Source: Team_Talk
Riveros has Cats future - Bruce
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce insists Cristian Riveros still has a future at the Stadium of Light.[LNB] The Paraguay international midfielder has struggled to force his way into the first-team picture on Wearside since signing from Cruz Azul last summer.[LNB]There were high hopes that Riveros would make an impact in the North-East after impressing during Paraguay's World Cup campaign.[LNB]But he made just five starts and seven further substitute appearances in the Premier League, leading to suggestions that he could be shipped out after just 12 months.[LNB]But Bruce has vowed to give the 28-year-old more time to settle in English football and believes he could follow in the footsteps of Maynor Figueroa and Fabricio Coloccini in growing into the game in this country.[LNB]"I haven't given up on him, not at all," Bruce told the Sunday Sun. "We know he is a good player - we saw that at the World Cup when Paraguay got through to the quarter-finals.[LNB]"But I know from past experience that Latin American players take time to settle in when they move to England. He's been here a year and hopefully he will have come to terms with the different style of football by the time the season starts.[LNB]"I've always said that you have to give Latin American players time to settle in.[LNB]"When I was at Wigan, I didn't play Figueroa for a year when he first arrived at the club. I just let him have that time to settle in and become accustomed to life in this country. At one stage it was touch-and-go with Figueroa but he proved he could adapt.[LNB]"Newcastle had a similar situation with Fabricio Coloccini. He struggled when he first went to Newcastle, but last season he was one of their best players."
