Davies Update

From the Twitter feed of Steve Goff from the Washington Post:

"Awaiting more details on Charlie Davies. Early indication is broken leg and internal injuries. Team has left hotel for practice at RFK."

Stay tuned.

Charlie Davies Involved In Major Car Crash; One Fatality Reported

U.S. national team forward Charlie Davies was involved in a one-car accident around 3 a.m. this morning on the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Washington D.C. Three people were in the car when it crashed into a metal guardrail.

Two passengers were transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. The other was pronounced dead.

Ashley J. Roberta, 22, of Phoenix, Md was identified as the only passenger who died.

It is unknown whether or not Davies was the one driving. What is known is that he was expected to be in surgery for more than 5 hours this afternoon.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the three passengers and their respective families.

Later this evening more information should start to become available. What cannot be ignored is that this is a HUGE loss to the USMNT if Davies' injuries are serious enough to keep him out of next summer's World Cup. But right now he should feel lucky to be alive and just focus on recovering.

Welcome To South Africa. Population: 32

On Saturday night, the United States qualified for the 2010 World Cup by beating Honduras 3-2.

In a tightly played game, Conor Casey scored twice to propel the U.S. to its sixth straight World Cup finals.



Even with all the criticism, it has been a job well-done for manager Bob Bradley. Here is an interesting article by Ives Galarcep about his time as caretaker for the Americans.

So what does this mean for the U.S. national team?

After inconsistent play during the qualifying stages, it brings a sense of relief. Ever since the Confederations Cup in June, the United States has failed to play to type of soccer that beat Spain. Bradley will need to get the most out of people like Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey and Ricardo Clark next summer.

It also provides the U.S. with motivation. After leading Brazil 2-0 at the half in the Confederations Cup Final, anything is within reach of this squad. South Africa 2010 should be a chance for the Americans to make an even bigger splash on the international stage.

Cannavaro Fails Doping Test

Fabio Cannavaro, a starting defender for Juventus and captain of Italy, has failed a doping test. Cannavaro claims that the test result was due to a cortisone shot being used to treat a bee sting.

On Friday, Cannavaro, 36, will meet the Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping prosecutor Ettorre Torri for questioning.

More details can be found here and here.

This isn't Cannavaro's first controversy with injections. Before the 1999 UEFA Cup Final, a video tape was released which showed Cannavaro being injected with a substance. The substance was found to be neoton, which is a drug and a creatine phosphate used in cardiac surgery, and is not on the banned substance list. No action was ever taken.

World Cup Update: David Beckham

David Beckham will likely be in South Africa next summer, even if it means just being a tournament representative.

But if Beckham does keep making appearances for England, he could be set to break the national record for caps while in South Africa. The record is currently held by Peter Shilton with 125 appearances.

Although the 34-year-old midfielder is 11 caps short, I think it is a safe bet that he will eclipse that mark next summer. What Beckham lacks in technical ability he makes up for in passing and his work ethic. Having a veteran of three World Cups on your side will be valuable come crunch time and England manager Fabio Capello would be a fool not to include him.

Plus, South Africa 2010 would be his last tournament and the goodwill that would follow could give the lads a much-needed boost in the papers. God knows the English national team has fallen victim of the press more than enough in recent tournaments.

Scoring, Scoring Arsenal

My apologies for not updating my blog with the European results from this weekend. It was the big Michigan vs. Michigan State game on Saturday and I was busy celebrating the Spartan victory.

But what did catch my eye was the 6-2 Arsenal thrashing over Blackburn. While I will admit that I am a Gunners fan, any soccer enthusiast should have noticed the performance of Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas. He put the team on his back and propelled Arsenal to their lopsided win. The midfield maestro had a hand in five of the six goals, scoring one himself.




So far this year, Fabregas has been a shadow of the player that helped lead Spain to the Euro 2008 title last summer. Many times he has just gone through the motions on the pitch, providing no real spark. His free kicks have been shoddy, his passes lacking their pinpoint precision. On Saturday that all changed.

After the match, Fabregas recommitted himself to the Arsenal cause. Amidst the rampant speculation of an impending transfer to Barcelona, Cesc proved to us against Blackburn how much more he has to offer at the Emirates Stadium.

Amazing Bit Of Brilliance

I came across this highlight by accident on YouTube today. It is a couple of days old, but it comes from a French Ligue 1 game this week between Bordeaux and Rennes.

In the clip, Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh and Yoann Gourcuff put on a clinic for the Rennes defense. This is the way the beautiful game of soccer should be played. It is just a shame Chamakh did not score on the play!