Player Focus: Roque Santa Cruz and the Altering Perception of Stoke City
When Felipe Santana netted a controversial winner for Borussia Dortmund in their 3-2 Champions League win over Malaga in April, it saw Los Boquerones’ European adventure end until the 2014/15 season, at the earliest, having been banned from Europe as a result of their increasing levels of debt. As such, the likes of Joaquin and Isco have departed for pastures new, while former head coach Manuel Pellegrini has upped sticks and succeeded Roberto Mancini at Manchester City.
It has seen the fire of the ‘Malaga Project’ reduced to little but a roasting pile of embers as the trio followed the likes of José Salomón Rondón and Santi Cazorla out of La Rosaleda, who had departed 12 months previous. Another making his way out of the Malaga exit door is Roque Santa Cruz. Recently appointed head coach Bernd Schuster is supposedly against the idea of hanging onto the 31-year-old, with the striker having seemingly failed to impress during his season long loan with the club.
Out of contract with Manchester City, Santa Cruz is on the hunt for a new club. Hamburg looked set to secure his signature, only for the player’s wife to veto any deal, with it now appearing as though Stoke City are leading the race for the Paraguayan frontman. Should the Potters land the striker, it will be the third time Mark Hughes has signed Santa Cruz in his 14-year managerial career.
With the signings of both Erik Pieters and Marc Muniesa, the remodeling of Stoke City appears to be well underway. The likes of Dean Whitehead, Rory Delap and Mamady Sidibé have been released from their contracts, further reinforcing the mantra that Hughes may look to distance the club from the former regime. Should they sign Santa Cruz, it could be another sign to suggest that the club are moving in the right direction.
The acquisitions of both Pieters and Muniesa hint towards a team that will look to play the ball out of defence, rather than adopt a long ball approach that often saw Stoke criticised over recent seasons’. Having contested (1853) and won (1098) the most aerial duels in Europe’s top five leagues last season, fans would understandably be hopeful off seeing the club retain possession and build attacks slowly rather than pump the ball upfield to the striker, utilising the height of Peter Crouch.
The England international won the most aerial duels (281) of any player in Europe's top five leagues last year, with a success rate of 66%. Winning an average of 8.26 per game, it often saw the team lambasted as a result, with Stoke doing themselves no favours when it came to attempting to win over the neutral football fan. In comparison, Santa Cruz has been playing in a side that are far more adept at keeping the ball on the deck, and may be able to translate that style were he to move to Stoke. Regardless, he still won an average of 2.87 aerial duels per game, winning 89 over the campaign for Malaga with a success of 65.4% - a similar percentile to that of Crouch having contested in considerably fewer aerial battles (136).
Granted, fans will be keen to see Stoke move away from the previous mantra regularly associated with the club, but it could certainly add another option for the club should they need to utilise a targetman. Yet, while his pass success isn't spectacular, at 69.5% the probability of bringing others into play on the floor improves significantly, as out of every Stoke striker only Cameron Jerome (72%) boasted a better pass accuracy than Santa Cruz.
This idea of bringing others into play is evidenced by the fact that Santa Cruz made 88 accurate lay offs for Malaga last season, averaging 2.84 per game. Only 10 players to have played as a striker in La Liga over the 2012/13 season performed more lay offs per game than the out of contract frontman. This would undoubtedly weigh in the favour of the striker if Hughes is indeed considering a possible move for him.
His eight goals and two assists in 31 appearances - only 15 of which were starts - may not be as impressive as some would hope, yet it saw Santa Cruz net a goal every 2.38 shots on target, whilst also boasting an impressive shot accuracy of 52.7%. However, when he started, the Spanish outfit saw their win percentage drop to 20% from the 56.5% without him, netting just the 1.13 goals per game with him in the starting XI compared to the 1.57 when he was on the bench or unavailable.
Nevertheless, he’s proven in the past that when handed the lead striking role in a starting XI, Santa Cruz can be an effective weapon for any team. While his Manchester City stint was one to forget, with Blackburn Rovers he showcased his striking credentials under Hughes. He’s a player the Welshman knows well and would likely bring the best out of once again.
Should he sign, he'd be arriving on a free and it will ensure Hughes not only has money to spend on further playing personnel over the summer, but also continues his attempts to stamp his footballing philosophy on the Stoke squad.
