| An excellent 2005/06 campaign for Inter Milan, during which the experienced frontman scored 21 times and even out-gunned his illustrious team-mate Adriano, earned Cruz a late call-up to Argentina’s 23-man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup™. Cruz’s height, positioning and goalscoring instinct make him the perfect alternative to Chelsea star Hernan Crespo in attack. Originally from Santiago del Estero in northern Argentina, the man they call El Jardinero (The Gardener) was given his national team debut by Daniel Passarella, although El Gran Capitan chose not to take the striker to France 98. It was a similar story under Marcelo Bielsa, with Cruz struck off the list for Korea/Japan 2002 despite featuring prominently in his side’s friendly games leading up to that year’s finals. The gifted goal-poacher would have to wait 44 months for another chance to pull on the famous blue and white shirt, marking his return with a goal as he came off the bench in Argentina’s win over Qatar in November. Cruz finished the domestic season on a high, scoring goals in both legs of Inter’s Italian Cup Final win over AS Roma.
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