Alvaro Recoba and Eden Hazard

The rest of the footballing world is watching Eden Hazard fluttering his eyelashes coquettishly and lifting his skirt above his ankle at Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.

Here, at Left Back In The Changing Room, we are looking elsewhere. News reaches us from Uruguay that the great Alvaro Recoba is still bending in magnificent free-kicks at the age of 36.

Perhaps Recoba is a man that we should consider tonight. He was a very fine player but he is one of that clutch of players who we think should have achieved more. A player for all his undoubted talent never hit the heights that such ability should have lifted him to - partly due to an unfortunate series of injuries and partly due to his mentality.

Consider Recoba's debut for Internazionale. Playing against Brescia, Recoba scored twice - a bullet from 35 yards out and then, the second, one of those free-kicks which could only be produced by the man. A left-footed shot that soars over the wall only to whip under the bar. He was a natural on the ball and had an uncanny ability to dribble past players at will. Swift, balanced and powerful and with that telling ability (that all truly great forwards have) of being able to stop as swiftly as he started. His debut, however, wasn't a sign of things to come consistently.


Bluntly, Recoba had everything needed to win a Ballon d'Or. He was that gifted. He, however, should be packaged alongside David Ginola and Alexander Mostovoi as a player who had all the attributes apart from the mentality. Players that could illuminate games, or even a string of games, but couldn't dominate a league or a season. Players with half the ability of Recoba or Ginola achieved, and won, much more and will live longer in the memory.



Which drags us back to Hazard. He clearly has the ability to be, within a couple of years, be mentioned in the same breath as Messi and Ronaldo. Does he have the mentality? Does he have the desire?

Tonight, many are questioning his temperament and his ego given the way he has toyed with the footballing world (and, worst of all, toyed with geeks like me on Twitter). Let us hope that he fulfils his talent. Let us hope we aren't, in 15 years time, writing of him as one of the ones who got away.

RCM