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im skeptical.... i mean he's already worn down and slow, but to take your offseason and spend it with another team at the age of 36 he's only going to wear himself down more...

as much as i appriciate what blanco has done for the fire and what he could still do, i think the fire play faster more aggressive soccer without him.... plus we've been successful on the short stints without him...

unless the fire are actually getting something out of this, i dont like it... i hope if anything, this builds on the Fire and Mexican teams relations, perhaps we can get some young up n' coming mexican youth on loan so he can get some PT?? i dont know though...

Come again..... El cucuy momma!

1. It is only for the playoffs, so no need to worry about too much wear and tear, with the exception of a serious injury. Blanco will still have plenty of off-season.

2. This could be a try-out for Blanco for the Mexican league. If he does well, and teams come calling, we could see him try and negotiate out of his third year option with the Fire and return to the league.

3. This is good for the Fire, because they get at least a little exposure to another audience in Mexico. It may also benefit the flow of loans going both ways in the future. It isn't that much of a benefit, but it is something.

Yes, Blanco is slow. No doubt about that. But his skill and play making threat still makes him a significant factor on the field. It is always something defenders and keepers have to be weary of. Thus, no matter how slow he gets, he will still have an impact on the game. It will be interesting to see just how much of an impact it would be in the Mexican league again.

And hopefully this builds some relationship between Santos and the Fire where Santos sends some borderline Starting XI players for some more experience. It should only help the relations of the two leagues in working together on player development.

Like LD and Becks, I have no problem with short term loans. It could possibly help out the MLS in the long run.

cuauhtemoc- looks like someone's been reading the tribune :P

i dont have a huge problem with it, im merely looking at all the negatives as well as the positivies

Its all good that he plays. My criticism is based on principle. Is it fair that Santos signs Blanco for the playoffs only? I'm pretty sure he'll play the interliga as well. Should he be credited with a championship if Santos wins?

QUOTE(#1):

Originally posted 08:48 AM ET  11.21 by Otergod

im skeptical.... i mean he's already worn down and slow, but to take your offseason and spend it with another team at the age of 36 he's only going to wear himself down more

I hear you and if i was a Fire fan i would be weary of letting a 36 year old play more instead of rest but Temoc (#3 comment) is right it's only playoffs and IMO Santos probably won't get very far so I don't think he will even play that much. Hopefully it does open the door for some more mexican players to play in MLS and add to the already existing quality. As they are finding out MLS is not the same league from 10 years ago, it's improved quite a bit and will continue to do so.
As for the FMF I will be rooting for my Pumas de UNAM!

QUOTE(#7):

Originally posted 12:22 PM ET  11.21 by Big Chaco

Its all good that he plays. My criticism is based on principle. Is it fair that Santos signs Blanco for the playoffs only? I'm pretty sure he'll play the interliga as well. Should he be credited with a championship if Santos wins?

Has anyone heard how this is playing out with fans of America? I know in the US sometimes we revere great players so much that after a certain point we can allow them to go to other teams and accept it kind of as "their right", but I haven't seen that same type of acceptance with fans of Mexican soccer.

QUOTE(#4):

Originally posted 10:09 AM ET  11.21 by Zizou10

And hopefully this builds some relationship between Santos and the Fire where Santos sends some borderline Starting XI players for some more experience. It should only help the relations of the two leagues in working together on player development.

more like the other way around, Fire should be sending their subs to Santos for more PT!

Fire get $500,000 for the deal. Not bad.

yah theres some pocket change i suppose.

hopefully santos puts him on a diet. we fire fans need him to ease up on the bean buritos

QUOTE(#10):

Originally posted 03:04 PM ET  11.21 by Pawn

more like the other way around, Fire should be sending their subs to Santos for more PT!

You need to watch more soccer son. I'll give you the fact that it's a smart **** remark, but that's as far as it goes, because there is no team in MLS that comes close, in skill ability, to any FMF (Mexican futbol federation) team. The only reason some MLS teams get lucky in this superliga tournament is b/c this is preseason for Mexican teams. Compare MLS and FMF teams in Copa Libertadores and the arguement is not even close, MLS has a long way to go.

Get used to this pattern. MLS is off for too long and plays their schedule opposite the rest of the world's leagues. A player like Cua (spare me the rest) needs to keep the wheels greased. Stopping is not an option. Unless a club offers to buy him, he'll be in a Fire jersey next season. I can't imagine any club paying the Fire the price they'll ask, so why bother.
This will be the standard fare for quite some time. Players, old or young, can't afford to be sitting around or playing 'spirited' friendlies for long.

The rule about Cuau being hired for the playoffs has to do with a rule in the Mexican federation in which you are allowed to buy a player when someone on your current roster is injured for the season. Christian Benitez, who was a starter, is out for the rest of the Liguilla. Chivas wanted to do the same by hiring Nery Castillo when Johnny Magallon went down. That is the only way you are allowed to buy a player this late into the season.

Yea it sucks for the other teams, but the rules are the rules and good for Santos in taking advantage of it.

And dont be surprised if America doesnt end up with Blanco. They are not the high spenders that they once were. Other Mexican teams are willing to lay down some serious cash. For instance Tigres reportedly has offered 5 million dollars for El Bofo Bautista. America rarely spends more than 3 million for a player. In fact Cabanas, their best signing recently, cost them like 1 million. Like always they will go to Argentina to find replacements, and they will fail.

What they need to do is go to Cameroon and find the next Biyik! Or Kalusha! lol. Or you know, steal from San Luis.

Im not too sure about Santos sending some young players to Fire would be a good idea. We kind of saw that with Chivas-Chivas USA, and the only thing good that came out of it was Panchito Mendoza, which I wouldn't be surprised if he made a move to Chivas. The other players Chivas sent to Chivas USA are either still on the bench, or are currently playing the 2nd division in Mexico. And I doubt Santos would want to send important bench players.

QUOTE(#13):

Originally posted 06:54 PM ET  11.21 by FCLucho19

You need to watch more soccer son. I'll give you the fact that it's a smart **** remark, but that's as far as it goes, because there is no team in MLS that comes close, in skill ability, to any FMF (Mexican futbol federation) team. The only reason some MLS teams get lucky in this superliga tournament is b/c this is preseason for Mexican teams. Compare MLS and FMF teams in Copa Libertadores and the arguement is not even close, MLS has a long way to go.

I agree that the superliga is a joke but I think you're selling mls short, do you honestly think unam or toluca would mop up on mls teams?

Otergod is very right. I see that this move can keep him in shape more, but come on, he's 35 and people were already questioning if he could play another season. It's not a bad move, they should just be cautious of it. If he gets hurt that is a very valuable piece, that they can't replace in the midfield.

QUOTE(#16):

Originally posted 11:18 PM ET  11.22 by Pawn

I agree that the superliga is a joke but I think you're selling mls short, do you honestly think unam or toluca would mop up on mls teams?

Yeah, especially Toluca. Out of 10 games I'm willing to bet UNAM and Toluca would win 7 of those, that's mopping up. MLS is a great league but they still have a long way to go. I will say that the past 3 years or so they have become more competitive because of the changing of playing styles. MLS wanted to play more like the EPL, where now you're seeing MLS play more of an American style of futbol. MLS players don't have the skill and abilities that European players have. And they wanted to play that way, a very fast, aggresive, long balls style of play, where now you see more MLS teams short-passing, thru balls, working the offense. Which is what Mexico and most Latin American teams like Brazil and Argentina are like.