Blackburn, Premier League
Who On Earth Is… Roque Santa Cruz?
It’s all change at Bayern Munich this summer. Despite not being in the Champions League for the first season since 96/97, they have brought in a plethora of attacking talent; Franck Ribéry, Miroslav Klose, Jan Schlaudraff, Hamit Altintop and Luca Toni have all come through the door during the summer, replacing the more experienced Roy [...]
It’s all change at Bayern Munich this summer. Despite not being in the Champions League for the first season since 96/97, they have brought in a plethora of attacking talent; Franck Ribéry, Miroslav Klose, Jan Schlaudraff, Hamit Altintop and Luca Toni have all come through the door during the summer, replacing the more experienced Roy Makaay, Mehmet Scholl, Claudio Pizarro, Ali Karimi and the younger but firmly established Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz, who joins Blackburn Rovers for £3.5 million, came across the English football consciousness a year ago for Paraguay against England at the World Cup in Frankfurt, although that day he lacked decent service from an ineffectual midfield. A frustrating day in a frustrating career.
He has what Blackburn need; plenty of European experience but still years ahead of him in his career
Santa Cruz was never quite special enough to become a first-team regular among a succession of strikers at Bayern Munich since he joined the club in 1999; Jancker, Élber, Zickler, Pizarro, Makaay, Guerrero and Podolski all provided stiff competition for a starting berth.
At Blackburn, there is a similarly large number of forwards, although Santa Cruz can count himself among the foremost of Mark Hughes’ options. He has what Blackburn need; plenty of European experience but still years ahead of him in his career. At 6′2″ he is a good target man to complement the guile of Benni McCarthy and the pace of Derbyshire. Don’t be too surprised if the acquisition of an established striker enables Mark Hughes to thin out his striking options come September.
Will Santa Cruz elevate Blackburn into the top six? Share your views by leaving a comment below.
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4 comments for “Who On Earth Is… Roque Santa Cruz?”
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i think Santa Cruz is a great signing, hes a good target for our wingers to hit in the box, too many times we have had good balls into the box from Ped and Bentos but with no-one in the middle, i think he will just compliment our strikers we have, Another bargain signing Hughes! MIRACLE WORKER!!!
Ashley Bailey
I am shocked but not surprised at Blackburn fans reaction to Santa Cruz’ signing. I am hearing things on the radio and football forums saying that he will be an excellent addition to the blackburn squad, yes that is true, as a player most club wouldn’t say no, but to think that he will elevate Rovers any higher than they were last season is a big misconception. Yes he has experience, but in ten years of professional football he has barley scored 60 goals, and although he is a tall lad his physical attributes are much too weak for the premiership. i cant help thinking if it was Derbyshire in the starting line up week in, week out, more goals would be scored. I would love it for Santa cruz to be a success as i have been watching him since he was in paraguay and to be honest he was mostly hyped up when he began his career in europe. after all those years though it is clear (in my eyes) he will not score anymore than 12 goals this season, i hope im proven wrong.
I have to eat my words, Santa Cruz has well and truly proved me wrong. His ability in the air is a huge asset to Blackburn and is the type of player that will always be a danger in the Premier League. He may well have the best years of his career in England but his tendency to miss games through injury is always a danger. A fantastic signing by Mark Hughes!
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