Steve Davis Opinion about MLS Chicago Fire Pursuit of Mexican Forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco
Blanco guaranteed to bring nothing but trouble
Steve Davis, ESPNsoccernet
Watching the Chicago Fire's high-stakes pursuit of Cuauhtémoc Blanco takes me back to that weird, low-speed O.J. chase of years back. Just like then, I keep thinking to myself: I'll watch this unfold because it's interesting, but there is no way this thing finishes with a happy ending.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco is close to a deal with the Chicago Fire. (Juan Miranda/WireImage)
Signing Blanco, the hotheaded, polarizing Mexican forward, makes zero sense for any club in Major League Soccer. He's got bad knees and a history of bad behavior, and he certainly has wandered beyond his sell-by date. Ultimately, this thing is not going to end up in a happy place.
Yes, Blanco represents a splashy signing. And yes, the Blanco-hop Tour of 2007 will sell a few tickets. The man remains revered throughout the legion of Club America fans, a yellow-clad bunch that will turn out to see him, at least initially.
But I can almost guarantee there are 12 MLS coaches who are absolutely giddy with delight that they aren't being asked to put up with this banana. Strap 'em into a chair and let CTU's Jack Bauer do the questioning, and those coaches quickly will cop to how happy they are that their GM isn't rolling the dice with such a troublemaker.
Word to the Chicago Fire: "Sirs, step away from the aging forward! Move on, before someone gets hurt here."
Not only does it make little sense for Chicago, it pushes MLS in a bad direction. To the league's credit, HQ in New York no longer imposes its will on teams in personnel matters. Individual clubs enjoy the autonomy to go sign Britney Spears' barber if they so desire, providing they do it within proper financial parameters and don't mind writing a chunky check.
So Don Garber et al can't save the Fire officials from themselves here. Still, does anyone really want to see clubs drift further into the minefield of bad Designated Player decisions?
From a ticket-selling standpoint, Blanco will indeed create an initial dent. Because he grew through the Club America system and has returned there for now, he remains beloved among fans of the Mexico City outfit.
Chivas fans? Well, let's just say they wouldn't walk across the street to douse his boots with bottled water if the man's feet were on fire. But that kind of loathing can work OK, too. Chivas loyalists have an MLS club to embrace, and having Blanco around as a target for derision is just a little bonus, a regular cherry on the parfait.
From pretty much every other perspective, this guy is trouble -- which makes it a bad move. He's too old at 34. He's too expensive, prepared to sign for about $2 million according to multiple reports. He's clearly a hothead who has a tremendous capacity for silly shenanigans on the field and locker room disruption off it.
More than one MLS coach has been warned about his potential to destroy clubhouse accord. Most wouldn't touch this guy with a 50-man roster.
And frankly, no one can be certain how good he is anymore. Yes, Blanco remains somewhat effective at Club America, where he has four goals in nine games this season.
But Blanco is the happy recipient of a certain "star treatment" in Mexico. Not by referees, but by opposing defenders. Because it's Mexican soccer and because he's Blanco, defenders are willing to back off a bit reverentially and provide the man and the myth a bit of operating space. It's the culture of Mexican soccer, and that's fine.
But that's not going to happen here. You think Jimmy Conrad is going to back off even a little bit on Blanco? Or Michael Parkhurst? Or Chris Albright, etc?
More likely, in a physical league, a guy who already has a major rap sheet will lose his cool frequently. Any MLS match in which Blanco is present will be a big ol' donnybrook waiting to happen, and his next red card will never be far away.
Just two weeks ago Blanco was shown a yellow card after the match for a stunt he pulled with a referee. It wasn't a big story, however; most people rolled their eyes and said, "That's just Blanco being Blanco." And this is what Chicago wants?
The worst of all this is that MLS teams have been here before, apparently unwilling or unable to learn from other clubs' mistakes. Blanco is older than Luis Hernandez or Carlos Hermosillo when they boarded the MLS bus.
Hernandez was 31 when he played the first of two seasons for the Galaxy. "El matador" scored 12 goals in 30 games, which isn't terrible production. But neither is it commensurate for a marquee-player salary.
Hermosillo was 33 in the first of his two seasons for the Galaxy. He finished with 14 goals in 34 matches. Again, it's kind of like cereal for breakfast: not bad, but nothing special.
So why sign him? The guess here is that this probably isn't being driven by Fire coach Dave Sarachan, but by president John Guppy. He has seats to sell at Toyota Park, after all.
But can it really be true that for $2 million, the Fire can't identify a striker under the age of 34, with more scoring upside and less potential to upend team chemistry? A player who hasn't been accused repeatedly of being a cheap-shot artist? A player who performs with flair, but without the volatility?
Jared Borgetti probably could be had for that price, and he is a figure who actually makes sense. His style suits MLS. He generally takes care of his business without any of the Blanco-esque histrionics. He's almost as old (33) and might not sell as many seats. But he would attract Mexican fans -- and wouldn't be laden with nearly as much baggage.
Steve Davis is a Dallas-based freelance writer who covers MLS for ESPNsoccernet. He can be reached at
BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com.
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Steve Davis Opinion about Chicago Fire Pursuit of Mexican Forward Cuauhtémoc Blanco
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