The former Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz has said that he hopes to play an important part in helping the Spanish club Malaga extend the return that they have experienced in all competitions recently.
Malaga came into the new season with major doubts about the future. They have to sell many star players including the best players from last season – Santi Cazorla – for very low sums of money in order to service the debts. However, they have been able to not only perform well in the Spanish la Liga, but also in other competitions as well.
They were one of the first teams to progress from the group stages of the Champions League into the knockout stages, while they recently entered into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey. Malaga were playing against the third division opponents Cacereno. Roque Santa Cruz was a crucial player in the match after he scored two goals to help the team win 4-2. The Paraguay striker has not been one of the first-team regulars for Malaika this season. However, he is hoping that his double strike against Cacereno will convince the manager to play him more often. He has scored just one goal in the league this season.
“It is important for my confidence to play and pick up rhythm. The goals also bring confidence but we looked at it more as a complete exercise from the team. I would like to score more in the league and I hope to continue the run that started with the cup game,” said Roque Santa Cruz after the 4-2 victory. The former Blackburn Rovers striker came through leaps and bounds since arriving at England. However, he has been devoid of regular first-team football ever since moving to the Premier league club Manchester City for £ 17 million.