Caught in Possession

...with a special late cameo from Cuauhtemoc Blanco!

Yes, it certainly did make for compelling theater at the MD Soccerplex on Tuesday night, with twists, turns and thrills galore. Three goals, six yellow cards, two reds, and 120 minutes of end-to-end soccer, played with urgency and intensity that outshined the long stretches when real quality was lacking.

You had the home team's captain coming off the bench just long enough to play the hero, starkly contrasted by the entrance of Blanco, the Heel -- perhaps the ultimate heel in world footie, even, though Italian defender and Zidane headbuttee Marco Materazzi might argue otherwise.

Moreno's arrival had a milk-of-magnesia effect on United's jittery psyche, soothing nerves and unclogging the attack -- though shouldn't everyone in the D.C. front office edge a few steps closer to panic mode every time their talented squad has to be bailed out by his aging legs? Why is he such a psychological crutch and where is his replacement? Moreno might not retire anytime soon, but he's 34 and ain't getting any younger...and few among the Black-and-Red seem inclined to comprehend life without him.

Conversely, Blanco came in just long enough to lift his team's hopes, then make a premature exit, red-carded when his fiery temperament flared out of control. The departure of "La Mochilita" (the little backpack, and if you don't make that connection then go google a Blanco pic, for cripesake) didn't end Chicago's hopes, but it certainly made DC's job easier.

As supremely aggravating as he can be with his elbows, his diving, his disrespecting of referees, his instigating, his victimization complex...I like Blanco, I really do. He's a working-class hero, and both MLS and the sport in general can use more of those. The adulation he inspires in millions of fans is no coincidence -- Chivas fans aside, he understands and proudly represents the Mexican mindset like few others can. One passage from this Martin Rogers piece, written last September, is particularly illuminating:

...His most interesting comment is not even about soccer. It is a response to being asked for his perception of his fellow countrymen and their role in life in the United States.

"People are here not to steal, but to be able to work hard for a better life and send money to their families," he says. "Even if they put up a wall, we will find a way to get over it or under it. We Mexicans are very smart."

Even the whitest gringo should give Blanco respect for standing up for, and connecting with, the Mexican-American working class, the modern-day untouchables of our society. But like Wayne Rooney, Paul Gascoigne, Eric Cantona and so many other stormy, creative stars of the beautiful game, he plays on the knife-edge of his emotions and seems unable to rein them in when challenged or goaded.

So on Tuesday, the Heel played his role, and a hero named Moreno was there to play the foil, and everyone went home happy.