(From: sportinglife.com)Blackburn new boy Roque Santa Cruz has revealed how strike partner Benni McCarthy has helped him make a dramatic impact in the Barclays Premier League.

Blackburn new boy Roque Santa Cruz has revealed how strike partner Benni McCarthy has helped him make a dramatic impact in the Barclays Premier League.

The Paraguayan star has hit two goals in his first three games for Rovers since his £3.8million move from Bayern Munich, and he credits McCarthy with a big role in his success.

Santa Cruz said: "Benni is a great player and it did not take me long to understand the way he plays. You look at the attitude he has and he makes it so easy.

"It was a case of coming in and getting used to the crowds and everything else as soon as possible.

"But there are no mysteries about the Premier League any more. I am enjoying playing with Benni very much."

Santa Cruz and McCarthy are set to return to the Rovers side for Sunday's Ewood Park clash with Manchester City after being rested for the midweek UEFA Cup win over My-Pa.

Santa Cruz added: "Three games does not tell you a lot about how the rest of the season is going to go but it is clear everything is going well for us at the moment.

"I don't think we are able to say we have made a good start until after the game with City.

"If we get three points against City, then we can certainly say we have made a good start."

Meanwhile, Rovers boss Mark Hughes has expressed his delight at David Bentley's recall to the England squad for the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifying double-header against Russia and Israel.

There were fears Bentley could be frozen out after he controversially elected to withdraw from the summer squad for the European under-21 Championships because he said he was too tired.

But Hughes insisted: "We have drawn a line under it and there is no real issue between me and Steve [McClaren]. I was delighted when he rang me this morning to tell me David was in the squad.

"He scored a brilliant goal for us on Thursday night but I would suggest it is his form over a sustained period of time which has probably swayed it. This is David's reward for a lot of hard work."

( From: sportsillustrated.cnn.com ) They are feared throughout South America for their fighting spirit, their teamwork and their aerial prowess. So it seems remarkable that, although the Paraguayan national team has made it to the last three World Cups, its players have been so slow to make an impact in the English Premier League.

Paraguayans would appear to have the virtues to fit in well to the notoriously rugged style of the English game. But until this season, there was only one not very encouraging story to tell.

At the turn of the decade, Newcastle United picked up midfielder Diego Gavilán from Cerro Porteño, Paraguay's most popular club. Perhaps it came too soon.

Perhaps is was too big of a step for a young man a long way from home, but Gavilán was hardly given a game. He has accumulated more than 40 appearances for his national team and carved out a solid career in South American club soccer.

But Gavilán the pioneer wasn't able to leave his mark on English soccer, heading back to Latin American just two years later (he's currently with Grêmio in Brazil, runner-up in this year's Copa Libertadores).

Now, though, one of his compatriots is making a huge impression in the world's richest league. Blackburn Rovers' acquisition of striker Roque Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich is being seen as the bargain of the offseason. The 6-foot-3 striker has scored goals, set them up, linked the play and already become a cult figure in the Lancashire town, some 35 miles outside Manchester.

Nine years ago when he burst onto the scene as a rangy, precociously talented teenager, Santa Cruz seemed destined for even bigger stages than that offered by a provincial club in England.

In 1998, at the age of 16, Santa Cruz scored a hat trick for his club Olimpia in a Copa Mercosur match against Vélez Sarsfield of Argentina -- with legendary Paraguayan José Luis Chilavert in goal. Scouts instantly started to take notice. It was a triumph that showcased his heading ability -- but he had so much more to offer.

Perhaps his most surprising asset was his devastating turn of pace. In the '99 South American Under-20 Championships, a Brazilian center back calmly tried to bring the ball out of defense in the first minute of the match. From nowhere, Santa Cruz swooped in to nip the ball off his toe and raced away to score.

He seemed to have the complete package -- height and pace, the capacity to strike the ball with power and subtlety off either foot and the intelligence to combine well with his strike partner. At the senior level, Paraguay had shown its customary resilience but was struggling for goals. So Roque Santa Cruz appeared like a gift from heaven.

He was sent straight in to senior international soccer, and in July 1999, when Paraguay staged its first ever Copa América, the 17-year-old was leading their attack like a veteran. "Babygol," he was nicknamed. Once the competition had ended (Paraguay, unbeaten, lost on penalties to Uruguay in the quarterfinals), Santa Cruz went off across the Atlantic to join Bayern Munich.

The German giants congratulated themselves on pulling off a coup. They truly believed they had signed a player who would shortly become one of the superstars of the global game.

Eight years later, Santa Cruz's start with Blackburn would indicate that his future is as bright as ever. Bayern, though, would argue that it saw all too little from Santa Cruz. It had been hoping that the Paraguayan would develop into the type of player who might even score 38 goals a season, rather than the eight years it took him to reach that total in German soccer.

The principal problem, of course, was injuries. The beanpole frame of Santa Cruz has broken down time and time again. Significantly, in all the interviews he has given to the English press, he has been stressing his hope to remain healthy for the entire season. Perhaps, though, that was not the entire story. Maybe he also got lost in the giant squad of one of Europe's leading clubs.

Soccer brings out the warrior side of the Paraguayans. Off the field, though, they can often be shy, tranquil individuals. It could just be that Santa Cruz reacts better to playing for a smaller, provincial club where he is made to feel important.

Santa Cruz, who just turned 26, should now be entering the peak years of his playing career. If Blackburn can keep him fit and handle him right, it should have plenty to celebrate -- and Paraguay should finally figure on the map -- as far as English soccer is concerned.

(From: skysports.com) Roque Santa Cruz has admitted a host of Premier League clubs were interested in securing his signature before he eventually elected to sign for Blackburn.

And the Paraguay international revealed that it was the vision of Mark Hughes which persuaded him that his future lay at Ewood Park.

The £3.5million signing is already proving to be one of the best buys of the summer with three goals to his name from Rovers' opening five fixtures.

Santa Cruz joined Rovers from Bayern Munich after eight years with the Bundesliga outfit, where he became something of a cult hero.

He told The Independent: "I had four or five clubs who were interested in me. I talked to some people, managers, and Mark Hughes made the difference.

"He told me his ideas. It was a simple decision after that. He said I would get the opportunity to play. And to learn.

"He said this team is competitive, but that I will only help to make it more competitive. I had a good feeling. I feel fit and strong. I feel like I can do everything now."

Santa Cruz took just three minutes to open his account for the club, scoring in the 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough on the opening day of the season after coming off the bench.

Pressure

And the striker admits that early goal helped ease the pressure on his shoulders as he settles into his new life in the north west.

He added: "To score in my first game. With a few minutes is indescribable.

"The longer you take to get your first goal, the more the pressure. I skipped that pressure.

"I don't feel like I've only been here two or three weeks but ages. I feel comfortable, and that is also because of the spirit in the dressing room. They're nice guys."