Fitness, health are not problem for top scorer
The measured approach with Charlie Davies may have reached the end of its useful life.
D.C. United coach Ben Olsen was offered the chance to say he would continue to try and hold back his prized forward after Davies started and went the entire way in his third match in nine days.
Instead, Olsen made it clear that the reins are off completely, making it all but impossible to put them back on.
“I think he could go again; he is fit,” Olsen said. “He is a very strong kid, and he didn’t look like he played two 90-minute games last week. He has been very good, making strides every day, and he is starting to feel at home out there.”
Despite rocketing to stardom before the car accident that nearly took his life in October 2009, Davies joined D.C. United in February as an unknown quantity. Having been out of soccer for nearly a year and a half and perhaps rushing back in his initial return, Davies had two mandates: to prove he was fully recovered and to show he still possessed the qualities that had turned him into one of the U.S. national team’s most promising strikers.
With a league-leading six goals at the quarter mark of the MLS season, Davies is satisfying both to earn his $245,000 salary, as reported by the MLS Players Union. But it’s more than scoring that has made him invaluable to D.C. United (3-4-2). Olsen has lauded the physical toughness Davies has shown to complement his touch around the net.
“I’ve really worked hard on the defensive side of the ball, being that target striker who holds up the ball and can keep connecting with the midfielders,” Davies said.
That he missed a golden chance to net his seventh goal in D.C. United’s scoreless draw with FC Dallas on Saturday is proof Davies still has work to do, but he’s already inserted himself back into the discussion as the United States gets set to unveil its roster for next month’s CONCACAF Gold Cup.
That may be the one step that Davies could make too early. Postponing his international return would allow him to focus on a role and a city in which he is clearly thriving.
“We’re coming together, and I’m glad that we had those bad losses against Houston and New York,” Davies said. “I think we’re bouncing back. We’re finding our identity.”
Davies would know. He’s doing the same thing.
