Charles Desmond Davies (born June 25, 1986) is an American former professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played as a forward. Davies set several soccer records at his high school, the Brooks School, before appearing for the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...

and the Westchester Flames in college. Davies signed his first professional

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

with Swedish

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

club Hammarby IF in December 2006 before joining Sochaux in July 2009. Davies was

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

ped seventeen times for the United States national team between 2007 and 2009, and scored four international goals. On October 13, 2009, Davies was involved in a serious

car crash A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

on the George Washington Parkway that killed a fellow passenger and left Davies with severe injuries that kept him out of the 2010 World Cup, and effectively ended his international career.

Early life

Born in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, as a child Davies was encouraged to play soccer and coached by his father Kofi Davies, an immigrant from

the Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. He attended the Brooks School in

North Andover, Massachusetts North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 30,915. History Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European colonizati ...

and graduated in 2004 alongside fellow professional Mike Fucito. While there he set many Brooks scoring records, scoring twenty-nine and thirty goals in his junior and senior seasons, respectively. In his senior campaign, Davies led Brooks School to a 15–0 league record, and

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

Class-A Championship. Davies also starred in wrestling at Brooks, a 3x New England Prep School Champion while earning National Prep All-American status his sophomore & senior seasons. After prep school Davies attended

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, where he starred for the

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

for three seasons. His sophomore season was cut short due a knee injury suffered in the first half of the season opener. During his college years he also played with Westchester Flames of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, scoring six goals in nine appearances. He was a finalist for the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

in 2006, capping his comeback season. He finished his college career with twenty-four goals and ten assists in thirty-seven games, including fifteen goals in sixteen games his final season.

Professional career

Rather than finishing his degree at

, Davies decided to turn pro after three years of college. He was a well-established professional prospect, and was expected to be a very high MLS draft pick had he chosen to accept the Generation Adidas contract that he was offered. Ultimately, Davies decided to sign with Nike and try his luck in Europe rather than signing with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Hammarby

After an unsuccessful trial at Dutch club

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

, Davies signed his first professional contract with

club Hammarby IF in December 2006. Although he initially was placed in the starting lineup, he had trouble finishing and spent his first year with the club alternating between being a starter and a substitute. On June 24, 2007, Davies netted his first goal for the club, which was the decisive goal in Hammarby's match against Faroese club Klaksvik in the first round of the 2007 Intertoto Cup, but he was still unable to score in the Allsvenskan. Davies credits both his coach, Tony Gustavsson, and Uruguayan star and former Hammarby teammate Sebastián Eguren with guiding his work ethic and attitude through his struggles. In the final match of the 2007 season Davies broke through and scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against GAIS. The 2008 season was a major breakthrough for Davies. He scored fourteen goals in twenty-seven games, twenty-five of which were starts. As a result of his strong performance in 2008 there were many rumors regarding his transfer to a larger club elsewhere in Europe, but ultimately nothing materialized, and Davies returned to Hammarby. The 2009 season began well for Davies, who scored four goals in the first nine league games. He also scored two

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

goals in a 2009 Swedish Cup match against Åtvidaberg, a ninety-ninth-minute equalizer and the winning goal just before extra time expired, to propel his club to a 3–2 victory in the third round of the tournament. In the ninth league match of the season, however, he was issued a five match suspension after he elbowed one of his opponents,

Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

defender Michael Almebäck in the face, resulting in a bloody mouth. Davies subsequently left Sweden to join up with the U.S. national team, marking his last appearance with Hammarby.

Sochaux

On July 10, 2009, before returning from his suspension in Sweden, it was announced that Davies would sign with

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy ...

. On August 15, in his second game with

, Davies came on as a second-half substitute and scored twice; Sochaux ultimately lost the game to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, 3–2. However, after only eight appearances with the club, Davies was seriously injured in a car crash while in the United States. On April 26, 2010, Davies returned to full training with his club and was finally placed in the gameday roster for the December 19 match against

. After having spent 2011 on loan to D.C. United, Davies returned to Sochaux. He made his first appearance since his accident in a 1–0 loss against

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

on February 11, 2012.

D.C. United

After a ten-day evaluation period with the club during their pre-season, Davies signed on loan with D.C. United for the 2011 MLS season. Davies made his debut as a substitute in the 52nd minute, against the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

on March 19, 2011, scoring two goals. A week later he scored his third goal in a 2–1 loss against

, and, as of May 4, led MLS in scoring with six goals scored. On June 24, Davies was fined $1000 for diving. On September 11, Davies scored a hat-trick off of three assists from Chris Pontius to beat

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

3–0 in California. The win put United into tenth place in the standings, the final playoff spot, just above the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. United announced on December 1, 2011, that they would not exercise its December 1 option to secure his permanent transfer from Sochaux. After his loan spell at D.C. United, Davies spoke out about the club's disappointing season and said he was involved in a disagreement with the club's coaching staff.

Randers

At the end of the season, Davies was on the verge of leaving Sochaux after reaching an agreement to terminate the contract with rumors spreading that he was on his way to join AZ and American team-mate Jozy Altidore but this was denied by technical director

Earnie Stewart Earnest Lee Stewart Jr. (born March 28, 1969) is an American former Association football, soccer player who played as a Forward (association football)#Forward, forward or midfielder. His career spanned 17 years from 1988 until his retirement in ...

, who insisted that the club had no interest in Davies. Eventually, Davies signed for Danish side

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().OB on July 22, 2012. He finished his time at the club without making a start or scoring a goal.

New England Revolution

On August 8, 2013, Davies was loaned to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

for the remainder of the 2013 MLS season. In early 2014, Davies and Randers agreed to terminate his contract, allowing him to join New England on a permanent basis. Davies was a key part of New England's run to the MLS Cup final in 2014, scoring multiple goals against the

and

, including the decisive goal in Leg 2 against the Red Bulls that gave New England an aggregate victory of 4–3. At the conclusion of the 2015 MLS season, Davies was named the Midnight Riders Man of the Year after scoring 10 goals for the Revolution.

Philadelphia Union

On August 3, 2016, New England traded Davies and a third-round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft to

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2018 SuperDraft, general allocation money, and targeted allocation money. Davies was waived from the Union at the conclusion of the 2017 season. Davies announced his retirement from playing soccer on March 2, 2018.

International

Youth

Davies played ten games, mostly as a substitute, for the United States U-20 men's national soccer team, but did not make the roster for the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...

. He was the last player cut from the Youth Championship roster. However, the U-20 team would include him in the roster for the Elite Milk Cup competition a month later. He led the team to the final where he scored a hat trick, making him the MVP of the competition and giving the U.S. its first Milk Cup success. Davies next focused on the under-23 national team as his next target for international play. He later trained and played with the team, eventually making the roster for the men's tournament at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. As a member of the United States men's Olympic team he made only one appearance in the three games the United States team played at the Olympics. He came on as a substitute in the team's last match against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, where he nearly tied the match when his header rang off the crossbar in the waning moments, which would have sent the team through to the knockout rounds had it gone into the net.

Senior

He made his debut for the senior national team on June 2, 2007, as a substitute in a 4–1 friendly victory over

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. Later that summer he was a part of the squad that took part in the 2007 Copa América in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. On October 15, 2008, he scored his first national team goal in a 2–1 loss to

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

during the

third round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

of CONCACAF qualifying for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

. He added his second national team goal against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in the final group stage game of the 2009 Confederations Cup. In the following game against Spain, Davies was involved in his strike partner Jozy Altidore's opening goal. On August 12, 2009, Davies scored the opening goal in a 2–1 loss to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, becoming only the fourth American to score against Mexico in the Azteca Stadium. Davies was left off the U.S. roster for the

after he was not cleared medically by his French club team, Sochaux. Davies had sustained serious injuries in an October 2009 automobile crash.

Personal life

Automobile crash

On October 13, 2009, Davies, who was in Washington, D.C. for a World Cup Qualifier game against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, was a passenger in an SUV that went out of control on the George Washington Parkway and struck a metal railing at about 3:15 a.m., tearing the vehicle in half. The crash killed a 22-year-old woman who was in the car with Davies, while Davies himself suffered a lacerated

bladder The bladder () is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys. In placental mammals, urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra during urination. In humans, the bladder is a distens ...

, fractured right

tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...

and

femur The femur (; : femurs or femora ), or thigh bone is the only long bone, bone in the thigh — the region of the lower limb between the hip and the knee. In many quadrupeds, four-legged animals the femur is the upper bone of the hindleg. The Femo ...

, a fractured

elbow The elbow is the region between the upper arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and t ...

, multiple facial fractures, and bleeding on the brain. In an interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap on December 4, Davies said that he expected to be running by March and would be fit to play at the World Cup. On January 25, 2010, ESPNsoccernet reported Davies was jogging and hoped to return to

by April. Davies returned to France to complete his rehabilitation with his club on February 17, 2010, with plans to commence full team training within a month. He resumed light training with the club on March 22. On May 11, it was announced by coach

Bob Bradley Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American association football, soccer coach, who most recently managed Norwegian football team Stabæk Fotball, Stabæk fron 2023 - 2024. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton Universi ...

that Davies would not be on the preliminary national team roster for the

, as Sochaux had not cleared him medically. Two years after the crash Davies filed a $20 million lawsuit against Das Enterprises, which operates the Shadow Room, and Red Bull North America, which hosted the private event at which alcohol was served. The parents of the woman killed in the crash also filed suit against the nightclub owner and Red Bull in U.S. District Court in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

. Davies reached an undisclosed settlement in October 2012.

Cancer diagnosis

In the Spring of 2016, Davies was diagnosed with liposarcoma.

Career statistics

Club

''Statistics accurate as of December 22, 2021.''

International

International goals

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Charlie 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Manchester, New Hampshire African-American soccer players Men's association football forwards American men's soccer players Boston College Eagles men's soccer players Westchester Flames players Hammarby Fotboll players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players D.C. United players Randers FC players New England Revolution players Philadelphia Union players Philadelphia Union II players USL League Two players Allsvenskan players Ligue 1 players Major League Soccer players Danish Superliga players USL Championship players American expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Olympic soccer players for the United States United States men's international soccer players 2007 Copa América players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Soccer players from New Hampshire American people of Gambian descent Sportspeople of Gambian descent United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Brooks School alumni All-American college men's soccer players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen