Cuauhtémoc Blanco

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Blanco and the second or maternal family name is Bravo.
Cuauhtémoc Blanco
Municipal president of Cuernavaca
Assumed office
1 January 2016
Preceded by Jorge Morales Barud
Personal details
Born Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo
(1973-01-17) 17 January 1973
Mexico City, Mexico
Nationality Mexican
Political party Social Democratic Party (PSD)
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Spouse(s) Natalia Rezende (m. 2015)
Children Cuauhtémoc, Jr. (b.1996)
Bárbara (b. 2002)
Occupation
Association football career
Playing position
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–2007 América 333 (135)
1997–1998 → Necaxa (loan) 28 (13)
2000–2002 → Real Valladolid (loan) 23 (3)
2004 → Veracruz (loan) 13 (5)
2007–2009 Chicago Fire 95 (23)
2008 → Santos Laguna (loan) 4 (1)
2010 Veracruz 14 (5)
2010–2011 Irapuato 49 (9)
2012–2013 Sinaloa 40 (14)
2013–2014 BUAP 22 (6)
2014–2015 Puebla 19 (3)
2016 América 1 (0)
Total 641 (217)
National team
1995–2014 Mexico 120 (39)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo (Spanish pronunciation: [kwauˈtemok ˈβlaŋko]; born 17 January 1973) is a Mexican politician and former professional footballer. He currently serves as the mayor of Cuernavaca, Morelos under the Social Democratic Party (PSD). As a footballer, Blanco was known for his attacking ability and played most of his career as a deep-lying forward and his last years as an attacking midfielder. He was also known for his accurate penalties, crucial passes and vision. Blanco is considered to be one of the greatest Mexican footballers of all time.

Blanco is the only Mexican football player with an award in an international FIFA competition, as he won the Silver Ball and the Silver Shoe awards in the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup. He has been awarded the MVP of the Mexican Primera División four times.

He is tied with Ronaldinho as the all-time leading Confederations Cup goalscorer. Blanco is the third leading goalscorer for the Mexico national team and his debut team Club América; he is also Mexico's second top scorer in both the FIFA World Cup and the Copa Libertadores tournament.

Club career

Blanco was born in Tlatilco, but grew up in Tepito, where he learned to love playing football in the local fields. Growing up in a rough environment, Blanco developed a style of play based on creativity. Ángel González a scout for Club América discovered him as he won the Torneo Benito Juárez as a part of the Distrito Federal selection team, and brought him to Club América's development program.

Club América

Having played most of his career in Club América, with 333 appearances and 135 goals, Cuauhtémoc has become an idol to the club's supporters and an important figure in the history of the team.

Blanco made his debut in the Mexican Primera División in 1992 at age 19 with Club América. He won his first Golden Boot with 16 goals in the Winter 1998 season for Las Aguilas.

In May 2005, Blanco won his first club championship as a player, leading Club América to its tenth league title, when Club América defeated U.A.G. by an aggregate score of 7–4 (1–1, 6–3). In the next three consecutive years between 2005 and 2007, he was awarded the MVP.

He scored his last goal is this club during the championship final against Pachuca in 2007. After that game he moved to Chicago and played the next two seasons for Chicago Fire.

Necaxa

He was loaned for Winter 1997 and Summer 1998 at Club Necaxa, in which he scored 13 goals in 28 appearances.

Real Valladolid

In the year 2000, after winning the Golden Shoe in the Confederations Cup 1999, Blanco was loaned to Real Valladolid for the 2000–01 campaign. On October of that year in an international WCQ match against Trinidad and Tobago, he received a strong kick from an opposing defender, breaking his leg and leaving him out of the fields for the next six months.

After the peak of his career was stopped by an injury, he continued in the club for another season (2001–02), in which he struggled with homesickness and regaining his form; after scoring great goals in Spain, including a great free-kick against Real Madrid C.F. at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium,[2] he returned to Mexico.

Veracruz

In the Apertura 2004 he had a successful season with the Tiburones Rojos in which they ended up leaders, Blanco being an important factor. During this season he gained an important following at the port, which led him to come back later on.

Chicago Fire

Blanco in Chicago in 2009 during his time with the Chicago Fire

On 2 April 2007, Blanco ventured on to Major League Soccer 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 was later voted as a finalist for both the M.V.P. and Newcomer of the Year awards in 2007.[3] Blanco was the 2007 Sierra Mist Goal of the Year Winner which was his first season, goal came in week 20 against RSL.[4]

Blanco was the second-highest paid player in Major League Soccer, after Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham, earning $2.7 million a year.[5] Once again finalist for the M.V.P of the year award.

On 24 July 2008 during the MLS All-Stars vs West Ham United, Blanco won the MVP of the game with one assist and one goal, a game in which he only played 46 minutes. The MLS All-stars won 3–2.

Santos Laguna

On 19 November 2008, it was announced that Santos Laguna signed Blanco on a loan to play only for the Apertura 2008 Liguilla, after the injury of their Ecuadorian striker Christian Benítez. Blanco was formally presented to the press the next day, wearing jersey number 9, and stated that he looks forward to giving Santos a back-to-back championship.[6][7][8] Blanco scored his first goal with Santos Laguna 29 November 2008. It was penalty against San Luis goalkeeper Adrian Martinez in the return game which Santos Laguna won 2–1 and 5–2 aggregate score.

Return to Mexico

Blanco playing for Dorados de Sinaloa in 2012.

In October 2009 Blanco announced he would not be renewing his contract with Chicago Fire and would instead sign with Veracruz of Ascenso MX starting January 2010.[9] However, after 6 months with Veracruz he left for Irapuato FC.[10] Led by Cuauhtemoc Irapuato won Clausura 2011, but the team failed to advance to the Primera División losing to Club Tijuana in the promotional final.

In December 2011, Blanco joined Dorados de Sinaloa of Liga de Ascenso.[11] According to Blanco, this will be the last team he represents.[11] He would like to finish his professional player career playing for Dorados de Sinaloa and later pursue his career as a coach.[11] In Apertura 2012 Dorados de Sinaloa together with Blanco won the Copa MX.

Despite Blanco Bravo announced he would retire after the end of 2012, he changed his mind and played for another 6 months with Dorados. However, after the tournament ended, he did not renew his contract and was released from Dorados on June 2013.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco enrolled with Lobos BUAP for the Apertura 2013 Liga de Ascenso Season.[12] After one year with the club, he did not renewed his contract with BUAP and was released from the club at the end of the season, in which the club failed to qualify for the play-offs.

After considering retirement, 41-year-old Cuauhtémoc officially signed with Puebla F.C. for one season, making it his last effort in Liga MX as an active player. On April 21, 2015, he played his final game in the Copa MX final against C.D. Guadalajara, appearing off the bench at minute 70. Puebla F.C. went on to win the cup and send Cuauhtémoc Blanco off as a champion in the final game of his career.

Return To Club América

On February 22, 2016 it was announced that 43-year old Cuauhtémoc Blanco would participate in an official Liga MX match during the Week 9 of Clausura 2016 for the club that started his career, Club América.[13] It would allow him to officially end his career while playing for the club. On March 5, 2016, Blanco started the match wearing a jersey with number 100 and played 36 minutes for Club América at the Azteca stadium in a match versus Morelia, before being substituted by Darwin Quintero.[14] During the game Cuauhtemoc demonstrated his signature move Cuauhtemiña and had two shots on goal, one of which hit the crossbar from the outside of the penalty box. The match was eventually won by America, 4-1.[15][16]

International career

Blanco has played for Mexico at three World Cups; he was part of the squad at France '98, Korea-Japan 2002 and South Africa 2010. He was also a member of the Mexico team that won the Confederations Cup in 1999 where he was the tournament's leading scorer with six goals, including the winning goal at the Estadio Azteca against Brazil in the final. He was awarded the "Silver Shoe" and "Silver Ball" for outstanding player of the tournament. Blanco holds the record along with Brazilian Ronaldinho as the highest scoring players in the Confederations Cup with nine goals, three in 1997 and six in 1999.

In the selection for the final 23-man squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, then Mexico national team coach Ricardo La Volpe left Blanco out of the team. While the ostensible reason given was 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.

Blanco became part of the squad that played the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, scoring one penalty goal, and the 2007 Copa América, where he scored 2 goals also from penalty kicks. On 13 September 2008, he earned his 100th cap for his country in its 2–1 World Cup qualifier victory over Canada at Tuxtla Gutiérrez, coming on with only 15 seconds left in regulation time. After the match he announced his retirement from international football.[17]

Blanco announced his return to the national team in May 2009. He became a regular member of returning coach Javier Aguirre's squad, playing in all the games throughout the Hexagonal of the World Cup Qualifying. Since then, Blanco has become an important factor in Mexico's team regaining form and confidence.

On 10 October 2009, Blanco provoked the first opposition own goal and scored the second goal in a 4–1 victory over El Salvador to help Mexico clinch a spot in the 2010 World Cup. On 17 June 2010, he scored a penalty in the 78th minute of the 2–0 win against France at the World Cup finals in South Africa.[18] With this goal he became the first Mexican to score a goal in three World Cup tournaments and the third-oldest goalscorer in World Cup history.[19][20] Blanco is considered by many to be one of the greatest penalty kickers of all time. He also has a penalty-taking record; out of a total of 58 taken, he has only missed two.

Blanco played a tribute game in 2014 against Israel at the Estadio Azteca, which symbolized his official retirement from international football. Mexico went on to win the match 3–0.

International goals

[21]

Legacy

Celebration

Blanco himself has accepted on Mexican television and to the press that his goal celebration is an imitation of the "Archer"[22] celebration created by former Atletico de Madrid striker Kiko Narvaez. In a 2005 interview with Mexican newspaper El Universal (Mexico City), Blanco explains that while watching a Spanish league game accompanied by his teammate Germán Villa, both players agreed to celebrate their next goal by imitating the "Archer" gesture. In the end, only Blanco did it, and jokingly reprimanded Villa for not keeping his word.[23][23] However, the Chicago Fire official website claimed that Blanco celebrates scoring a goal by acting like the Prehispanic Tlatoani Aztec emperor Cuauhtémoc, "in order to show respect for the Mexican people, and their indigenous Amerindian heritage".[24]

Cuauhtemiña

Blanco remains remembered for the Cuauhtemiña (also spelled Cuauhteminha in Portuguese), or Blanco Trick, which he performed notably at the 1998 World Cup.[25] In the trick, when two or more opposition players are trying to take the ball from him, he traps the ball between his feet and jumps through the defenders- releasing the ball in the air and landing with it under control as he leaves the opposition players behind.[26] The trick is easy to perform but is eye-catching and has been incorporated as a special skill into the FIFA series of football video games.

Career statistics

As of 22 October 2009 [27]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Mexico League Cup North America Total
1992–93AméricaPrimera División120–
1993–9440–
1994–95336–
1995–96320–
1996–97279–
1997–98Necaxa2813–
1998–99América3131–
1999-003620–
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total
2000–01Real ValladolidLa Liga30–
2001–02203–
Mexico League Cup North America Total
2002–03AméricaPrimera División3611–
2003–043820–
2004–053513–
2005–06287–
2006–073613–
USA League Open Cup North America Total
2007Chicago FireMajor League Soccer144–
2008277–
200921542
Total Mexico 376143–376143
Spain 233–233
USA 6216426618
Career total 437158437158

International

[28]

National team Year Apps Goals
Mexico 1995 10
1996114
1997 154
1998 153
1999 188
2000 45
2001 45
2002 71
2003 20
2004 20
2005 40
2006 10
2007 114
2008 30
2009 73
2010 142
2011 00
2012 00
2013 00
2014 10
Total 12039

Honors

Club

América
Dorados
Irapuato
Puebla

International

Mexico

Individual

Filmography

Films
Year Title Role Notes
1998 Gotita de amor Himself
2007 La familia P. Luche Himself
2009 Adidas Y tu qué sientes por ella? Himself
2010 Hasta que el dinero nos separe Himself
2010 Más Color (Laundry detergent of Henkel) Himself Commercial with Consuelo Duval
2010-11 Triunfo del amor Juan José Martínez 'Juanjo' Televisa telenovela
2011 Pepsi Himself Commercial of his Special Edition product
2014 Pepsi Himself Commercial with Francisco Palencia & Luis El Matador Hernández

Political career

In January 2015, Blanco registered as a Social Democratic Party (PSD) candidate for the municipal presidential elections of the city of Cuernavaca, the capital of the Mexican state of Morelos.[29] In early June 2015 he won in closely contested election, narrowly defeating Maricela Velázquez of the incumbent Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). In a subsequent vote recount Blanco was confirmed a winner of the municipal presidential race.[30][31]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cuauhtemoc Blanco". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  2. ↑ El gozo de marcar en el Bernabéu – Real Valladolid C. F.
  3. ↑ "MLSnet.com: Press release". 2007 MLS award finalists & announcement schedule. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  4. ↑ Media Player Archived 22 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ "Mr. White Gets to 100 Caps (Maybe), Walks Away". New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  6. ↑ Blanco va a Santos pero sólo para la Liguilla Archived 23 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Blanco quiere el bicampeonato para el Santos Archived 5 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "Blanco loaned to Santos Laguna". Chicago.fire.mlsnet.com. 6 June 2010. Archived from the original on 2 January 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  9. ↑ "Cuauhtemoc Blanco to leave Chicago Fire for Mexico". usatoday.com. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  10. ↑ "Cuauhtémoc Blanco confirma su pase al club Irapuato". CNN Mexico (in Spanish). 16 July 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 "Cuauhtémoc Blanco es nuevo jugador de los Dorados de Sinaloa" (in Spanish). 22 December 2011.
  12. ↑ "Cuau, nuevo jugador de Lobos BUAP". record.com.mx. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 9 June 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "Club America to give Cuauhtemoc Blanco special farewell in Liga MX". espnfc.us. February 22, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Informe Arbitral, América 4-1 Morelia". LigaMX.net.
  15. ↑ "Cuauhtemoc Blanco farewells Club America, Estadio Azteca in style". espnfc.com. 6 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "Regalan goles al 'Cuau'". Televisa Deportes. 5 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Blanco calls it a day". FIFA. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  18. ↑ Dawkes, Phil (17 June 2010). "France 0–2 Mexico". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  19. ↑ "Mexico tops France to close in on knockout round". The Sports Network. 17 June 2010. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  20. ↑ Ramírez, Armando (19 June 2010). "Temo Seguiría Como Tiburón" (in Spanish). Diario Record. ISSN 1665-2134.
  21. ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/blanco-intlg.html
  22. ↑ http://www.colchonero.com/media/galeria/4/2/8/0/9/n_atletico_de_madrid_kiko_narvaez-9082.jpg
  23. 1 2 "Así nació el festejo del `Flechador`". El Universal. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  24. ↑ "Chicago Fire Player Bio". Chicago Fire S.C. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2009. Blanco is equally creative with his goal celebrations. To honor Mexican tradition and history, Blanco strikes the iconic pose of prehispanic ruler Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc...
  25. ↑ Cuauhtemiña, Intergoals.co.uk. Retrieved 6 January 2008
  26. ↑ Cuauhtemiña, YouTube.com.
  27. ↑ "クアウテモク･ブランコ". World-soccer.org. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  28. ↑ "International Appearances", RSSSF. Retrieved 31 May 2012
  29. ↑ "Cuau se registra como precandidato del Partido Socialdemócrata" (in Spanish). ESPN Deportes. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  30. ↑ "Termina cómputo en Cuernavaca, confirman triunfo de Cuauhtémoc Blanco" (in Spanish). jornada.unam.mx. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  31. ↑ Morelos Cruz, Rubicela. "Recuento confirma el triunfo de Cuauhtémoc Blanco en Cuernavaca". Retrieved 22 June 2015.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Chris Armas		 Chicago Fire captain
2008 		Succeeded by
C. J. Brown
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