TUCSON, Ariz. – Charlie Davies is finally home.
For years after the 2009 automobile accident which temporarily derailed his career – and nearly took his life – Davies was a bit of a nomad, bouncing from France to MLS to Denmark and back to MLS. Burdened by the weight of trying to find both his fitness and his place within a club, he never truly settled. Without a comfort level, his form suffered, which simply led to more moves and more upheaval.
But with the New England Revolution, everything has come together for Davies. Within the locker room, he’s found a family, and it’s been the most important development in his remarkable return to form.
“I’m starting to feel like the club is like a home club for me,” said Davies, who called the Revolution’s locker room dynamic the best he’s ever experienced. “I’m really starting to feel like I’m a big part of the club and the club’s a big part of my life.
“I have great relationships with everyone throughout the organization. I just feel really comfortable.”
Even in New England, though, settling took time and effort. It helped that Davies grew up in New Hampshire and always dreamt of playing for his hometown club, but putting on a Revolution jersey wasn’t a magical elixir. There have been bumps in the road, all of which Davies has overcome.
Davies made just a handful of substitute appearances on the wing after arriving midway through 2013 and then saw his progress halted in preseason ahead of the 2014 campaign, when he picked up a calf injury which lingered all the way into the middle of the regular season.
Upon his return to fitness, Davies was given the chance to play as a target striker and grasped hold of the opportunity. He started 18 of the Revolution’s final 21 games – including the postseason run to MLS Cup – notching seven goals and five assists as one of the club’s primary attacking threats.
Now with a defined role and a healthy body, Davies is a central figure in the Revolution’s preseason camp, where all of the distractions of past years have fallen away, and all that’s left is the soccer.
“I think it’s the first preseason in five or six years where I’m not having to focus on getting stronger or getting faster or getting my legs back,” he said. “For the first time I can just come into camp, I know my role and just get on with playing.
“It’s completely different. I’m just trying to build off last season’s performances. I’m trying to get better. I feel like I’m just coming into my own and now I can really help this team get to the next level, as well as getting myself to the next level. I feel like I have an extra gear I can hit.”
Particularly in last year’s MLS Cup Playoffs, Davies showed glimpses of the player who was a rising star with the U.S. National Team before his accident. He tied for the league lead with four postseason goals and developed what proved to be a lethal mix of pace and power.
Fresh off those performances, Davies is confident that there’s more to come in 2015. While he didn’t divulge exactly how many goals he’s targeting this season, he admitted that he always holds himself to the highest of standards, while adding that goals are only important if they help the team win.
“Especially as a striker, you set a number of goals you hope to score and obviously you hope to better that,” Davies said. “I’m always a guy that likes to shoot for the stars. If you shoot for the stars and you get to the clouds, you’re still doing a great job.
“For me, it’s about just continuing to help this team win, whether that’s scoring goals, creating goals or doing the dirty work. Whatever I have to do, I’ll just continue to do it.”
What’s most important is that Davies is focused on scoring goals and winning games, not getting himself fit and finding his place within a team dynamic. It’s a departure from years past, and it all comes back to the “family” around him and the club he now calls home.
“I couldn’t ask for better teammates,” said Davies, who has formed particularly close bonds with Teal Bunbury and Lee Nguyen. “It’s just a great place to get better and get further in my career. For me, it’s one of those places where I’m very fortunate to be.”
