Two out of contract veterans finally find a home

By: Francesco | July 31st, 2009

It was made known pretty early that the contracts of Julio Cruz and Christian Panucci were not going to be renewed by Inter and Roma at the end of the season. Both players were linked with a host of clubs but no offer became concrete and up until yesterday it was anybody’s guess where Cruz and Panucci would wind up playing next season. Julio Cruz was an important player for Inter during his 6 years in Milan. The Argentine striker may not have always been first choice, but he was the ultimate supersub, as he always seemed to come off the bench and make an impact. El Jardinero scored 49 goals in 129 appearances with the club but Mourinho was not interested in having him back next season and therefore he had to look elsewhere for a club. He was linked to a host of clubs, including Napoli, Fiorentina, Parma, Panathinaikos, Bologna, Roma, and Lazio. If you believed the rumors, the two Roman clubs were battling for his signature. And even though it looked like Cruz would be heading towards the Giallorosso side of the capital, Claudio Lotito swooped in and signed Cruz today. Cruz was immediately added to Lazio’s SuperCoppa side leaving for Beijing.

Christian Panucci basically waved him Roma future goodbye back in January, when he refused to sit on the bench in a game vs. Napoli and was frozen out of the squad until late February. Panucci was a crucial part of Roma’s back-line for 8 years, notching 311 appearances and scoring 29 goals (he would always find a way to head the ball in from a set piece), and even earning a chance to wear the national team jersey again after 3 years of being left out. Where Panucci would wind up this season was again anybody’s guess. Rumors linked him with moves to Napoli and Fiorentina, but the side that looked most serious in acquiring his services was Parma. Even though Tommaso Ghirardi, the Lord of Prosciutto himself, said that a deal would be difficult to make, Panucci was unveiled today as a Parma player, signing a one year contract. Panucci said at the press conference that he had almost agreed to a deal with Milan (that doesn’t surprise me) and shook Galliani’s hand, but Galliani thought about it and decided not to continue the deal.

Cruz and Panucci videos