Canales Daily: Blanco's U.S. Advisory

By Andrea Canales

Perhaps Landon Donovan did Cuauhtemoc Blanco something of a favor. In 2002, when the then-twenty-year-old headed in an Eddie Lewis cross to put the World Cup match versus Mexico out of reach for the U.S., he forced Blanco to realize that underestimating the Americans was a mistake.

Up to that point, U.S. wins over Mexico were often seen as insignificant aberrations, results that only took place because Mexico was either experimenting or unfocused, or not really determined to win.

None of those excuses were valid at the World Cup, obviously. Mexico cared about the game and tried their best with the top players they had available. They still lost.

Blanco, of course, couldn't forget that result, because he was a key part of it. The emotional frustration of a player who couldn't believe his dreams were slipping away was written all over his face towards the end of the match.

The memory of that game, though, could actually have aided Blanco's transition to Major League Soccer. Many considered the Mexican star a big risk and not only for his age and temper. They wondered if he would be motivated. They doubted he would take the U.S. game seriously.

There was precedent for this thinking. In the past, players who were great elsewhere, like Lothar Matthaeus, or Luis Hernandez, came to MLS with little intention to put any real effort into their stints. They were absolute busts for the league.

But not Blanco. No doubt his own personal work ethic and competitive ego played a part as he came in and immediately made an impact for the Fire in 2007. Still, I'd guess that the 2002 match also had a role in Blanco taking the league much more seriously than Matthaeus ever did.

After all, in 2008, Blanco now lines up alongside Brian McBride, who scored first in that World Cup game in Korea. Donovan is still in MLS as well. So if any foreign player knew about how MLS players can have their moments, even within the limitations of the league, it was Blanco. He likely wasn't as inclined to believe he could loaf around in MLS.

Blanco's success for the Fire is attributable to other factors as well. It probably helped that he had adjusted to teammates of various levels before. Blanco did play for a marquee team in Mexico, Club America, but he was also loaned out to smaller teams. Veracruz was a stop that helped Blanco resurrect his career at one point. In that club, Blanco was able to help turn the fortunes of a team around, much like he did with the Fire in 2007.

In 2008, Blanco continued his impressive play. He was a key reason that the club advanced to the MLS playoffs for the second straight year. Now the Fire, with Blanco's help, have defeated their former playoff nemesis, the New England Revolution.

Other foreign players, especially new ones like Freddie Ljungberg, who has already displayed a slight patronizing attitude to MLS even before playing a single match, would do well to note the success of Blanco. Rather than not caring, or acting superior to league competition, Blanco's biggest problems in MLS have come from an excess of passion, never passivity.

If, as has been rumored, this is Blanco's final year in the league, he will go down in history as one of the most successful league signings ever. If he helps the Fire win the MLS championship, he makes a strong argument to be at the top of the foreign player list. Blanco deserves all the credit for that, but a little wake-up call in 2002 probably helped prepare him as well.

Andrea Canales is Chief Editor for Goal.com USA