By Dan Steinberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 23, 2007

In late July, David Beckham made his Major League Soccer debut and played a modest 13 minutes for the Los Angeles Galaxy in a friendly against Chelsea. The heralded event attracted a sellout crowd, several Hollywood A-listers, a Beatles-themed ESPN promotional campaign and, of course, the "Beckham Cam."

The following night, another foreign "designated player" acquisition -- Mexican superstar Cuauht¿moc Blanco -- also made his MLS debut. While Beckham had been limited by an ankle injury, Blanco made an immediate impact, scoring the Chicago Fire's only goal in a draw with Celtic. And in the following weeks, as Beckham's much-hyped arrival bogged down with injuries and inactivity, Blanco continued to produce.

Combined with new head coach Juan Carlos Osorio and several other roster additions, Blanco helped resuscitate the Fire's season; after winning four times in 16 games without Blanco, Chicago won four of his first seven games and has now moved into playoff position. The 34-year-old had either a goal or an assist in four of his first five league games. He was named the grand marshal of Chicago's Mexican Independence Day Parade, an event that draws hundreds of thousands of spectators. And, last week, he received the ultimate honor: ESPN introduced a "Blanco Cam" during its Thursday night telecast.

"He's just helped make us a more entertaining team in general, and I think soccer fans, no matter where they're from, are appreciating that," said John Guppy, the team's president and chief executive. "We've been thrilled in every regard since he arrived. His performance on the field, everyone sees that. His contributions in the locker room as a teammate have been tremendous. . . . Whether it be fans, the media, corporate sponsors or the community in general, he's raised our profile. All of the things that you would like to have a designated player deliver to a team, he has delivered in spades."

Chicago's home attendance for MLS games averaged 14,055 before Blanco's arrival. The team's last three games have drawn an average of 19,799, and today's game with D.C. United is expected to be a sellout.

It will be United's first meeting with the revamped Fire, which also added Colombian defender Wilman Conde and veteran Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope. And United -- which is attempting to maintain MLS's best record -- must counter with a depleted midfield, thanks to yellow-card suspensions to Christian Gomez, Ben Olsen and Fred.

"He's a great player, and he's changed the team up there," United defender Devon McTavish said of Blanco. "He's [their] Christian Gomez; we've just got to do everything we can to contain him."

Over his career, Blanco also has picked up a sometimes-divisive reputation. While all reports from Chicago have been positive, in the past he has taunted opponents, antagonized rival fans, engaged in battles with reporters and feuded with former Mexican national coach Ricardo La Volpe.

"Anyone in the CONCACAF region will tell you they hate him, but that's how effective he is with his role playing," said ESPN Deportes analyst Fernando Palomo, who covered Blanco's career in Mexico. "He will not allow you to be in the middle. He wants you to like him, or he wants you to hate him. That's just the way he is. He loves attention both ways."

Blanco also shares Beckham's knack for winding up with his name in bold print, for example, with his engagement to soap opera star Rossana N¿jera.

"He's had a great deal of success domestically and internationally, and he's a bit of a character," United General Manager Dave Kasper said. "Let's face it, we like that."

United has yet to use its designated player slot, the new MLS label that allows teams to exceed the league's salary cap by signing stars such as Beckham and Blanco.

"Obviously, we have a great team, a team that's positioned very well right now," Kasper said. "We continue to analyze that, and we'll sit down and take another close look at it at the end of the season."

But in the meantime, at least some of United's players seem to take pleasure in their lack of a high-end superstar like Blanco, who is being paid more than $2.6 million this year.

"That's not what we're about," goalkeeper Troy Perkins said. "I think we're more about a collective, cohesive unit. Instead of expecting one player to bring something special, we expect all 11 players to do something special. We're not going to rely on that one player, and I don't think we ever will rely on that one player. We're in it for the quality of the total product on the field, not just that star-studded poster child."