Charlie Davies Is Still Out There Working

In case you forgot, Charlie Davies is still playing professional soccer for a living. The former Boston College and U.S. men's national team striker was most recently at Sochaux in France but he spent most of last season on loan at DC United in MLS.

We don't have to review his horrific car accident in October 2009 that likely robbed him of millions in career earnings not to mention his playing ability because this story is still developing and most importantly, it has a happy ending for him.

Davies signed a two-year deal with the Danish club Randers and he was set to begin training with them today. Their club season starts in a few weeks.

From CNNSI.com
Davies said on Randers' website that the deal "gives me a great chance to show I can be a success on European soil."

Randers club director Jacob Nielsen said the 26-year-old American will bring more speed to the lineup and that "he will fit in well with our current team of attackers."

The easiest thing to do is lament what he's lost and wonder what would have happened if he didn't nearly lose his life that fateful night. However, if he has the strength to move on and keep working on the comeback trail, the least we can do is support him throughout his journey. Not many people are as mentally and as physically tough as Davies, this much I know has to be true.

From following him on Twitter (@CharlieDavies9), I know that he recently got married. Give him a follow if you want to keep up with the latest news in his life, he is a truly inspirational guy.

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Charlie Davies-MLS bound?

Interesting stuff today as word leaked that Charlie Davies could be loaned from his French club Sochaux to MLS' DC United.

D.C. United has agreed to take Charlie Davies on loan from France's Sochaux but wants to evaluate how far the American forward has progressed in his comeback from a near-fatal car crash before deciding whether to finalize the deal.

The Major League Soccer team said the 24-year-old is expected to report to the team on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where it is practicing ahead of the start of the MLS season in March. Davies will train with D.C. United and be evaluated by team doctors.

D.C. United said Tuesday that a weeklong evaluation period "will include training and game time with the first team and a full medical evaluation by team doctors in D.C."
"Details of a 12-month loan have already been negotiated," the team said, "but nothing will be official until D.C. United is satisfied he is physically capable of playing at the level required to be successful in MLS."

As always, best of luck to Charlie. Looking forward (fingers crossed) to see him back on the field doing what he loves.

Charlie Davies hopes to fully return this weekend for his French club team (Sochaux)

Since the car accident happened in the fall of 2009 and Charlie Davies' life was changed forever, we've had to completely alter our expectations for his professional career.

Paired with Jozy Altidore, they formed perhaps the most talented set of strikers in U.S. men's national team history. They were young, fast, skilled and hungry. That all changed with the accident and now, we just hope that Davies can reach even a sliver of his potential.

Reports out of France say that Davies could make his return to Sochaux this weekend.

The 24-year-old American, who missed this year's World Cup after failing to recover from his injuries, says he is now at "90 percent" and ready to play against Bordeaux on Saturday.

Davies was a passenger in a car accident Oct. 13, 2009, in which another passenger died. He was left with two broken bones in his right leg, a broken and dislocated left elbow, a broken nose, forehead and eye socket, a ruptured bladder and bleeding on the brain.

Davies played in several exhibition games for Sochaux in July and has since taken part in several matches with Sochaux's reserve team. His last competitive match was the United States' World Cup qualifier at Honduras on Oct. 10 last year.

"I'm feeling good. Physically I haven't felt this good in a year or so, so I'm feeling like my old self which is great because that's the most important thing because we all know the football will come by itself," Davies said. "I'm sure, if I could just get a few minutes out on the pitch, then I could make the most of that chance."

Davies has started to score again with the Sochaux reserves and is hopeful he will be rewarded with a chance to dress against Bordeaux.

Playing on Saturday night would bring back nice memories to Davies, who celebrated his home debut with Sochaux last season by scoring twice against Bordeaux.

"I really can't think of a better way to make my comeback than against Bordeaux, in the game where it all began, and come back after over a year out of the game against one of the top teams in France," Davies said. "It would be astonishing to finally get my chance."

But Davies is facing a sharp competition from strikers Brown Ideye and Modibo Maiga, a situation that has led Sochaux coach Francis Gillot to suggest it might be better for the American to leave the club on loan after the winter break.

"There are two guys ahead of me in the pecking order who are scoring goals left and right and playing well together, as well," Davies said. "But if I could get 15 or 20 minutes and make a difference and turn a few heads and suddenly people would be thinking, Sochaux with Bobby [Brown], Modibo and Davies, have three strikers that can all contribute and offer different things. I don't know which way it's going to go, so I can't really say anything about a loan just yet."

Davies was fined $1,040 in October and his license was suspended by French police because of a speeding violation in which he said a teammate was driving.

He reiterated his desire to play in the Premier League in the future.

"My long-term goals have definitely not changed, they're just maybe taking a little longer to achieve," he said. "But in terms of moving to England and hoping to play for Arsenal one day and making a difference with the national team and helping the USA to a top-four finish at the World Cup and just to be that player that everyone can count on, that hasn't changed at all."

You have to choose your words carefully when you talk about Davies since he was lucky enough to survive and he has made a remarkable comeback to even return to the soccer field. You know the whole story will make for a great book and movie in the future, we can only hope that it has a happy ending.

Submitting my application to become Charlie Davies' personal driver

When the news broke late last week that Charlie Davies was pulled over in France for speeding (125 mph), I didn't know what to do.

I saw Shimer over the weekend and we both agreed that while we didn't want to talk about this mess of a situation, it is news that's fit to print.

The latest chapter is that Davies was fined along with teammate Jacques Faty, who depending on who you believe was the real driver.

This blog isn't meant as a morality stage but come on Charlie. Whatever the case was with Faty, is it too much to ask to get a driver or assistant to shuttle you around? In light of Davies' brutal car accident last fall, you'd assume that he would ultra sensitive about getting into a car.

U.S. soccer player Charlie Davies was fined $1,040 and his license was suspended by French police because of a speeding violation in which he said a teammate was driving.

Davies was with Sochaux teammate Jacques Faty when they were pulled over in the early hours of Oct. 3 after being clocked at 125 mph in France's Jura region. Faty and Davies have both said Faty was driving, but they switched positions because Faty thought his license was still suspended from a previous speeding infraction.

A French police official, who was not authorized to be publicly identified, said Monday that Davies has been fined. The official said neither player has officially contradicted the original version of events to police.

The 24-year-old Davies was a passenger in a car accident Oct. 13, 2009 in which another passenger died. Davies was left with two broken bones in his right leg, a broken and dislocated left elbow, a broken nose, forehead and eye socket, a ruptured bladder and bleeding on the brain.

He returned to training with Sochaux in March but missed the World Cup and has not played for either Sochaux's first team or the national team since.

Over the weekend, Davies played for Sochaux's reserves in a 2-0 win against Auxerre, while Faty played for Senegal in its 7-0 win over Mauritius in African Cup of Nations qualifying.

"Assisted on game winner today. We won 2-0. My best outing yet!" Davies said on his Twitter account after Sunday's game. "Feeling great and I'm so very close to 1st team action."

Le Progres newspaper reported on its website Sunday that Davies and Faty could face six months in jail and a far heavier fine of $10,400 each for lying to police. The police official, however, said he was not aware of any further investigation.

Davies was behind the wheel when he and Faty were questioned by the police, and so only Davies has been fined, the police official said.

Sochaux players had four days off after beating Lens 3-0 on Oct. 2. Davies flew to Boston, where he played at Boston College. Davies said he doesn't drive in France and, knowing Faty was going back to Paris, he asked for a ride.

Faty thought he would be jailed but police would only fine Davies, the U.S. player told The Associated Press. Faty told the AP he had panicked and plans to go to police this week to clear up the matter.

Davies said he was lying down in the passenger seat of the Audi Q7 as they drove. The windows of the SUV were tinted, so police couldn't see the players switching seats. Davies said he was hesitant about agreeing to the switch.

Davies said the police asked if he knew how fast he had been going. Davies said he didn't, and the police took both players to the police station.

While there, police ran Faty's record and told him his license was no longer suspended. Davies was told his license would be suspended, and he wouldn't be able to drive in France for six months.

Now it's time to get off my soapbox and wish Davies well in his return (fingers crossed) to the Sochaux first team sooner rather than later.

Davies back to full training

By nature, I am a realist. Therefore every time I give a Charlie Davies update I'm not fooling myself; I realize he's unlikely to play in the 2010 World Cup.

However that doesn't mean that this story doesn't get more inspiring by the day. By all accounts, Davies is recovering at a fast pace and he's just lucky to still be walking this Earth.

It's quite easy to cheer for someone like that, throw in the fact that he's from New Hampshire and went to Boston College, and I think it's fair that we root for Davies as much as humanly possible.

Davies trained Monday with French club Sochaux less than seven weeks before the World Cup opener for the Americans against England on June 12.

Davies wrote Monday on his Twitter feed that "it's about time & it feels great! My speed is getting there too! Today was a good day!"

The car accident killed another passenger and the 23-year-old Davies broke two bones in his right leg. He also suffered a broken and dislocated left elbow, a broken nose, forehead and eye socket, a ruptured bladder and had bleeding on the brain.