Signed from Hamburger SV at the beginning of the 2007/8 season, Benny is probably an indication of the direction Billy Davies intends to take the Rams.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Benny's family moved to California when he was just six years old. He excelled at football as a schoolboy and on graduating and enrolling at UCLA he became a stalwart of the UCLA Bruins football team where he was unusual in that he hadn't been recruited with a scholarship offer.

During his time at UCLA he was called up to the USA U-20 squad to play in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship held in Holland. It was there that his performances caught the eye of several European scouts and he eventually joined Hamburger SV of the Bundesliga in July 2005.

He made his Bundesliga debut on October 12th 2006, coming on as a substitute against Schalke 04. At the time of writing, Benny had made eight appearances for the USA national team, scoring two goals.

RamZone rating: 3/10

Photo: Action Images

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