Association Football

Charlie Davies has been left off the World Cup squad. I have to say that I am surprised Davies wasn’t called into the 30 man camp. I thought Bradley would give him to the last possible moment to make the final roster. But Bob Bradley killed the comeback story. He is the bad guy. But the fact that Bob Bradley made this decision, should give US fans more not less faith in him as a coach.

US fans are all clearly disappointed. Davies was a revelation last year and American fans dreamed of Davies and Altidore partnering in South Africa, especially after a year of seasoning at the highest levels of European club football. Sadly that won’t happen. But that isn’t Bob Bradley’s fault.

Ives Galcarep, a veteran reporter, perhaps hyped expectations to an unrealistic level when he visited and profiled Davies comeback in the spring and concluded he would make the squad. The fact is that in soccer – especially the World Cup – it is not simply good enough to be healthy again. Being in form and achieving match fitness takes time to achieve. Davies had not touched a soccer ball for almost six months. He recently entered full training, but it was always going to take a lot of time for Davies to get back to where he once was.

The fact is that Bob Bradley gave Davies the chance. He sent a US trainer to Sochaux to evaluate him – clearly the trainer didn’t clear Davies. The club itself didn’t think he wasn’t medically fit enough to play in matches. Now one could argue Sochaux has an incentive not to have him play in the World Cup and risk further injury. But so does the US and most clubs want their players in the World Cup, as it tends to boost their values, since the World Cup is a talent scouting meat market.

Davies was always a long shot after the tragic and horrific accident. Yet all of us longed to see him on the plane to Jo-berg and if it were up to us fans probably 90 percent of us would have brought him even if he wasn’t fit. But this is what you pay coaches for – to make the hard cold-blooded decisions that in the end are in the best interests of the team.

Filed under: USMNT, World Cup 2010 |