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Friday Kickoff: Davies makes Sochaux lineup, USWNT set for rematches & more

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Photo by Brad Smith/ISIphotos.com

For Charlie Davies, perhaps not securing a full transfer or loan extension was the best tactic to take this winter after all.

Davies has been included on Sochaux's first-team roster for the club's league game at Stade Rennes on Saturday, marking a major milestone for him and his quest to break back into the club's lineup.

Davies had been playing with the Sochaux reserves since returning to the club after D.C. United passed on the chance to purchase his contract outright when his loan expired in December. Following his recovery from life-threatening injuries suffered in a fatal car crash in the D.C. area in October, 2009, Davies made one appearance on a matchday roster for Sochaux but did not see the field. The last game that he played for Sochaux's first team was an Oct. 3, 2009, league game againt Le Mans.

Here are a few more stories to get your Friday going:

U.S. WOMEN TO FACE BRAZIL, JAPAN

The U.S. women's national team will face 2011 FIFA World Cup foes Brazil and Japan in the three-team Kirin Challenge Cup in Japan in April.

The U.S. women knocked off Brazil in a classic quarterfinal match, with Abby Wambach forcing a penalty shootout after heading home Megan Rapinoe's cross in the final moments of extra time to level the score. They eventually advanced to the final to meet Japan, which battled back on two occasions to stun the favored U.S. side and win the World Cup in penalty kicks, delivering a massive emotional lift to a country that had been ravaged by tsunamis.

The rematch with Japan will be the second meeting in as many months between the two nations, as they'll square off in the Algarve Cup in March as well. The Algarve Cup and Kirin Challenge Cup provide strong pre-Olympic tune-ups for the reigning gold medalists.

"Playing two of the world’s best teams almost back-to-back will be a tremendous challenge for our entire roster," U.S. women's coach Pia Sundhage said in a release. "Obviously, we are very familiar with both Japan and Brazil, and we have the ultimate respect for their coaches, their players and the technical and tactical abilities of both teams. There are no better games to prepare you for Olympic competition than facing this caliber of teams away from home."

GIGGS SIGNS EXTENSION

The seemingly ageless Ryan Giggs will be playing for at least one more season after signing a one-year extension to remain at Manchester United through the 2012-2013 season.

Giggs, 38, continues to play at a high level for the Red Devils in his 21st year with the club. In that time he has amassed a team-record 898 appearances and won 12 Premier League championships and two UEFA Champions League titles, among other silverware.

BABBEL TAKES OVER AT HOFFENHEIM

Markus Babbel has been handed the coaching duties at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim after the club fired Holger Stanislowski this week. Stanislowski had been on the hot seat, and the club's DFB Pokal quarterfinal loss to 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Furth was the final straw for his tenure as manager.

Babbel, 39, previously coached Hertha Berlin to promotion and signed a two-and-a-half year deal with Hoffenheim. What his arrival means for American internationals Danny Williams, Fabian Johnson and Joe Gyau remains to be seen. Both Williams and Johnson have been lineup staples for Hoffenheim, while Gyau just recently made his way into the first team and made his debut in Wednesday's loss.

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What do you make of Davies making Sochaux's lineup? Excited for the high-profile women's matches in the coming months? How much do you think Giggs has left in the tank? What do you think the coaching hire means for the Americans at Hoffenheim?

Share your thoughts below

Comments

  1. Oh shut the up.

    I think most of us on SBI are intelligent enough to know what he meant by his post. You spell check feds need to stop trying to make yourselves feel good about your life by correcting everyone on the board who makes a grammar mistake.

    ltr fkdkf jfkdjfkdj fjkdjjie97uyr6t-l;c

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  2. Their strikers are so bad they can’t even nail poster board to wooden sticks!!!
    Their strikers are so bad it takes ten tries just to light a match!!!!
    Their strikers are so bad every time they take a shot the ref yells ‘throw in’!!!!!
    their strikers are so bad… uh… well… (insert CD9 reference here)!
    jk Charlie, hope you make the field tomorrow!

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  3. Well, we may differ on this one, the US had like 3 or 4 chances to seal the win, but a bad defense and a great Japanese concentration made the difference, obviously if your team has the advantage twice and looses it right at the end of the game, well that´s a blast…

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  4. Interesting. If Ryan Babel ignores the playmaking Gyau then new Hoffenheim coach Markus Babbel will have to have a little chat with him. Lot’s of babbling.

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  5. Don’t write him off if he doesn’t though. It’s definitely a long process and this is another, albeit very positive, step. If he can get back to regular minutes, start tagging the back of the net, who knows? Maybe could be back in contention for the Nats in 2013.

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  6. Say what you will about his lawsuit. The bar technically broke the law in failing to cut off the driver. She could just as easily have died of alcohol poisoning.

    I’m not by any means excusing his poor decision to get in that car. That said, it’s not illegal (just stupid and dangerous) to ride in a car with a drunk driver (unless it’s your car).

    The fact of the matter is, the incident had a devastating effect on his health and career. Additionally, the $20 million amount is set high so that the settlement can eventually be a much more reasonable number. Ask for $1 million in damages and you might end up with $30k.

    I’m not saying I would definitely pursue legal proceedings in a similar situation, but I don’t know. Until one is in a similar situation, he or she can’t say for certain what they would do either.

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  7. I saw the championship WC game and to me the Japanese team deserved the win because they had the better short game. The US needs to improve in this area and better finishing would obviously also help.

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  8. MLS Extratime Radio has a good interview with Davies in their latest podcast, Feb 9th edition. Sorry to pimp someone else’s work on the site, but there is good stuff in there about how he’s feeling, what happened with DC and some more stuff.

    Ives and team, nail the podcast down and start putting them out 1-2 week.

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  9. Not totally surprised Ryan Babel didn’t pass to Gyau, they’re similar type players that can play the similar positions. He probably doesn’t want to lose playing time. When players talk about how the team is more important than individual success, believe it about half the time.

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  10. I remain skeptical about CD9’s ability to completely recover his explosiveness from the accident. Just judging from other guys who have been through similar circumstances and how long it’s been already since the accident, it doesn’t seem likely. Until I see him blow by people the way he used to, I can’t get too excited, but I certainly wish him luck.

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  11. All signs suggested Charlie would be breaking into the first team. The coaching staff has been really pleased with his progress with the reserves, and Sochaux’s regular first team strikers are shiite. It was only a matter of time until Davies made the game day roster. Hopefully he gets a 20 minute run out and impresses to teh point that he will continue to be in the first team from now on. If he has a good second half of the season with Sochaux he will definitely be in Klinsmann’s plans going into WC qualifing. Nothnig but respect for CD9. If he has a good showing these next few weeks will Klinsmann call him up against Italy?

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  12. On Wednesday, I was impressed with Gyau’s first 10 minutes of Bundesliga play. You could see he was totally pumped up on the sidelines before he was subbed in. Once on the field he showed absolutely no signs of nerves and looked skilled and speedy. He dribbled a couple of times and had a couple of other touches, but was real active off the ball and no doubt was aching to score the last-minute equalizer. It appeared to me that Dutch international Ryan Babel, who was one of several players in Stanislawski’s doghouse and who began the game Wednesday on the bench, was ignoring Gyau and did not make a couple of potential passes to Gyau that he could have.

    In any case, I felt Gyau had a strong presence on the field and want to see more of him. Would be great to see him get a surprise start from the new coach against Bremen Saturday, or at least the chance to come in as a sub.

    As for Williams and Johnson, I think they can only benefit from the new coach, who I hope can figure out where they belong on the field and keep them on those spots. Locker room tensions appeared to be growing with Stanislawski, who week after week was being quite critical in the press of the effort from some team members. I think there is probably a huge sigh of relief in the Hoffenheim locker room that a new coach is coming in.

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  13. CHUCK D!!!! We never forgot about you, brotha. Glad to see you persevered and made it. Maybe he just needed the flameout at DC United to take all the pressure off him, then when no one was looking anymore…BAM, snuck in with the comeback in Ligue 1!!! Congrats man. One day you’ll be back on the USMNT sir. I can feel it.

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  14. I would think the versatility of Williams and Johnson will pretty much guarantee a continued place in the squad; they’ve been used to fill all sorts of needs outside their favored positions this season and done quite well in the process. I’d say my main concern is Gyau, but if he is in fact the real deal, as everyone who has seen him play seems to think he is, I imagine he will continue to be regarded as a potential asset. In his case, I’m not so concerned about short-term issues like playing time as I am about development and stability.

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  15. Thrilled about Davies success. I wish him the best. He’s been through enough and deserves nothing but praise and encouragement. Go Charlie.

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  16. I just hope the USWNT beats both Brazil and Japan, specially Japan, to prove to the world that Japan didn´t win that game the US lost it.

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  17. Excellent work, CD … best of luck to you! Still just 25yo, wow, he’s had to grow up awfully fast the last 2-1/2 years (actually, less than).

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  18. Their striking core is so bad. Sochaux as a team is dead last in Ligue 1, but if they get 3 pts, they could rise as far as 2 places clear of the drop zone. It would sure make for a dramatic weekend if they did get all 3 pts and CD9 had something to to with it!

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  19. Good to hear for Davies. Sochaux’s strikers are failing, so this opens a shot for him. He has to train properly and show he is ready for his chance.

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