Cuauhtemoc Blanco
uy
Mexican First League Division
Blanco made his debut in the Primera División de México (Mexican
First League Division) in 1992 at the age of 19 with Club América.
In 1997, Blanco was recruited to play with Club Necaxa, in 1998 he was awarded
the MVP, and returned two years later to play for Club América. In
2000, Blanco was transferred to Real Valladolid in Spain where he played for
two years in the La Liga (The Spanish League) where he scored one of his most
famous goals in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium against Real Madrid. Blanco
returned to Club América in 2002, winning the MVP award.
In the 2004 South American Copa Libertadores playoffs, Blanco and several Club América players were involved in a large fierce brawl with São Caetano players from Brazil in the Estadio Azteca (Aztec Stadium); as both team officials and spectators invaded the football field to joined the fight; after São Caetano players provoked the Club Américan team by flapping their arms like eagles. Club América went on to lose the match, while Blanco and several players escaped a one year ban.[1] However, Blanco was suspended and put on loan to CD Veracruz for six months before returning to Club América.
In May of 2005, Blanco won his first club championship as a player, leading Club América to its tenth league title, when Club América defeated the UAG Tecos by an aggregate score of 7-4 (1-1, 6-3). In the next three consecutve years between 2005 to 2007, he was awarded the MVP.
Blanco is regarded as one of Mexico's best attacking football strikers and one of the league's most prolific scorers still in activity, with 151 goals. He has amassed 97 caps and scored 34 goals for his country.
International career
Blanco has played for the Mexican national football team in two World Cups
including France '98 and Korea-Japan 2002, scoring in each one of them. He
was a member of the Mexican national team that won the Confederations Cup
in 1999 where he was the tournament's leading scorer with 6 goals. He was
awarded the "Golden Boot" and "Silver Ball" for outstanding
player of the tournament. Blanco holds the record along with Ronaldinho as
the highest scoring players in the Confederations Cup with 9 goals, three
in 1997 and 6 in 1999. He is also one of the top scorers of the Mexican national
football team; nine goals behind the top scorer Jared Borgetti.
Blanco was responsible for introducing a unique football technique known popularly in Mexico as the "Cuautemiña" (also known as the "Blanco Bounce" or "Bunny Hop"), whereupon Blanco would deviously secure the ball lodged between both feet to avoid tackling players, with the ball hidden away from the defenders. This skill was introduced in the 1998 World Cup in France, against South Korea. In the selection for the final 23 man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, former Mexican national team coach Ricardo Lavolpe left Blanco out of the team. While the ostensible reason is that Blanco was frequently injured and not in good form; some people considered this to be a consequence of the previous year's constant bickering, due to on-going personal problems between coach and player. Following the exclusion of Blanco on the national team, a large group of fans organized a 15 kilometer protest march.
United States, Major League Soccer division
On April 2, 2007, Blanco ventured on to the Major League Soccer division in
the United States, and signed with Chicago Fire. He was welcomed by 5,000
fans at Toyota Park as he conducted interviews with the media, signed autographs
and greeted with fans. He told fans, "I am coming to Chicago", "I
am very happy and will give 100 percent for Chicago to be in the final. I
look forward to working with this group of players to bring a championship
title to Chicago, a community that has always supported me, in good times
and in bad times. I hope to bring great satisfaction to all of you."
Blanco played his first match against Scottish club Celtic FC. He scored the first goal of the game in a drawn match. Blanco's first season with Chicago achieved him success, as he scored 4 goals and had 7 assists in 14 regular season games as he helped the club reach the MLS Eastern Conference Final. He was later voted as a finalist for both the M.V.P. and Newcomer of the Year awards in 2007.[2] As of the 2008 season, Blanco is one of the highest-paid Major League Soccer players in the league, earning $2.6 million (U.S.) dollars per year
