Photo by Hugo Ivan Munoz/D.C. United
Charlie Davies passed all his tests, and he'll be a member of D.C. United in 2011.
The club announced that it has signed Davies to a 12-month loan from FC Sochaux, and it will be holding a press conference this afternoon at RFK Stadium to introduce Davies to the media. Video of the press conference will be streamed on www.dcunited.com.
"We are really pleased to have concluded a deal that will bring Charlie to United," D.C. United General Manager Dave Kasper said in a release. "Charlie spent 10 days with us in our first preseason camp and underwent a full battery of physical and medical testing. He simply looks terrific. Coming in, we weren't sure where he would be, but he's great physically, has impressed with his mental approach and we're excited to see him on the field with us this season."
Davies, who hasn't played in a first-team competitive match since the October, 2009, car accident on the George Washington Parkway in the nation's capital that killed one passenger and threatened his life, will wear the No. 9 jersey for United for the next year.
"I'm extremely excited about the opportunity to play for D.C. United and to put on that shirt, " Davies said.
Davies scored three goals and assisted on two others in preseason matches against the Canada and Trinidad & Tobago Under-20 teams during his trial period with the club last week, and United hopes that there's more where that came from, considering the team's offensive struggles a year ago.
Davies joins D.C.'s completely revamped forward line, which also includes offseason acquisitions Josh Wolff and Joseph Ngwenya.
D.C. United used its' spot atop the Major League Soccer allocation order to acquire Davies. Chivas USA is now atop the order.
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What's your reaction to the move? How much are you expecting from Davies this season? Happy to get the chance to see Davies play in MLS?
Share your thoughts below.
His first touch was not great, at least not much better than his USMNT peers. I remember balls bouncing off him like he was made of concrete.
His main asset besides his speed was his sheer physical aggression and power; this allowed him to have a very aggressive attitude, something US forwards rarely have had.
It will be interesting to see how much of that, if any, he can recover.
After Vancouver got DeMerit and Portland got Cooper, DCU was then first.
Other teams could have made a trade but DCU would have had to accept the trade. Plus we don’t know if there was interest or what was offered. And not to mention, DCU would be stupid to do so because he’s Charlie Davies- look at the excitement and the jersey sales already.
It’s absolutely ridiculous to suggest that they were the only team that wanted him.
So please, get off your high horse.
Haha well played sir…. I do hate DCU.
What does that have to do with anything? If he plays poorly DC should not want him back…. I would hope at least.
There is a option to buy his contract at the end of the loan. So if he tears it up United will probably look to bring him in permanently.
Yaaaayyyy, Charlie comes back home to play in mediocre league against mediocre opposition!!!!
Dan, DCU was third in the allocation order this year, but Vancouver and Portland used their picks on other players. As for the other teams, they could have traded up in the allocation order if they really wanted a particular player.
Ok, well, whatever, screw you for not wanting DC to win. 🙂
Seatbelts are good.
I’m glad that post was taken seriously.
with kovalenko retiring cd 9’s chances of staying healthy increased exponentially.
It is a contract…… They have to take him back, or find a new loan….. If he plays horribly he most likely won’t get another decent loan….. So yeah he will be back in France.
Right, because they’ll definitely want him back if he can’t hack it.
Oh stop. They were first in the re-allocation order and thus got the first crack at Davies.
One of these things is not like the other! Cooper does NOT belong in that group of prospects
Some people are getting a bit overexcited about this move…
Great to see DC9 playing again…except against RBNY! CD9, I hope you come back and be a force with the USMNT again.
To the detractors about CD9’s touch – remember that great assist from the left wing on LD’s goal against Brazil in the Confederations Cup? That was some touch!
Ok wiseass, he is contracted in France, not MLS (that’s why this is called a LOAN)….. Durr
That he is wearing the #9 jersey is a good sign to me. That shirt isn’t handed out to someone that will be riding the bench. Well done, CD!
On a serious note, I am predicting that he’ll have 12 goals this season & that DC Utd will qualify for the playoffs, get beat by “my team” NY Redbulls both home & away & most importantly, that DC Utd will recoup all of their money thru CD9 jersey sales by a triple at least…….
Good to see CD9 back, Stankyleg is reborn
Oh men, u had to go there……..
Love it. Love the joy davies brings to the international stage.
You can see the same kind of confidence and swagger in some of the new kids.
Haven’t seen him in action, but I think you’re underselling his pre-accident ability. He wasn’t just speed. He had great touch and was a pretty clinical finisher.
Since his injuries, we’ve gotten to see what players who are ONLY about speed can do at the international level. And it was generally disappointing.
Hooraaaaaaaaaaay! This is incredibly exciting. Good work, DCU.
Yeah I think Micahk is right, they would of used him or try to use him in the Digicel Caribbean Championship Cup.
Does anyone know if Nagbe’s situation is similar to Mwanga’s or Tchani in the whole visa or already having a Green Card situation?
I think 2018 in Russia could have a ton of GREAT players of naturalized US citizenship, guess we’ll know what Germany and France feels like? lol
Mwanga, Bunberry, Agudelo, Hurzeler, Najar and even to an extent maybe we could see someone like Nagbe or Zakuani be in the mix.
Hell I’m actually hoping we could see Rodney Wallace get back in top MLS playing form, I guess All star potential or level, and try to battle and eventually KICK Bornstein out of it considering JB is not even playing Defense in Mexico which they place more emphasis on offense?
+ 1
Scab is not yet covered.
Reason number 343,564,723 that is a good loan: Charlie can start workin on Najar to get him to convert to the U-S of A!! See tweet below from Charlie last week:
.@JozyAltidore17 I got it bro, I’m working on @andynajar14
DCU: + 2,000,000,000
I’ll be happy if they make the playoffs, and in the MLS playoffs anything can happen.
I do not want to be Debbie Downer at all, so please dont jump all over me… but has anyone seen Charlie running full tilt? Obviously the DCU staff has but anyone else who can compare it to the Charlie of old? To me Charlie was always about raw pace, strength and grit… I worry that if that raw pace is gone, he will only be a shell of the player he was… I have never thought he had a fantastic touch or could be a goal poacher (despite the Egypt goal) so I just wanna hear from someone who has seen him…
Actually, the March 19 game is here in DC, but DCU plays the Crew in Columbus on October 2, if you’d like to catch it your area.
I am happy to see Charlie will be getting some first team playing experience and a chance to attain high-level fitness once again. Obviously his French team thinks he still has long row to hoe — hence the loan as opposed to keeping him in France training with their club or loaning him to a another European side.
Good news for Charlie, but poor Dax looks completely stupid in that picture. Charlie must of put a hell of a move on him.
DCU games might be goal-fests this year. I think it’s more likely that they’ll finish the first half of the year under .500, mature and solidify in the back, then finish in a lower playoff spot.
Good post, wasnt aware of the local sports politics in DC, thanks for sharing. I dont know anyone under 40 that follows baseball unless they’re in a city with a great team, so we can take solace that it will eventually decline, hopefully to be taken over by soccer. I dont really have a MLS team either, though I’m closest to Columbus if you can call 2 hours away close. Sounds like DCU visits the Crew on 3/17…
Not bloody likely — and I say that as DCU season ticketholder. It’s a last place team that has been tweaked by adding a couple of castoffs from their MLS teams, one castoff from his French side, a young Uruguayan defender, and several rookies…and Dax McCarty. Moving Boskovic out wide should help his play and all — but it’s hard to see how the team makes that big of a leap.
NY will have Thierry Henry for a full season, along with Agudelo — plus some strong new international signings. Philly is much improved. Toronto has a great new coach who will get a lot more out of some pretty decent talent. KC really seems to be on the right track. The Crew have shed several of their top players, but they were the deepest team in the East before and might survive this retooling. Now, we’ve also got Houston to contend with — and they’ve added some good young players. Even the Revs — You can never count out a Steve Nicol team.
I think DC United will be much improved and I seriously doubt they’ll have another last-place finish. On the other hand, you might get better odds on that than a first-place finish. Middle of the pack is most likely, but I’ll be thrilled with a second-place finish
No generally the CONCACAF U-23 championship which is the qualifying tournament for the Olympics takes place in the Spring of the year of the Olympic games.
Last time it took place here in LA in March and the final rounds or knockout rounds if you will took place in Florida and Nashville I believe, either that LP stadium in Nashville where the Titans play and the US plays Paraguay March 29th next month or in Carolina Bank of America stadium.
I was hoping the new Houston Stadium was done by April maybe they could of had it there, but doubt it now, probably we’ll Kansas City or Salt Lake host it? Or RBA who knows?
Won’t really be forced to eat ay crow until he starts scoring goals in the league.
It will…it will lead your team right to Baltimore. GL CD9
This is the great news I have been waiting for. Best of luck to Charlie as he starts his USMT comeback.
We’ll see about the purchase. I’d be interested in knowing if the option is entirely DCU’s. The year loan, with purchase option — that’s an MLS deal-breaker. They don’t want to set any precedent that goes against what has been a firm policy. Although there’s no reporting on this, I suspect that one of the snags might have been the amount of a payment to Sochaux above what DCU is taking as a salary cap hit. Or, maybe it had to do with negotiating what Davies would get if DCU picks up the option — which would indicate that he has interest in staying. Pure speculation, of course.
As for the U17s — we’ll see. There’s no guarantees abut who might turn pro — but one good sign is that only a couple of players are part of an MLS Academy. Well — that’s a good sign as far as lottery prospects go, but it’s not necessarily a good sign for the MLS Academy system.
Yes!! CD9 is back baby!!
Let’s hope he doesn’t crash and burn…. too soon??
CALLING OUT MARTHA!!! THAT STUPID $%^#U&$^&EJ!!!
The poster who continually crapped all over CD9 during the comeback. How does the crow taste?
He is not Jamaican he is Liberian.
Oh man! That is so cool. I am super excited. Don’t think he’ll pull me from my RSL fix, but I’m darn close.
Sweeeeeet!!!! I’ve already reserved my FC Dallas vs. United tickets. Stay healthy and have a great season CD9. Can’t wait to see you scoring again. USA! USA!
Still too soon.
MLS direct kick here I come.
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNN!!!!