 Julio Cruz with Lazio in 2009 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Julio Ricardo Cruz[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1974-10-10)10 October 1974 (age 50) | ||
| Place of birth | Santiago del Estero, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1993 | Banfield | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1996 | Banfield | 65 | (16) |
| 1996–1997 | River Plate | 29 | (17) |
| 1997–2000 | Feyenoord | 86 | (45) |
| 2000–2003 | Bologna | 88 | (27) |
| 2003–2009 | Inter Milan | 125 | (49) |
| 2009–2010 | Lazio | 25 | (4) |
| Total | 417 | (153) | |
| International career | |||
| 1997–2008 | Argentina | 22 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Julio Ricardo Cruz (born 10 October 1974) is an Argentine formerfootballer. He played for clubs in Argentina, the Netherlands and Italy before retiring in 2010. The longest spell of his career was spent withInter Milan, with whom he won four consecutiveSerie A titles, among other honours. A large and physical player, who was known for his ability in the air, he usually played as astriker but he has even played as awinger, as anattacking midfielder, and as acentre-forward.[3] In 2015, he opened his own charity foundation, the Julio Cruz Foundation.
Cruz earned 22 caps for theArgentina national team from his debut in 1997, scoring three goals. He represented Argentina at the1997 Copa América and the2006 FIFA World Cup.
A tall, physical striker at 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in), Cruz started his career withBanfield in 1993. In 1996, he moved toRiver Plate.
In 1997, Cruz moved to Europe to join Dutch clubFeyenoord. In the 1998–99 season, he helped them to the Eredivisie title, scoring fifteen goals.[4] In 2000, he joinedBologna in Italy.
Under the management ofFrancesco Guidolin at Bologna, Cruz was mainly used as a lone striker. While he was often derided by fans and the media alike for his lack of goalscoring proficiency, he did prove to be extremely apt at holding the ball up in order to bring the other attackers into the game. In2001–02, he played an integral part in Bologna's seventh-placed finish inSerie A, and while he only netted ten goals in the league, he earned back the respect of his critics for his intelligent and passionate football.[5]
In 2003, Cruz left Bologna to sign forInter Milan.[6] He was allocated squad number 9 and made his Inter debut on 14 September 2003 in the 1–0 away win againstSiena, playing the full 90 minutes.[7] Three days later, he scored his first Inter goal in the 3–0 victory overArsenal atHighbury on 17 September 2003 in theUEFA Champions League.[8] He continued with his good form, notably scoring a crucial double againstJuventus in a 3–1 away win.[9]
With theNerazzurri, Cruz rarely played regularly in the first team, finding some playing time usually just when the leading strikers were unavailable, and often being used as a substitute. Thus, he scored 12 league goals in his first two seasons with Inter. In a Champions League match againstPorto on 1 November 2005, he scored twice in 30 minutes after being sent in to replace strikerAdriano, turning a 0–1 into a 2–1 victory.
In the winter of 2005, Cruz was linked with rumours toRoma and other clubs because his contract was set to expire; however,in February 2006, he extended his contract to the summer of 2008.[10] On 8 April 2006, Cruz received his first ever red card during the league match againstAscoli for dissent after sarcastically applauding refereeStefano Farina.[11]
Cruz ended the season as Inter's top scorer with 21 goals, including 15 Serie A goals, and the second goal in the return match for the final of the2006 Coppa Italia Final that Inter won 3–1 against Roma. He signed a new contract in September 2007.[12]
On 31 July 2009, Cruz left Inter and signed withLazio on a two-year contract as free agent, but also paid €2.15 million sign-on fees to Van Dijk B.V.; Lazio was later fined by the FIGC due to third parties ownership and unlicensed agent Dennis Anthonius Johannes Maria Sickman.[13][14]
Cruz made his Lazio debut on 8 August in the2009 Supercoppa Italiana against Inter, appearing as a 72nd-minute substitute in an eventual 2–1 win atBeijing National Stadium, China, winning his first trophy in Lazio colours.[15] He played his first match as a starter 12 days later, a match which brought his European debut with Lazio as well, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 home win againstIF Elfsborg for the first leg ofplay-off round of2009–10 UEFA Europa League.[16]
At the end of2009–10 season, Cruz's contract with Lazio was mutually terminated, as he was suffering from injury. He announced his retirement from football on 7 September 2010, declining offers fromNapoli andGrosseto.[17]
Cruz amassed 22 caps and four goals forArgentina.[18] He participated in the2006 FIFA World Cup, appearing as a late substitute in the matches against theNetherlands andGermany.[19] He scored the opening penalty in the penalty shoot-outs against Germany, but Argentina lost 4–2 on penalties.[20]
Cruz's nickname, "El Jardinero" (Spanish for "The Gardener"), was given to him at an early age as he was serving as a groundskeeper while a youngster at local team Banfield in 1993 when he was summoned byOscar López to fill in for a missing player one day for a first team practice match. Upon noticing his talent he was promoted, and the nickname was born.[21][22]
Cruz was also nicknamed "Poncharello" by Inter Channel commentator Roberto Scarpini due to his similar appearance with the character from the 1980s TV showCHiPs.[22]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Banfield | 1993–94 | Argentine Primera División | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 1994–95 | Argentine Primera División | 26 | 6 | — | — | — | 26 | 6 | ||||
| 1995–96 | Argentine Primera División | 32 | 10 | — | — | — | 32 | 10 | ||||
| 1996–97 | Argentine Primera División | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 64 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 16 | ||
| River Plate | 1996–97 | Argentine Primera División | 29 | 17 | — | — | — | 29 | 17 | |||
| Feyenoord | 1997–98 | Eredivisie | 27 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 6[b] | 3 | — | 34 | 17 | |
| 1998–99 | Eredivisie | 29 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 34 | 15 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Eredivisie | 30 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 10[b] | 3 | 1[d] | 0 | 42 | 18 | |
| 2000–01 | Eredivisie | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 86 | 44 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 111 | 50 | ||
| Bologna | 2000–01 | Serie A | 27 | 7 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 28 | 7 | ||
| 2001–02 | Serie A | 33 | 10 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 35 | 12 | |||
| 2002–03 | Serie A | 28 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 35 | 11 | ||
| Total | 88 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 30 | ||
| Inter Milan | 2003–04 | Serie A | 21 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 10[e] | 1 | — | 43 | 11 | |
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 17 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 8[b] | 2 | — | 31 | 9 | ||
| 2005–06 | Serie A | 31 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 7[b] | 4 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 21 | |
| 2006–07 | Serie A | 15 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4[b] | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 12 | |
| 2007–08 | Serie A | 28 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 6[b] | 2 | 1[f] | 0 | 39 | 19 | |
| 2008–09 | Serie A | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 3 | |
| Total | 129 | 49 | 27 | 13 | 40 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 197 | 75 | ||
| Lazio | 2009–10 | Serie A | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 30 | 4 |
| Career total | 421 | 157 | 35 | 15 | 70 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 529 | 192 | ||
Appearances and goals by national team and year[18]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 1997 | 5 | 0 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2000 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 3 | |
International goals
Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first.[18]
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 9 June 1999 | Soldier Field,Chicago, United States |  Mexico | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 2. | 13 February 2002 | Cardiff City Stadium,Cardiff, Wales |  Wales | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3. | 16 November 2005 | Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium,Doha, Qatar |  Qatar | 0–2 | 0–3 | Friendly |
River Plate[26]
Feyenoord[26]
Inter Milan[26]
Lazio[26]
Individual
Argentina squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
