photo by Hugo Ivan Muñoz/D.C. United
By FRANCO PANIZO
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Charlie Davies' week-long trial with D.C. United is officially underway.
Following an intra-squad scrimmage on Friday, and with a several members of the media on hand, Davies touched on topics ranging from how he feels currently to his situation with Sochaux.
Head coach Ben Olsen and teammates Bill Hamid and Santino Quaranta also talked about Davies' impact on the team, their expectations for him and how he looked in the intra-squad scrimmage.
If you wish to catch a glimpse of Davies in action, here's a video courtesy of D.C. United from the squad's intra-squad scrimmage. There are also some more quotes from and about Davies from Friday's training after the jump:
Charlie Davies
On how he currently feels
"I've come a long way. It finally feels good to feel physically right. At this point, at this stage, I feel like I've done everything I needed to do to get back to where I need to be to be successful. So now it's about playing matches and getting match fit and progressing with my confidence and I think I'm on the right path."
On the level of competition in the scrimmage
"I felt the level of competition was pretty high. I didn't know what to expect coming here and once I got here, I'm pretty happy with the level of play here, and I think that the team is actually really good."
On his contract status and situation with FC Sochaux
"I have two-and-a-half years left, so it's quite a bit of time. For me, I came there and proved to the fans, to my teammates, to my coaches that I'm a player that can be a big player in that league. After this accident, I think I started training too early and they really saw how far I've come. At the moment, we have two strikers who both are at nine goals a piece in the league and doing extremely well. For me, I'm not going to get the minutes I need to really progress and get to where I need to be. I need to be playing at least 70 minutes, 80 minutes at a high level and in order to do that, I had to leave."
On whether or not he thinks he can go back to Sochaux
"It's really open at this point. It's not like I'm closing the door on my time at my Sochaux. I think everyone knows that I need to progress a little bit confidence wise and mentally, and I think once I get right, the options are open. Maybe I return, maybe I stay. You never know."
On how it is to play under Ben Olsen
"It's great. It's a win-win situation. I've also had a chance to play with him, so he knows exactly where I was and what I need to do to get back to where I was, and of course, he understands it, he gets it. He's been there, he's played. I think having a coach like that and having a coach to support you can only get you back to where you want to be."
On if making the U.S. team for the Gold Cup is still one of his goals
"Of course. Any chance you get to play with the national team, it's definitely a goal of mine. The first goal of course is to play, to be with D.C. United and obviously to be successful and play well."
Ben Olsen
On Davies
"We're all rooting for Charlie. He's come a long way from a horrific accident, and we're all hoping for the best. But we have to be realistic in our job and figure out if he's right for this club at this time. There is no question Charlie will be back, whether or not it's now, three months from now, six months from now. That's what we're here to find out."
How he describes Charlie at his best
"The one thing that always stood out with Charlie to me, besides the speed and besides his knack for scoring goals, is he's just a competitor. He's got that wrestling background and those guys are pretty competitive guys. That's what I love about Charlie and always admired about him, and you see it already coming back. He's a competitor and that's why he's fought so hard to get back to where he is."
Santino Quaranta
How he looked in the intra-squad scrimmage compared to before
"It's a tough question because it's just one day. It's Charlie. We're happy to have him here and we think he can help. He looked fine to me, and going forward I think he'll help us."
Bill Hamid
"Just watching him, he came off the flight and he had a training session yesterday, and he did some finishing. Just watching him put the ball in the net, you can tell he still has what he has. Charlie is a special player and a good guy, so obviously he's going to do wonders on the field for us."
DC United has no one assigned to the #9 shirt. just sayin’. a handful of numbers were just reassigned and the 9 was left on the table. King took 7 and Boskovic 8.
I’d need to see a full match before I jump to any conclusions as to how he is or if he’s right or not. But I do wish him the best of luck at getting back to full tilt, as it seems he’s not 100% yet.
Yang was born Feb. 20, 1991, so wouldn’t have been underage last year. And yes, he’d be the first Chinese player in MLS, unless Vancouver signs Tan Long first. (I think Tan was the first Chinese player to play professionally in the US – he was with FC Tampa Bay last year.)
It appears that Yang never played professionally in China – he signed with Ferencvaros on his 18th birthday, and was under contract there until last summer.
Charlie will never be what he should have been. Write it down.
He doesn’t take practice or curfew seriously enough. You’ll see.
Even more amazing is Charlie beats a couple of defenders from what was arguably the worst team in MLS last year ( in a pre-season scrimmage no less) and already “He’s back!”.
Yet if Buddle or Cooper or Casey score a lot of goals in MLS, well it’s “only MLS”. Those guys can’t cut it at a higher level. Go figure.
It’s pretty amazing that some of you can tell that CD is 70% fit, etc with watching a few seconds of video. I’m surprised that Bob Bradley or Alex Ferguson hasn’t called you guys yet. It’s like grading the first 3 questions on the ACT/SAT and using that to determine how smart someone is.
If the US were to play a WC qualifier in a month, I guess you’d start Charlie? My guess would be BB would use a 4-2-3-1 so you would have him as the 1 up top?
Do you ever wonder if Charlie isn’t pushing it too much? That maybe he should slow down and take it just a bit slower.
US fans want the old CD9 back ASAP. I’d expect to see Charlie spend a long time on DC’s bench and then eventually work his way into the lineup. Those expecting to to see the old CD9 on opening day should also remember that Charlie’s supporting cast at Sochaux and the USMNT was probably just a little bit better than the current DC United lineup. Santino vs Dempsey? Najar vs. Donovan? My nod would go to the US.
Sochaux clearly want him to take it slow and of everyone involved besides Charlie, they have the most to gain from his long term recovery.
“man he was the best striker we had at one point. ”
That probably says a lot more than you intended.
What are the guys above talking about? Chuck looks off? Really? I saw maybe 40 seconds all together of Chuck clips and he looked solid. I saw a clip of him going at full speed against the keeper to create a chance which resulted in a goal. That’s a little of what chuck brought to the USMNT table. I was expecting him to be much slower than what he showed. Shoot, with that speed and technical ability maybe at 70% is still better than 90% of our strikers!lol I take a Chuck D please.
Gives me the chills. I really had no idea what to expect. Glimpses, but I didn’t see any signs of the injuries in terms of fluidity. He looked crisp enough to secure the loan, if only for 15 seconds of footage 😉
Are you serious? You see a few highlights. You cannot even tell if he is good, let alone ready. This is a bunch of jibberish from a person using the web to up his stature and feel some superiority. Davies may flop (Would be a big surprise ) but he certainly looked fit in the video. His mental, may be the biggest obstacle.
Jonathan, with all due respect. Get over yourself. While maybe a former DI football and track guy you’re out of your mind and clearly not a doctor. You saw a few very brief clips and are suffering from confirmation bias. We’ll know more when we know more.
haha what other US striker has scored 6 goals in a league as good as Ligue 1?
He may never be the same player again, but man he was the best striker we had at one point.
And that’s just how bad the USA is at producing attacking players.
Wow lot’s of great coverage on Charlie. It looks and sounds like Charlie is on the right path. Best case scenario: he does well this season and goes back to Sochaux at the end of the season, eventually working his way back into their first team.
But I’m wondering, if he does make the team, how will he hold up during a long MLS season. This will be his first full season in 2 years.
Also, to put his injury into perspective, players who have leg breaking injuries like Jimmy Bullard and Aaron Ramsey have taken 13 months and 12 months and counting, respectively, to return to first team football. Charlie is currently 16 months removed from the crash. It is amazing that he has progressed as quickly as he has, and I think a 24 month recovery period is realistic for him getting back to 100%.
Seriously?
Scored one goal in a loss at T & T
Scored once in a loss at Mexico
Scored once in a romping of Egypt
Scored once in a romping of mighty Grenada
Yea, Grenada and T & T most certainly fit the bill as “best in the world.” Not one of these teams is ahead of the US in the FIFA rankings
I was hoping for an Evening Ticker, but I guess I can post this here — along with good news about Charlie Davies’ return:
Actual Charles Renken news!!!
From Hoffenheim’s website (via Gogle translation):
The U19 will start from ninth place in the year 2011 and it has to make do without Joseph-Claude Gyau, the during the winter break in the U23, “moved.” New team for this is Gyaus American compatriot Charles Renken.
So, Gyau was moved up to the U23 squad — possibly even soon to make his first team debut — but Renken’s finally healthy and fit enough to play with a reserve side (possibly for the first time since signing with Hoffenheim a year and a half ago).
The U19s resume play on the 13th.
Maybe a slot with the U20 team awaits…SI reported that Rongen would scout Renken before picking his team in the Spring.
You must be high, he had some amazing stuff with the Nats in clutch games against the best in the world.
I truly wish CD9 all the best and I hope this season will see him recover to a high level like his previous stint with the USMNT. That said, I hope that DCU is utterly crushed and destroyed each time they play RBNY this season.
Lets see how he looks when he gets “match” fit before making such conclusions. Remember it’s been 15+ months since he’s played in ANY meaningful matches.
His name, maybe? If he isn’t playing, and he’s not wearing the 9 for his country, why use an outdated nickname?
The love afair with Charlie Davies is getting a bit absurd. OK, so he got in a bad car wreck and is working toward recovering, I get it, but the guy has scored six professional goals outside of the Swedish league and folks are acting like he’s the greatest thing since Franz Beckenbauer.
At a minimum, he looks like someone who can hang on an mls roster. I’m certain he’ll be on an mls roster this year. It’s a win-win-win for charlie, MLS fans, MLS attendance, and usmnt fans. Can’t see him not hanging here this year.
I think he’s further along physically than you think. I’m an athlete too, and no one likes to play in pain. He just came from France, so jetlag coud be part of it. He might not be %100, but I think he’s in better physical shape than you think
Davies looked better than I feared. Certainly better (which is obvious) than a blip on futbol mundial back in May. Seeing this, I have to think he has a fighting change to be a DCU this year.
My thoughts exactly. I am little scared as a Union fan, but happy for Charlie. He looks like he is getting it back. Way to go Chuck Deezy!!
Did you miss the last year?
9th minute tribute, #9 signs on Facebook, Twitter, everywhere.
I agree with the commenters above about Charlie’s gait being a little “off,” but that might be something that never fully corrects itself. Remember: Davies’ leg wasn’t just broken, it was broken in several places. Repairing a smashed leg like that rarely brings it back to “like new.”
But Charlie’s behavior post-crash reminds me of Beckham’s after his various injuries over the years. Both are demonstrating a desire to play, to play well at a top level, and to post stunning results while doing so. And both are dying to get back into the National scene.
The only difference between Becks and Charlie is that the former can see his England replacements ready to ssume his role and move on without him. The latter… the position is his to reclaim and he’s got a lot of people hoping he can pull it off!
I think the good news for Charlie is that if DCU doesn’t take him – seeing that they have a grand scheme and high aims this year – there is more than one other team in MLS with questionable offensive capability that would be happy to take him on loan.
What would you prefer? “CD#” “CD?” “CD”…jeez man
can we drop the CD9 thing until he actually locks down a 9 shirt on any team?
sorry to be a stick in the mud
Of course, these are pretty limited highlights, but Yang looks pretty comfortable out there — distributing the ball in the attack and getting on the end of a cross — not to mention striking a goal from distance (even if it was an empty net).
He was brought in for a trial last year as a 17-yr. old. As i recall, he was too young to sign a deal, or get an ITC. Something like that. Anyway, they announced they would probably bring him back to continue his trial. Judging on this, he’s definitely up to MLS practice levels.
It’s a big step-up for real games, of course…as DCU discovered last year — unbeatable in preseason and simply horrible once the games started to count. For example, Moreno was great in preseason, and then looked painfully slow and overweight during the season.
Still, Yang could be a real find. I’ve been really hard on the front office, but they may have done yeoman’s work uncovering this kid. You can’t teach his height — and, if he can keep it up, they might have an MLS version of Peter Crouch.
I agree…definitely fighting his body. Not slow by any means, but certainly laboring (feel like he is running like a heavy-set man, only faster). Before his injury he was spirghtly: a QUICK and fast, not just one.
I wish he would slow down and actually get to 100% instead of trying to get back in at less than so. Bradley knew it so he kept him out of the WC squad. DC should take him, but conditionally with more rehab before he can play.
I’ll take your word for it on his running mechanics, but regardless of your background I can only scoff when someone watches 25 seconds of video and produces some arbitrary 70%.
Jonk, with all due respect. I’m not sure of what your athletic background is… But seb was right. As a former DI football and track guy, I can tell you, somethings a little off. His trail leg when he’s running is lagging, looks to have trouble getting proper knee lift, and he seems to be battling against his body, not running with it… I’d say he’s about 70% right now… probably needs to rehab more, work on range of motion.
What do you mean? His pressure on the keeper set up the first goal by deflecting the clearance.
Hence the “way to go, Charlie” even though he didn’t score.
He was too fast for that keeper, if nothing else. Was that really Cronin? He didn’t look too good there and was s..l..o..w to get down to that header.
He was involved in like 3 bits of action in that video and within that there was barely anything to show how much he still has to go.
Looks like he was the one who scored from outside the box. He’d be the first ever Chinese player in MLS, no?
You good. I bet Steve would view it as a compliment, and Sam would… well, he’d be disappointed.
Thanks for posting this up! The only video I’ve seen of CD9 was 9 months ago while he was jogging in a park.
Ma bad.
I hope Charlie can get back to pre-accident form. DC has potential with him, Najar, and McCarty..Ngwenya too.
He’s a 6’5″ striker. big boy.
Damn….Looks like CD has a long way to go still.
They’re looking good…
Steve Cronin. Sam Cronin plays for SJE.
Dude, Davies looked quick on that run down the line. I know it’s only a blip of what he is/was capable of, but it’s really exciting to see it on video. Huge USMNT Fan and CD9 fan. C’mon Chuck, we’re all rooting for you.
I’ll have my FCD vs. DCU tickets as soon as the schedule comes out and he signs on the dotted line.
HA HA Sam Cronin…
Good luck Chuck!
Men Yang (or Yang Men, if you prefer), he’s a Chinese trialist.
Who is the tall asian kid?
Good to see Chuck D on the field. Way to go man!
KM