Former Inter forward Julio Cruz has found a new home since the powerhouse organization cut him loose at season’s end. And the Argentine forward couldn’t have signed with the club at a better time. At 34 years old, Cruz will qualify for the coveted SATO Best Player 34 & Over Award next season.
And I am sure his new squad, Lazio, will likely use the star a little more often then Inter did during his career for the champions. At Lazio, Cruz will not be behind players such as Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Samuel Eto’o, or Lionel Messi. In fact Cruz scored the majority of his goals for Inter while other star players were sitting out matches nursing injuries.
49 club goals in 6 seasons is not a bad result for a guy that’s considered a backup player. And in the only two years that they allowed the player to play in more then half of the total season, he scored 15 and 13 goals respectively. Cruz is another product of a great player who was taken advantage of when he signed with a great team. Cruz did help aid the squad to many league championships, but he could have been the best player on many Italian football clubs. Instead he remained a fill-in player on one of the best clubs in all of the world.
Standing 6’3, Cruz will look to head many balls into the back of the net next season for new club, Lazio. Nicknamed “the Gardner” because he used to work in a football stadium as a groundskeeper; Cruz will be tested early in the year by his old mates. Lazio faces Inter on August 8th in the Italian Super Cup.
