Blanco proves to Fire he's worth the wait

CHICAGO — The Chicago Fire waited nearly four months to see Cuauhtemoc Blanco make his debut, but it took only 30 minutes to see he was worth the wait.

The Mexican star lived up to the all hype last Sunday as he scored the Fire's lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Celtic FC at Toyota Park.

In the 30th minute of the exhibition, Blanco lost his defender and dribbled past goalkeeper Artur Boruc before tapping the ball into the open net. Blanco embraced teammates Chad Barrett and Calen Carr after the score.

"I wasn't nervous," Blanco said of his debut. "If I was a nervous person, I wouldn't have played in World Cups."

Blanco signed with the Fire in April but had to wait until the end of the Mexican league season and the Copa America tournament to join the team. He showed few signs of fatigue during Sunday's match and looked determined to attack from the opening minute.

The former Club America striker wowed the crowd of 15,719 (more than 4,000 under capacity) with no-look passes and even showed off his "Blanco bounce"—a move where he locks onto the ball with both ankles and bounces past a defender.

"As long as it happens in the attacking third of the field, I don't mind it," Fire coach Juan Carlos Osorio said about Blanco's "creativity." "If it happens in the mid third or the defensive side, I don't like that."

Playing in the attacking midfielder role, Blanco sparked many of the Fire's best scoring chances and immediately took on a leadership role. He pointed his teammates toward open players and motioned for Barrett to keep going forward after Barrett quit on one of Blanco's passes.

Was the communication difficult for the Spanish-speaking Blanco?

"Yeah, a little," Blanco responded through an interpreter. "I need to learn English soon."

Blanco was booed at times by Celtic fans, many of whom made the trip from Scotland. The vocal fans cheered on their Scottish Premier League club, even singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" late in the match, and were rewarded with a Celtic goal in the 80th minute.

Derek Riordan one-timed Massimo Donati's cross into the right side of the net to even the score. The goal spoiled a strong outing by Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch, who replaced Matt Pickens at halftime.

Busch preserved the draw in the 89th minute when he deflected Scott McDonald's shot from close range. Still, Osorio was upset with the result.

"If we would have finished 25 percent of the chances, we would have won by at least a two-goal difference," Osorio said.

Blanco finished with five shots, three of which were on goal. He was substituted out of the game in the 58th minute as the crowd gave him a loud standing ovation.

"It made me want to get out there," injured Fire forward Chris Rolfe said of the atmosphere.