The Soccer Thread (IV)

So that easy World Cup group?

Algeria 3-2 Ivory Coast after extra-time.

 

For all you EPL wonks out there, interesting Michael Owen interview:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jan/23/michael-owen-manchester-united-england-interview

 

What an odd tagline at the end of that story, especially when combined with the photo.

I'm not sure anyone could have envisioned it would go like it has for Owen back in 1998. He was so, so good at such a young age.

I should also add that it was a long-awaited home victory for the mighty Hawks tonight as they saw off Bromley 2-1, having briefly trailed in the first half and then gone down to 10 men midway through the second. Only the second league win since Sept. 5, with the only interceding victory in that span a dire 1-0 triumph at home to Maidenhead. We were damn solid tonight, though, and actually fun to watch for a change.

 

That's a great interview. Owen was so open and reflective. Terrific stuff.

 

Encouraging story about Charlie Davies and the amazing progres he has already made.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/4856256/ce/us/davies-remarkable-path-recovery?cc=5901&ver=us

 

"He acknowledges the mistake he made by breaking curfew with the national team on the night of the accident"

That's all I wanted to see.

Whether or not he's able to play, he learned his lesson.

 

Are you serious with this?

He broke his leg in two places, broke his elbow, lacerated his bladder. Doctors had to peel back his face to deal with the fractures there.

But all you wanted to see is that he learned to respect the curfew? Well, thank God he did. On a secondary note, it's nice to see his health is improving too.

 

Nice to see him motivated and dedicated to getting back. Still peeved that the driver in this mess has yet to be named or charged by police, but I just did a google to see if anything new has surfaced and found this:

http://soccer.fanhouse.com/2010/01/19/victims-family-struggles-to-cope-following-davies-accident/

Pretty good work by the writer.

 

Crystal Palace has gone into administration.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8481571.stm

Word is this won't affect USSF 2 club Crystal Palace Baltimore.

 

And all of Charm City breathes a sigh of relief.

 

Don't worry. The economic realities of the USL second division will probably take care of that sooner or later.

 

The human body heals. A young athlete heals even better than most. We knew his prognosis from the moment the accident happened. What is important now is his reaction to it.

Some choose to play the "woe is me" card and perhaps blame others in these situations. Good for Davies that he knows that the main reason he was in harm's way in the first place is because he made a reckless decision regarding team curfew. He has no one to blame because the choice to go out drinking during a team training camp was his alone.

He still may not play in this year's World Cup, and there's not much that can be done there. I'm glad he's getting better; there was no doubt in my mind he would recover, just not in time for the world cup. But the maturity lesson he apparently has learned will pay dividends for him and the national team during the rest of what will likely be a long career.