But since then, with the rise of Françualez Cavani and others, they have also successfully taken over the banner of reviving Uruguayan football from Recoba.
After experiencing the polishing of Serie A, Rekoba, who returned to the national team, also carried the responsibility on his shoulders
In the season before helping the national team return to the World Cup, Recoba also encountered two important events at the club: first, although Venice's leveling gave the Uruguayan the confidence to better adapt to the next Serie A competition, Inter at the turn of the century was always plagued by the black hole curse of the star, even if he could help the team lock up European qualification in limited playing time, whether it was a league championship or a European competition, the Nerazzurri have always been incompatible with the championship;
What's worse, in the 01/02 season, they were supposed to end the league championship drought, but they lost the top spot in the final round, and Inter fell into a vicious cycle of repeated tearing down and rebuilding, but no matter from Baggio Ronaldovieri, to Crespo to Admarís Ibucruz, the only constant watchman is the Uruguayan and his signature bright smile after the success of the savior in every moment of crisis;
After returning to Inter on loan, Rekoba also has more opportunities to compete with other striker superstars
Because they never won the championship, Inter fell into the strange circle of rebuilding the squad, pushing back and rebuilding, and the teammates around the Uruguayan also changed stubble after stubble
Second, in June 01, Rekoba was also banned by the Italian Football Association for a year for passport fraud, and the suspension period was shortened to 4 months after appeal, and when the Uruguayan returned in December at the end of the year, he announced his return with 18 games and 6 goals, and Rekoba, who was washed out of lead in the 02/03 season, finally ushered in the best season of his personal Inter career, in the forward partnership with Crespovieri, Recoba scored 12 goals in all competitions. That season, the team also reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and finished second in the league;
Due to the gathering of big names within the team during that period, Rekoba as a substitute enjoyed an annual salary of up to $4.2 million from his father's previous contract extension, and the locker room conflict also became an important reason for the team's performance on the field, in order to calm many contradictions, Rekoba made a rare decision that few professional players would make: cut his salary by half, and this behavior moved him even more in the eyes of his father, who had experienced being betrayed by countless superstars. That's why Mr. Moratti has always regarded the Uruguayan as his favourite star.
Since then, Rekoba, who has experienced a fake passport turmoil and paid for the suspension, took the initiative to cut his salary by half to make Moratti impressed
The phone door incident that broke out after that finally allowed Inter, who were struggling to pursue the league championship, ushered in the era of their dominance of Serie A, but at that time, the Uruguayan young player had also entered the year of standing, although the teammates around him changed stubble after stubble Rekoba still chose to stick to it, perhaps he knew that he could not repay his father's kindness, just waiting for a Serie A championship trophy to return Mr. Moratti for his most selfless love in ten years;
After finally winning the league title, Rekoba publicly admitted in an interview with the media that he stayed even if he was a perennial substitute, "If it is up to me to decide, as long as Inter Milan does not win the title, I will never leave." So although other teams offered invitations to Rekoba at the time, which he declined, he was determined to win the title for Moratti in order to repay the benefactor who brought him to Europe.
Recoba, who has gradually lost his starting position as he gets older, even as a substitute, has to use a trophy to thank Moratti for his knowledge of the year
Once the sea was difficult to water, but Wushan is not a cloud
Just after the team ushered in the era of continuous dominance in Serie A, Rekoba, who completed his historical mission, also chose to say goodbye, was loaned to Turin, where he completed his last Serie A moments, and in 08 he left Italy for Panios in Greece to continue his career, where he spent 2 years as a Uruguayan, chose to return to Danubio and the national team, and four years later the Chinese boy officially announced his boots at the age of 40.
After bidding farewell to Inter, Rekoba officially ended his career at the age of 40
In April 2016, Rekoba, who had entered his year of confusion, invited some of the best South American football talents to give a farewell show to all the fans in attendance: including Balderrama, Riquelme, former Inter teammates Zanetti and Zamorano, and Rekoba, who was already excited after the game, said to everyone emotionally, "I am lucky to play with so many championship players and I will be forever grateful." In my career, I have always been happy because I have made my hobby my job and I have no regrets. ”
Looking back at the Uruguayan's career story, the ten years with Inter definitely occupy most of the space, his ten-year contract with the Nerazzurri, there was more possibility to go to those teams that guaranteed his main position, but every time he chose to refuse, for Rekoba to leave before Inter finally waited for the harvest season, but those seasons and his contribution was very little, in the most difficult years when it was still known as the black hole of stars, he chose to stick to it again and again or even take the initiative to cut his salary by half. Apart from being able to explain it with the grace of knowledge, I am afraid that there is no other reason to explain the relationship between him and Morati, which has long gone beyond the relationship between ordinary players and owners.
Although Rekoba was not the biggest star in the Inter squad at that time, he made countless Nerazzurri fans fall in love with him with his practical actions
When he was still playing in Italy, Rekoba said, "I will not leave unless I am expelled from Inter. Maybe he doesn't have a Ballon d'Or or World Footballer of the Year, nor a Champions League trophy to display in his championship collection, but between personal fame and loyalty to the club, the Uruguayan teenager who came to Italy from South America resolutely chose the latter, because in his opinion, when everything is flat, the only thing that can really make everyone's hearts ripple is his deep love for Inter that he will never regret.
Regarding Moratti's knowledge of himself, Rekoba has repeatedly stated that "I will not leave unless I am expelled from Inter"
Write at the end
"I will be at the top of the mountain", Moratti said of Recoba and Da Luo in an interview with the media last February, "I sent Recoba to Venice, and Recoba settled well and saved Venice. I have a great relationship with Rekoba and Ronaldo, they both call me 'Dad'. ”
In the eyes of many Inter stars, Mr. Moratti is another father on their life path