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Despite his gaudy stats as a scorer, the sort of high
profile usually accorded to long-haired strikers - the
rock stars of the soccer world - has generally eluded
Francisco "Paco" Palencia.
That may be because until this past season, Palencia
had not made the jump to Europe and plied his trade
instead in the Mexican First Division with Cruz Azul.
But he was a scoring machine there, netting 73 goals
in seven seasons and terrorizing the best defences of
Mexican clubs with his speed and work ethic.
His skills have never been a secret in Mexico. After
earning his first international cap against Bolivia
in 1996, Palencia helped take Mexico into the quarter-finals
at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, where he scored the only
goal in a signal 1-0 victory over Italy.
Since then, Palencia has been a vital part of Mexico's
successes at the Copa America tournament and FIFA Confederations
Cup, with a knack for scoring game-winners in crucial
matches.
That was never more true than during qualifying for
the 2002 World Cup, when Palencia turned around Mexico's
flagging fortunes with a goal in a 3-0 win over Honduras
that clinched the Mexico's berth at South Korea and
Japan.
It was a nice turnaround for Palencia, himself, who
had failed to impress in limited playing time at the
1998 World Cup. However, Palencia seemed to signal a
new, tougher approach to his game when he notched seven
goals in taking Cruz Azul to the final of the 2001 Copa
Libertadores.
Espanyol of Spain's La Liga took notice, and the Barcelona
club nabbed him, shelling out a transfer fee worth about
$7 million (Cdn). Palencia quickly cottoned on to the
higher calibre of play in the Spanish first division,
scoring four goals and gaining in seasoning.
Presumably, no one is happier about that than Mexico's
top striker, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who stands to benefit
from Palencia's improved control and ball distribution
skills.
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