The French Elephant In The Room

By now, you may have heard the rumors. No, not that Zach Thornton is trade bait. That was obvious to anyone paying attention months ago.

I'm talking, of course, about that great defender of verbally-maligned sisters everywhere, Zinedine Zidane, coming to Chicago and playing for the Fire. Steven Goff at the Washington Post has the most details to date in his blog.

While it's an easy reflex among those who watch MLS to dismiss this notion as another aging European playing out the string while on extended vacation in the U.S., we're not just talking about any player. Other Europeans of Zizou's pedigree -- most notably fellow Frenchman Youri Djorkaeff and German Lothar Matthäus -- didn't ever live up to their potential, but neither of those two were less than a year removed from playing in a World Cup Final. In Chicago, both Peter Nowak and, to a lesser extent and for a shorter amount of time, Hristo Stoitchkov clearly made the team better on the field.

From a marketing perspective, Zidane is probably the second-most recognizable international soccer player in the States behind Beckham, and Becks is already here. Yes, American sports media would have a field day talking about the head butt, but that's time they would not be talking about American soccer otherwise. It will pique curiosity, and it will make people tune in and take the short trip to Bridgeview to see for themselves.

On the field, Zidane could play central attacking midfielder -- a position that has never recovered from the loss of Nowak until, tentatively, the recent emergence of Justin Mapp -- or maybe on the right, which is a spot the Fire desperately need filled. He might also put in time in the recently decimated forward line, which may upset recent U-23 callup Chad Barrett, but if a three-time World Player of the Year wants your lineup spot, you give it to him.

While I'd love to see Mapp continue his development in the middle of the field, the idea of Zidane springing him on the wing is pretty enticing. Plus, you can hold him in reserve as a forward for those times when Chris Rolfe or Barrett are playing with the National Team, as recent comments from U.S. skipper Bob Bradley make it sound like Rolfe is as good as gone for Copa America.

Goff reports that a decision could come as soon as Monday. Stay tuned. This could be big.