Biography cuauhtemoc blanco

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Blanco and the second or maternal family name is Bravo.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo (Spanish pronunciation:[kwawˈtemok ˈblaŋko]; born 17 January 1973) is a Mexican politician and former professional footballer serving as a member of the Chamber of Deputies. He also served as the Governor of Morelos from 2018 to 2024 under the coalition Juntos Haremos Historia, and as the municipal president of Cuernavaca, Morelos. As a footballer, Blanco was known for his attacking ability and played most of his career as a deep-lying forward and his last years as an attacking midfielder. Blanco is considered to be one of the greatest Mexican footballers of all time.

Early life

Blanco was born in Mexico City, in the district of Tlatilco, but grew up in Tepito. Born to Faustino Blanco and Hortensia Bravo, he was named after the last Aztec emperor Cuauhtémoc, in which the name means "one who has descended like an eagle".

Beginnings

Blanco started his career with América in 1992, where h

Mexican footballer and politician (born 1973)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Blanco and the second or maternal family name is Bravo.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo (Spanish pronunciation:[kwawˈtemokˈblaŋko]; born 17 January 1973) is a Mexican politician and former professional footballer serving as a member of the Chamber of Deputies. He also served as the Governor of Morelos from 2018 to 2024 under the coalition Juntos Haremos Historia, and as the municipal president of Cuernavaca, Morelos. As a footballer, Blanco was known for his attacking ability and played most of his career as a deep-lying forward and his last years as an attacking midfielder. Blanco is considered to be one of the greatest Mexican footballers of all time.

Early life

Blanco was born in Mexico City, in the district of Tlatilco, but grew up in Tepito. Born to Faustino Blanco and Hortensia Bravo, he was named after the last Aztec emperor Cuauhtémoc, in which the name means "one who has descended like an eagle".

Beginnings

Blanco started his career with América in 1992, where he won various awards, both team-based and individual, and had various loan stints with Necaxa, Spanish club Real Valladolid, and Veracruz. In 2007, he joined the Chicago Fire, with a loan stint with Santos Laguna for the 2008 Apertura championship. In 2010, he returned to Mexico to trek throughout various teams, joining Veracruz again, Irapuato, Dorados, and Puebla-based teams Lobos BUAP and Puebla, where he retired with the latter in 2015. The following year, he came out of retirement to officially end his career with América.

Club career

Club América

Having played most of his career in América, with 333 appearances and 135 goals, Blanco has become an idol to the club's supporters and an important figure in the history of the team.

Blanco made his debut in the Mexican Primera División

This feature was originally published in the Mexico issue of These Football Times magazine.

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Combative, fiery, controversial and competitive. These are just some adjectives used by former teammates to describe Cuauhtémoc Blanco, one of Mexican football’s most loved and colourful characters. The height of his footballing powers coincided with the boom of the telenovela,aphenomenon which played a huge role in shaping Mexican national identity, touching on subject matters like love, family and politics. The story of Blanco’s life reads like a script straight from a telenovela, with themes such as poverty, the ups and downs associated with professional sports, violence, politics and corruption.

Cuauhtémoc Blanco Bravo was born in January 1973 just outside Mexico City, one of the largest cities in the world, and the former site of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire. Interestingly, Blanco’s full name encapsulates modern-day Mexico by marrying the indigenous past with the European colonisation. Blanco’s surname, literally meaning ‘white’ in Spanish, is thought to originate in the Iberian Peninsula. His first name is a homage to the last Aztec emperor, who was eventually executed at the hands of the conquistador Hernán Cortés. The name Cuauhtémoc is supposed to signify a descending eagle, aggressive and determined; traits the footballer would display throughout his career and life.

At an early age, Blanco moved to the poor, populous and often violent neighbourhood of Tepito, ironically in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City. After rising swiftly through the youth ranks at Club América, the most successful side in the history of Mexican football, Blanco made his professional football debut aged 19. As with most young players finding their way in the game, opportunities were limited in his first two years at the Estadio Azteca, although in the subsequent three years, Blanco made almost a hundred appearances in the league.