The date was June 4th, 2009, and the US was getting drilled by Costa Rica. Down 3-0, Charlie Davies came on in the 80th minute (his 6th cap). Despite the scoreline, Charlie impressed both the fans and Bob Bradley. Alexi Lalas said on the post-game, "Only Charlie Davies helped himself today."
That performance confirmed his spot on the Confed Cup roster. Bradley was still tinkering with his lineup and did not realize Davies' potential. In the first two games, Bradley utilized one striker (Altidore), and the US was outscored 6-1. Davies got the nod in the 3rd game and proceeded to score the opening goal against Egypt. It was the type of ugly, "playoff" goal we'd normally see in hockey. Davies ran down a loose ball near the goal line, fending off two Egyptians and the goalie. He worked his way to get in a shooting position and somehow deflected it off the keeper into the net. The goal sparked a 3-0 US runaway that led all the way to the Confed Finals. Charlie never left the lineup after that game.
It was during the Confed Cup that Charlie also landed a new club team, Sochaux, in the French First division. It didn't take long for him to make an impact. He scored twice in his second game.
If his career skyrocketed after the first Costa Rica game, it's a bizarre and tragic karmic coincidence that the he was training for the second Costa Rica game just prior to his accident. Charlie's now looking at 6-12 months of recovery time, just to regain full motion for his legs. His fitness level will likely assist a speedy recovery, but a broken femur is serious business. I'm sure the resident bone doctor (we'll call him Dr. Rochester) could attest. The team hasn't publicly ruled him out for the World Cup, but they all know that's the likely scenario. It's a crushing blow for a young player, since his next chance won't come until 2014. Yet, he'd no doubt trade a thousand World Cups for the chance to re-do that fateful Monday night. He's got a tough road ahead of him, physically and, especially, emotionally. Though scenes like this will surely boost #9's spirits:
As for the game, it was another whirlwind of emotion. Jozy Altidore seemed determined to single-handily win the game for his former roommate. It was an inspired performance as he steamrolled the Costa Rican defenders throughout the match. Taking on three players, Jozy worked himself free on the right flank in the 9th minute. Since the entire Costa Rican team shifted toward Altidore, Conor Casey was alone in front of the net. Jozy fed him the ball, and Casey proceeded to send it over the crossbar. Dreadful.
Costa Rica were much more opportunistic. Oguchi Onyewu, showing why he's riding the AC Milan bench, was beaten easily by Bryan Ruiz inside the US box. Ruiz waltzed in alone on Tim Howard and easily shot it between his legs. Moments later, Ruiz struck again, though the build-up was a shade lucky. Costa Rica tried to pass to a midfielder who missed the ball, but it found an onrushing Ruiz perfectly in stride. He took one dribble and whipped a shot from about twenty yards out. The ball curled just inside the far post, no chance for Howard. A miracle 2 goal lead for Costa Rica.
The US really ramped up the pressure. The final twenty minutes of the 1st half were all USA. Donovan made a nifty move to go one on one with the keeper but shot over the goal. Jozy had a brilliant chance in front of net by couldn't convert. Casey had another opportunity with a glancing header that went wide. It was painful to watch. Downright depressing.
In the second half, Costa Rica seemed content to bunker. It was like watching the US/Brazil game in reverse. The US completely dominated possession and continued to send crosses into the penalty area. The US defense allowed a handful of counterattacks, but CR did not come close to scoring other than another wicked shot by Bryan Ruiz from 35 yards out. This time Howard was positioned perfectly. But the US could not score.
Finally, after a good cross from sub Robbie Rogers, Donovan worked himself free for another shot on goal. The goalie blocked the shot but the rebound found Michael Bradley who had enough space to score (deflecting the shot off the keeper). 2-1 Costa Rica. At this point, the Costa Rican stall tactics went into high gear. All game long (even in the first half), they made the most of their "injuries". But when Bryan Ruiz was subbed and he "jogged" off the field -- at a pace slower than an old man with a walker -- Mexican referee Armando Archundia had seen enough. He and the Costa Rican coach exchanged words, and, within moments, the coach got a red card. He had to be led off the field by police, along with his assistant coach. It was like a scene from WWF, as the coach yelled and flailed his arms as he left the field. Perhaps the tide had turned. Perhaps not.
Around the 80th minute, off a US corner kick, Onyewu collapsed in the Costa Rican box. Torn patella tendon. Out 3-4 months. By that time, the US had already used all their subs, so they were forced to play a man short.
Jose Francisco Torres, one of the US subs, did well in midfield. He and Donovan spearheaded most of the US attack, but they couldn't get the equalizer. With all the Costa Rican antics, the ref alloted 5 minutes of extra time. Costa Rica had a little bit of possession, and they held the ball deep in the US corner. Four minutes into stoppage time, Torres stripped the ball from the Costa Rican player and burst down the field. His ensuing cross resulted in a US corner. With time running out, Torres's corner kick found the unlikeliest of players, 5'9 Jonathan Bornstein (like the ring finding Bilbo). The rangy left fullback perfectly headed it home. That was it. End of game. A 2-2 draw.
That last goal was truly deadly for Costa Rica. News arrived late in the game that Honduras was leading El Salvador 1-0. If Honduras won, then Costa Rica would need to win. A Costa Rican tie would give Honduras third place in Concacaf. By conceding that second goal, Costa Rica slid to 4th place and now must face Uruguay in a home-and-home playoff for a spot in the World Cup.
After the game, the US players celebrated like they won a championship. I've never seen a team so happy after a draw. The emotions of the past few days were released in a cathartic party with the fans. The normally stoic Bob Bradley, noticeably upset after the first half, exhibited a rare display a true joy. The draw earned the US a first-place finish in Concacaf, besting Mexico by one point. I'm not totally convinced the team deserved it. They have massive, massive problems on defense. I've rarely seen a US backline so porous. That first goal by Ruiz was abominable. Yet, the team finds a way to score, and I gotta give them credit for that.
No Onyewu for 3-4 months. No Davies for even longer. But for now, it doesn't matter. The US can party like it's 2002.
As for Honduras... well those folks are pretty happy too (feel free to skip to 2:08 of the clip for a truly surreal moment):
After the game, Capt. Carlos Bocanegra, much like the style of Jim Schwartz, went out to thank the fans for their support.
ReplyDeleteClass.
Yes, that was a first. I hadn't seen the players grab a microphone and address the fans, Wimbledon-style. It was pretty cool. I think it caught ESPN off-guard. They wanted to cut back to Alexi Lalas and Bob Ley, but that interrupted Boca's speech. So they cut back to Boca.
ReplyDeleteAltidore gave Charlie Davies a shout-out too. And they had banner with the young girl's initials AJR.
Davies' injuries are indeed quite serious, and I'm only talking about the physical ones. My heart goes out to him and his friends and their families. Tragic. The combination of femur-tibia fractures in the same leg constitute the so-called "floating knee" -- very bad. One-year recovery time is typical -- to walk/run, but the bigger question is what his overall function will be long-term. Tough to predict, but most patients lose at least a step or two of speed and quickness after this injury. I would also be concerned for additional soft-tissue injuries (e.g. ACL, PCL, meniscus) that may not have been appreciated at his time of original injury.
ReplyDelete-- Dr. Rochester
Yikes. Hard to imagine Charlie regaining that famous speed then. Poor, poor dude.
ReplyDeleteI know he trained as a wrestler growing up. Perhaps that muscle-training regimen will help. I never thought Zumaya would regain his velocity, and I was wrong about that. You doctors can work wonders nowadays.