Charlie Davies: After 5 Years, Soccer Player Gets a Second Chance

Charlie Davies: After 5 Years, Soccer Player Gets a Second Chance

digitalsportsnews | December 8, 2014
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Five years ago, one night changed Charlie Davie’s life forever. Just two days before a big U.S. game, the 23-year old Soccer star accepted a ride home from a bar from someone he did not know was intoxicated. "At one second, I think I'm playing in the World Cup," Davies says. "The next, it's — people are wondering if I'm going to walk again." The driver got into a car accident that split the SUV into two pieces, fatally injuring another passenger. Davies woke to find stitches all over his body. Bones had been shattered in his face, elbow, and goal-winning right leg, which just a few months before has scored a historic goal in Mexico for the U.S. Men’s National Team. Davies is known for being a very animated soccer player, thrilling fans with lightning speed, skill, passion and silly goal celebrations. Although Davies’ body was weak, his spirit was stronger than ever. His wife, Nina supported him and helped him focus on everything he still has in his life. Less than a year after the accident, Davies was back on the field. His body was different; it didn’t move like it used to and he couldn’t keep up the way he did. His teammates weren’t as supportive as his wife and wondered why he came back to the sport. Davies was constantly in pain which was caused by titanium rod put into his right leg leaving it slightly tilted outward and 1 inch shorter than his left. Over the next three years, he played for different teams all over Europe and the U.S. His mind was acting out the glory days of Charlie, but his body didn’t respond. But, despite Davie’s physical regression, he never gave up. He refused to allow the injuries to take over his desire to play soccer. "He comes every day to the training ground, and he's the first guy who has a story to tell to the guys to make them smile and laugh," says, Gonçalves, team captain of the New England Revolution. The team signed him last year and kept him on this season. They are providing continued medical treatment and the time to recover and work on his form. "Just being able to wake up every day, I'm so thankful," Davies says. "Every time I get to come to the locker room to practice or train, or just to be around the guys, I'm so happy." Coach Jay Heaps for the Revolution says, "We gave him a stable environment, but he was fighting for his position every day, to the point that when he did get his chance, the staff was rooting for him, the entire team was rooting for him. I think that he's been the inspirational guy, that every time he started the team wanted to help him play better, and I think that that's a pretty amazing story." It has now been five years since the accident and Davies has worked hard to get his performance back to its former glory. "I've grown so much and feel like I'm not only a better person, I feel like I'm a better player for that," Davies says. “He's been huge," says Revolution defender Andrew Farrell. "His perseverance and his fight through everything he's had to go through shows when he gets on the field. And he's in those instances when he puts those games away for us." The New England Revolution played the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday for the Major League Soccer championship.