Frutos comeback reawakens Anderlecht
Monday, October 27, 2008
Article summary
RSC Anderlecht's slow start had caused concern at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium but that was forgotten when Nicolás Frutos made his first home appearance in six months and scored a hat-trick in a 7-1 win.
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Injury absence
The 1.94m tall, long-haired Argentinian striker had been the centre of some disquiet after travelling home to have a heel injury treated and criticising the club's medical staff upon arrival back in Brussels. But last week's announcement that Anderlecht had agreed to sign Belgium forward Tom De Sutter from Cercle Brugge KSV in January seemed to focus Frutos's mind at the weekend. With the scores at 1-1 after half an hour, he scored a 26-minute hat-trick and made another to banish memories of the 4-0 loss at SV Zulte Waregem six days before, in which Frutos had made his first seasonal appearance. The victory also lifted Anderlecht to second place, within a point of R. Standard de Liège.
Questions anwered
"Answering all the questions with my feet was the best solution," said Frutos, who joined Anderlecht in 2006 from CA Independiente for a reported €2.5m. "The pressure was huge because it was my first home match in six months. So I cannot be anything other than delighted. I am glad I could walk to the stands to greet my wife and little daughter, who blew me a kiss – that is the most important thing to me. However, the standing ovation from the fans after my [65th-minute] substitution also felt very good."
Intuition
Frutos believes he still has an important role to play at Anderlecht. "The likes of [Mbark] Boussoufa and [Stanislav] Vlček are used to playing with me, there is something intuitive in our movement," the 27-year-old said. "They know how I play, I know how they play." But with only 108 minutes of football behind him this season, Frutos accepts he is still not in peak condition. "I am playing without pain now," he added. "Before every match I was receiving intense treatment in order to be ready, but last week I was able to play 45 minutes normally, and now 65 minutes. Every week I want to try to play more minutes."
