U.S. Soccer's Charlie Davies Makes Emotional Return

Charlie Davies’ injury and road to recovery have been well documented by nearly every United States National Team-covering writer around, myself included.  Put simply, the striker should (and admittedly does) count himself lucky to even be alive right now.  The speed with which he has recovered physically has been nothing short of incredible.  Of course, as in any situation involving injuries of such magnitude, physical recovery is only half, or even perhaps less than half, of the battle.

Davies had to go through excruciating physical therapy to learn to even walk again.  Buoyed by the support of the American soccer faithful and his fiancé Nina, the striker finally began to return to reserve matches for his French club, Sochaux.  However, he was not at a sufficient level to get minutes with the full Sochaux squad, a source of frustration for Davies, so he sought the opportunity to come on loan to MLS for a variety of reasons, a conversation with Stars and Stripes manager Bob Bradley among them.

Davies arrival in the nation’s capital was yet another “you couldn’t write this even if you tried” turn to the saga that is this enormous phoenix metaphor.  The DC beltway was the site of the accident that sent the striker’s career on this long and arduous detour.  His return to play in the same city in which his career was so nearly taken away entirely provided a backdrop that many novelists would struggle to dream up.

Then, on March 19^th 2011, Davies finally returned.

Really returned. 

The Charlie Davies of old took the pitch against the Columbus Crew, demonstrating a psychological toughness that the entire Yank fan base hoped would return eventually.  The fact that Davies appears outwardly to be so strong both mentally and physically so soon after his return to real, regular first team action is again an entry in the “you couldn’t write this even if you tried” script.

Davies entered the match for the Screaming Eagles as a 51^st minute sub for starter Joseph Ngwenya, and just 12 minutes later, Davies had his first goal, an enormous mental hurdle to leap over.  The striker sent a penalty home to put DC United up 2-nil on the evening, sending the crowd at RFK Stadium into a frenzy.  It was almost as powerful a sight as the now-famous show of support for the felled striker just a year and a half ago at the same site.  During the Americans’ final world cup qualifier against Costa Rica at RFK, the massed Yank supporters all held up pieces of paper printed with Davies’ number nine.

Davies’ first goal surely gave him the confidence to use his blinding speed again to burn past defenders, and he did just that to scorch Chad Marshall and score his first top-flight goal from the run of play since his injury.  Davies rounded Marshall, a fellow MNT-er, near the left corner of the box, then buzzed across the top of the box before shooting across his body to wrong-foot the Crew’s Will Hesmer.  The striker celebrated in the corner with his trademark stanky-leg routine, smiling like a madman.

Davies has finally returned.

His post-match interview demonstrated just how emotional a night it was for the New Hampshire native.  When asked whether this was the best night of his career or not, Davies said, “No.  It’s the best night of my life.”  Clearly, the striker has gained back the lion’s share of his confidence.

But what does this mean for the Stars and Strikes moving into this summer’s Gold Cup action?

It could very well have a tidal wave of influence, should Davies demonstrate consistently high-caliber play.  Just two weeks ago, the US was projected to be taking Jozy Altidore, and two of Teal Bunbury, Juan Agudelo, or Edson Buddle to the Gold Cup.  Many were projecting Clint Dempsey to be converted into a striker for the tournament, certainly an unfamiliar role for the Texan.  Robbie Findley was even in the conversation.

Davies’ potential resurgence means several things.  First, Findley will likely not be joining up with the Yanks, as the “speedster” role will be taken by Davies, a striker who can burn past defenders and finish his shots.  This also will likely mean Dempsey is brought into camp in his more traditional role as a midfielder, still leaving a three-way fight between Agudelo, Bunbury, and Buddle for two roster spots.  Critically, Davies provides enough speed to stretch defenses, opening up the field more for himself and the US’ counterattack as well as making defenses worry throughout the match.  As was seen during the 2009 Confederations Cup, a combination of a strong forward like Altidore and a speedster with lethal finishing in Davies can worry even squads like world champion Spain.

Dempsey’s inclusion in the midfield means that yet another of the boom crop of young mids for the United States will not make the final squad.  Already likely to boast Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Maurice Edu, Jermaine Jones, and Benny Feilhaber, there will be a very fierce battle between Mikkel Diskeruud, Alejandro Bedoya, Brek Shea, and others.  That particular battle will be one that will probably only continue to become more heated as youngsters like West Ham United’s Sebastien Lletget mature.  Either way, though, Davies’ hopeful reemergence means that Bob Bradley will no longer need to play an attacking midfielder like Dempsey out of position, adding that much more lethality to the attack.

Moving forward, Davies needs to really only do one thing to earn a place with the Yanks once again.  Show the blinding speed and distinct lack of apprehension running at defenders that made him such a danger in 2009.  Realistically, Davies’ goal tally will certainly be something to watch, but it won’t be as critical as making sure the striker continues to stretch and worry defenses.  It was that trait that made the American counterattack really hum, with at least one defender having to worry solely about Davies, the rest of the attack had much more space in which to operate.

In the meantime, however, American fans can bask for a while in what is certainly one of the most spectacular phoenix metaphors in sports history.