Ricardo Alvarez - Could he be THE transfer of the summer?

To be honest before Inter put in a bid for 'Ricky' i hadn't heard of him which isn't too surprising as he was playing for Velez Sarsfield in Argentina and i don't really follow Argentinian football, but when i heard the rumours that we had jumped in with a late bid when it looked like he was going to sign for Arsenal i decided to Google him & from what i found out i quickly realised that this could be an excellent signing for Inter.  As the video below shows he is a very talented lad who is versitile and has very good all control & vision.

Alvarez is a fantastic player & it will be great to see him playing in an Inter shirt, though it has been said it is his destiny to play for the Nerazzurri as his Dad is a lifelong Interista & as the photo on the right shows he's been wearing Inter shirts since a young age (He was 6 years old when this was taken)
"This is a dream come true for me and I can't wait to start this wonderful adventure": were his first words to the multitude of journalists who had been waiting for the left-footed midfielder who will thrill Inter fans as well as fans of Italian football in general. Ricardo, accompanied by his father Carlos, who seemed more nervous than his son, he must be the proudest father in the world though to see his Son sign for the club he loves as any of us Interista would be.


In a recent Interview President Moratti was asked
Isn't Alvarez, with that magical left foot of his, somewhat reminiscent of Alvaro Recoba?

"I've seen things that remind me of Corso too... They are both spectacular players. Alvarez will of course have his own personality, his own playing style. A left foot is always special: if he can use it well, he will be fantastic."

So what came before Inter for the promising 23 year old winger?  He was born on April 12th 1988 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and in his youth played for Caballito Juniors and Club Parque, and then had a brief stay in Boca Juniors' youth divisions before moving to Velez Sarsfield.
Alvarez played his 1st professional game for Velez Sarsfield in 2008 though soon after his debut he suffered a cruciate ligament injury in his knee which stalled his progression in the 1st team.  In 2009 he played 18 minutes in the Clausura match that Velez won 1-0 over Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy.  His breakthrough finally came during the 2010 Clausura during which Velez was forced to play mainly substitutes due to a tight schedule of the Copa Libertadores.  He scored his 1st goal in the 2-1 defeat to River Plate & received his first red card in Velez's 1-3 defeat to Racing for complaining about a yellow card.  During the tournament he played in 11 matches (4 as a starter) and scored 1 goal.
Alvarez played 15 games during Velez's 2010 Apertura campaign in which they came runner- up.  During 2011 he has received significant praise from both fans & media for his performances in the league & in the Copa Libertadores games during which he showed his versatility by playing in all positions across the midfield.
On July 5th 2011 he joined Inter for what i consider a good price of 11.75 Million Euros for a 90% share of his transfer rights with the other 10% remaining with Velez with whom Ricky still has a fondness for as shown by the Tweet he posted on his account @11rickyalvarez on the day he joined us:

"Velez will always be in my heart, i will never forget things lived in the club, i was very happy there! Thanks for the love!"

For me Ricky could be Inter's Messi if he lives up to his potential, which if he does means that Inter will have secured his services for what could be considered a bargain price.  With Alvarez in the team Inter now have a formidable left side with Nagatomo, Alvarez & Eto'o running that flank we should be seeing some fast & exciting football down that side.  Now all we need to do is match that on the right side with the signings of Jonathan, a good right winger & Castaignos up front, this could turn out to be a very exciting season for Inter & us Interista & with nearly 2 months left in the transfer window there's plenty of time for some more amazing players to join our rejuvenated ranks.