A Midseason Injection Of Star Power And Momentum

The Chicago Fire is the hottest team in Major League Soccer, Coach Juan Carlos Osorio is the maestro of the month, and the provocative Cuauhtémoc Blanco is the spider spinning an unavoidable web.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco’s popularity led to an attendance increase for the Chicago Fire.

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The Fire has advanced to its first Eastern Conference final in four years, Thursday night at New England, on the strength of a 10-game unbeaten streak that neatly coincides with the midseason additions of Osorio, who replaced Dave Sarachan, and Blanco, a 34-year-old Mexican who has quickly become irreplaceable.

The last 10 games we have only conceded eight goals, Osorio said in a telephone interview Sunday, three days after the Fire eliminated D. C. United, which finished the regular season with 15 more points than Chicago. In the first 15 games we allowed 24 goals, where in the second half of the season we have allowed only 14.

Osorio, who was an assistant with the MetroStars and Manchester City in England, and most recently coached Millonarios in his native Colombia, took over in Chicago on July 9, when the Fire had a 4-7-4 record. The team finished 10-10-10.

Blanco joined the Fire on a three-year contract, which will pay him $2.7 million a season, after Mexicos participation in Copa América in Venezuela. With about 1.5 million Mexicans living in the Chicago area, Blancos play and star power helped the Fire increase attendance by 61 percent (to an average of 16,490 in 2007 from 10,217 in 2006). Blanco, who had 4 goals and 7 assists in 14 regular-season games, had a greater impact on the field than the marquee signing of David Beckham by the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Blancos presence has enabled Osorio and the Fire to play tactically sophisticated schemes that have taken advantage of the teams strengths and the oppositions weaknesses. Osorio says he has no qualms about adjusting his teams formation according to the situation and the opposition.

I wouldnt openly criticize a lack of tactics in the league, but at the professional level the game here needs to be more tactical, Osorio said. Some people would say we play too defensively, but when I was with Man City, Chelsea won the Premier League by playing something like 18 1-0 games. That is the sign of a well-balanced team. I dont know too much about American sports, but from what Ive read, coaches always praise their defending. Tactics are a major part of winning championships.

To that end, Osorio said he and his players closely studied the opposition using film, and used concentrated training sessions to prepare.

A lot of people only concentrate on Blanco, he said. But we have young, talented American players like Chris Rolfe, Chad Barrett, Matt Pickens, Calen Carr and Justin Mapp. Blanco has come and been a great part of it, but my goal is to use Blancos strength for the benefit of the team.

That means often slotting Blanco behind the Fires two strikers (Rolfe, who has two of the Fires three playoff goals, and Barrett or Paulo Wanchope) to give him several options to play the ball forward. Blanco can push the ball into space for a quick striker or loft it into the air.

We exploit his ability the best we can, Osorio said. Ive taken him out of games a couple of times. He doesnt like it, but he understands. Me, as the leader, always has to make decisions that are best for my team.

The Beckham Watch

Steve McClaren, the coach of Englands national team, has been criticized for traveling to Los Angeles to see David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy beat a team of celebrities, 12-4, in a charity match to raise money for the victims of the California fires. McClaren is considering recalling Beckham, 32, for Englands final European Championship qualifying match against Croatia on Nov. 21.

For the England manager to be watching that is farcical, Terry Butcher, the former national team captain, told BBC radio. What can Beckham show the England manager in that sort of game?

If Beckham is picked by McClaren when he names his roster Friday, it will mean another round of grueling travel, first to England for the match, then to Australia (Nov. 27) and New Zealand (Nov. 30) for exhibition games. He will return to a new coach in Los Angeles; Frank Yallop resigned as coach after the Galaxy failed to qualify for the playoffs. Yallop, the former coach of Canadas national team, will become the coach of the San Jose Earthquakes, who will begin play in M.L.S. next season.

Notes

¶Three English clubs — Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal — can advance to the first knockout stage of the European Champions League in February with victories this week. Chelsea plays at Schalke in Germany, Manchester United plays host to Dynamo Kiev, and Arsenal travels to the Czech Republic to play Slavia Prague. A fourth English club, Liverpool, is in last place in Group A and needs a victory today over Besiktas of Turkey to stay alive. Real Madrid could also advance with a win over Olympiakos in Athens. In Spain, Barcelona will play Glasgow Rangers with first place in Group E at stake.

¶A victory or a tie today on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro will send the United States to the second round of the FIFA Beach World Cup in Brazil. After losing to Spain, 8-4, in their opening game, the Americans defeated Iran, 7-6, on Sunday. They close the first round against Portugal, one of the pretournament favorites.

¶M.L.S. is expected to announce that Seattle will become the leagues 15th team and begin play in 2009. Philadelphia has the inside track on landing the 16th team, but an announcement will probably not be made until the end of the year.

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