Álvaro Alexánder Recoba Rivero (Spanish pronunciation: ; born 17 March 1976; nickname "El Chino") is a retired Uruguayan footballer who played as a forward or midfielder. Although he began and ended his footballing career in his native country, he also played for several European clubs throughout his career, most notably Italian side Inter Milan, where he spent 11 seasons.
At international level, Recoba won 68 caps for the Uruguay national team between 1995 and 2007, participating at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and two Copa América tournaments.
Recoba started his career with Uruguay's Danubio. After several years in the Danubio youth teams, he appeared on the first team at age 17 and played for two full seasons, 1994–95 and 1995–96. At the start of the 1996–97 season, Danubio agreed to transfer Recoba to Nacional. The following season, Nacional agreed to send Recoba to Italy's Serie A club Inter Milan.