Q&A with Roque Santa Cruz

Fifa.com published an interview with Roque Santa Cruz this March. Roque doesn’t hold back and talks about his new life at Blackburn Rovers, manager Mark Hughes, teammates, his past at Bayern Munich, and the South American World Cup qualifiers.

Having scored a total of 16 goals for Blackburn so far, has led manager Mark Hughes to declare, “He is quicker, bigger, stronger and better looking than I was!”. Although we have many excellent players on the Paraguayan national team, Roque is by far the most emblematic. At his best, he delights fans by carrying the ball at frantic paces and scoring with a cool-headed finish.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Fifa.com: How would you assess your eight years at Bayern Munich?
Santa Cruz: I would never say that my time at Bayern Munich was wasted because while I was there we won the league, the Champions League, the Club World Cup and it was a very enjoyable time to be involved in a club that is always winning. But with that comes a pressure - a pressure to win every game. I didn’t really play that often, so that was obviously frustrating for me - and after several years I realised it was time to move on. However, I owe Bayern Munich a lot. They have helped me become the player that I am today - and they also looked after me really well during my injuries, which I am happy to say, are not affecting me any more.

Roque’s current goal-scoring success in England must be leaving a sour aftertaste for some Bayern managers.

Some of the difficulties Roque faced at Bayern can also be attibuted to how he was recruited. He was actively sought by Bayern president, Franz Beckenbauer. If I remember correctly, Beckenbauer came to Paraguay twice to personally lead negotiations for Roque’s contract. On one of those visits, he came along with Karl Heinz Rummenigge. What hype! The point is Roque was Beckenbauer’s boy at Bayern, never manager Hitzfeld’s. This is very different at Blackburn, where it was manager Mark Hughes who went after Roque.

Fifa.com: What’s it like to be coached by legendary striker Mark Hughes?
Santa Cruz: It’s fantastic to learn from such a great striker, but what has impressed me is how mentally strong he is. He talks to you, knowing exactly what it is like to be a striker, and the situations that you face both in training and in matches. For me, that’s brilliant.

Here, Roque delivers a gentle warning to our South American rivals….

Fifa.com: Paraguay currently top the South American qualifying group for South Africa 2010. Do you think you can stay there?
Santa Cruz: Over the past few years, we’ve become a lot stronger. Like at Blackburn, we’re not content with just doing well at home - we want to do well away from home too - and I think other countries are realising that. So, yes, I hope that we do stay above Brazil and Argentina and everyone else - and I think we can.

To see the interview in full at Fifa.com, please click here.

For some Premier League coverage on Roque click here.

Un abrazo