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World Player of the Week: Alvaro Recoba - Nacional
Dec 5, 2011 1:15:00 PM
Join Goal.com in saluting another player worthy of global recognition
| Bet: | Returns: | Progreso £75.00 | Draw £46.00 | Nacional £13.64 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Progreso £75.00 | Draw £42.00 | Nacional £13.30 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Progreso £60.00 | Draw £40.00 | Nacional £14.44 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Progreso £100.00 | Draw £47.50 | Nacional £13.30 |
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Goal.com World Player of the Week #133: Alvaro Recoba
Club: Nacional
Country: Uruguay
Age: 35
Role: Forward
Achievement: Won the Uruguayan Apertura championship
Alvaro Recoba is regarded as one of the finest players South America has ever produced, but had failed to win the championship in his homeland Uruguay during his illustrious career.
But this weekend the 35-year-old veteran did just that, and in style too. The former Uruguay international scored a beautiful goal to lead Nacional to a 1-0 victory over Liverpool and win the Apertura championship.
It was a fitting finale to Recoba’s return to the club he left 14 years ago and saw the Tricolors reclaim the title.
Congratulations to Alvaro Recoba, Goal.com's 133rd World Player of the Week!
Honourable Mentions
Mauricio Isla - Udinese
Udinese recorded a slender victory over Inter in Serie A at the weekend, and the scorer of the only goal was a certain Mauricio Isla. The Chilean defended stoutly, got the better of Ricardo Alvarez and Cristian Chivu and found the net on 73 minutes to hand the Zebrette a 1-0 win.
Eninho - Jeonbuk Motors
Jeonbuk Motors won the K-League title this weekend 4-2 on aggregate, with 2-1 wins in each leg. Brazilian midfielder Eninho scored both goals midweek, before his spot kick in the second leg pulled his side back in control of the tie to make it 1-1 on the day after Seol Ki-Hyeon had put Ulsan ahead early in the half. The crafty Brazilian was integral to their title success this term, with his creativity and quality up front.
Franck Ribery - Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich returned to winning ways in the Bundesliga at the weekend when they got the better of Werder Bremen 4-1, and at the heart of that triumph was Ribery. The France international scored two goals and won a penalty, and was a constant threat going forward for the Bavarian giants at the Allianz Arena.
Sagar Thapa - Nepal
Sagar Thapa scored a 95th minute goal from a free kick, a la Ronaldinho from in the 2002 World Cup finals, which saw Nepal beat Bangladesh 1-0 on Sunday after 18 long years. The captain has also been inspirational at the back as the Gorkhalis haven't let in a single goal in their two matches in the SAFF Championship.
Yakubu - Blackburn Rovers
Yakubu scored all four goals for Blackburn Rovers in their 4-2 victory over Swansea City at Ewood Park in the Premier League to give his side hope of surviving relegation this season.
Leave your notes of congratulations for Alvaro Recoba below, or discuss who else deserves a place in the spotlight this week...
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Progreso - Nacional
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Progreso 5-0 Nacional
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Live!
Champions League final - LIVE!
German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.
7:19 PM BST
And one final question for Carlo ...
@OmarAb96: What is the most important battle on the pitch tonight?
CG: This is going to sound like a cliche, and probably not the answer you are looking for but whichever team is more clinical will win the game. That is the real battle, more so than any individual contest because these are two sides who value the collective. I expect Bayern to have more possession, but Dortmund are still incredibly dangerous on the break. Bayern may create more chances, but Dortmund will have their opportunities too. It really depends who is more efficient.
And like I said earlier, the first goal will be crucial. If Bayern score first, it will be very difficult for Dortmund to come back.
@OmarAb96: What is the most important battle on the pitch tonight?
CG: This is going to sound like a cliche, and probably not the answer you are looking for but whichever team is more clinical will win the game. That is the real battle, more so than any individual contest because these are two sides who value the collective. I expect Bayern to have more possession, but Dortmund are still incredibly dangerous on the break. Bayern may create more chances, but Dortmund will have their opportunities too. It really depends who is more efficient.
And like I said earlier, the first goal will be crucial. If Bayern score first, it will be very difficult for Dortmund to come back.
7:13 PM BST
Carlo's now had his attention turned to the intiguing arrival of a certain Spaniard at the Allianz Arena this summer ...
@A_Mostefa17: Do you think Bayern will be even better with Guardiola next year or will it all go wrong for them?
CG: Everything suggests that Guardiola's Bayern will be a great team. The setups at Bayern and Barcelona are comparable, both on and off the pitch. Only Barcelona have monopolised more possession than Bayern over the past two seasons, while the Germans have enough top quality young players for Guardiola to build a great team around.
Everything is there for Guardiola to do well, the problem is that if Bayern win tonight and clinch the treble - as expected - how on earth do you better that? The simple answer is you can't. So Guardiola will almost be in a no-win situation from the outset, and that is never an easy starting point.
@A_Mostefa17: Do you think Bayern will be even better with Guardiola next year or will it all go wrong for them?
CG: Everything suggests that Guardiola's Bayern will be a great team. The setups at Bayern and Barcelona are comparable, both on and off the pitch. Only Barcelona have monopolised more possession than Bayern over the past two seasons, while the Germans have enough top quality young players for Guardiola to build a great team around.
Everything is there for Guardiola to do well, the problem is that if Bayern win tonight and clinch the treble - as expected - how on earth do you better that? The simple answer is you can't. So Guardiola will almost be in a no-win situation from the outset, and that is never an easy starting point.
7:09 PM BST
And the rest of that response (trust me - it gets even better!) to the question on whether Germany deserves four Champions League places:
CG: Germany took a place off Italy purely because Uefa's coefficient system - which rewards the same number of points to Europa League competitors as it does for those in the Champions League - was so ludicrously flawed.
There is no doubt that the Bundesliga is on the up and Serie A has since struggled in Europe - and this season Germany has proven its worth in the Champions League - but the league should hever have been granted a fourth place until they earned it in the Champions League ... not in a Mickey Mouse Cup that no one outside Germany and the minor nations takes seriously.
CG: Germany took a place off Italy purely because Uefa's coefficient system - which rewards the same number of points to Europa League competitors as it does for those in the Champions League - was so ludicrously flawed.
There is no doubt that the Bundesliga is on the up and Serie A has since struggled in Europe - and this season Germany has proven its worth in the Champions League - but the league should hever have been granted a fourth place until they earned it in the Champions League ... not in a Mickey Mouse Cup that no one outside Germany and the minor nations takes seriously.
7:07 PM BST
A cracking question here from Adam Scime, who has provoked an even better response out of Carlo, which I'll have to split in two!
@Scime_Live: Does Germany deserve four CL places?
CG: Germany were granted four Champions League places at the end of the 2010-11 season, which led to Italy losing one spot. This came into effect at the start of the 2012-13 campaign.
When Italy lost their place, their Champions League record was so far superior to Germany whether you looked at the last two,three,five,10,20 or 30 years. Serie A boasted two of the previous four winners of the competition, whereas the Bundesliga hadn't won a European trophy of any sort since 2001 ...
@Scime_Live: Does Germany deserve four CL places?
CG: Germany were granted four Champions League places at the end of the 2010-11 season, which led to Italy losing one spot. This came into effect at the start of the 2012-13 campaign.
When Italy lost their place, their Champions League record was so far superior to Germany whether you looked at the last two,three,five,10,20 or 30 years. Serie A boasted two of the previous four winners of the competition, whereas the Bundesliga hadn't won a European trophy of any sort since 2001 ...
7:04 PM BST
Carlo's finally been asked to put his neck on the line in our Twitter Q&A ...
@jagger_jagz: Who do you tip to win #UCL final?
CG: Bayern are clearly the favourites on paper. Individually and collectively they have the advantage, plus they have won two and drawn two out of their four meetings this season, so psychologically have the edge.
But, anything can happen in finals. The first goal will be crucial. If Bayern break the deadlock, it is hard to see them losing as they are so good at strangling the game and picking teams off. If Dortmund are to spring a surprise, I think they have to score first. If they manage that, then it will be interesting to see how Bayern react. They have developed a reputation as a team who bottle it on the big stage and fall at the final hurdle. Mentally, they seem a different proposition this year but falling behind could bring back all their bad memories and prove fatal.
@jagger_jagz: Who do you tip to win #UCL final?
CG: Bayern are clearly the favourites on paper. Individually and collectively they have the advantage, plus they have won two and drawn two out of their four meetings this season, so psychologically have the edge.
But, anything can happen in finals. The first goal will be crucial. If Bayern break the deadlock, it is hard to see them losing as they are so good at strangling the game and picking teams off. If Dortmund are to spring a surprise, I think they have to score first. If they manage that, then it will be interesting to see how Bayern react. They have developed a reputation as a team who bottle it on the big stage and fall at the final hurdle. Mentally, they seem a different proposition this year but falling behind could bring back all their bad memories and prove fatal.
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