FC Bayern managed to end the 2019/2020 season sensationally. After locking up the domestic Bundesliga and DFB Pokal titles, Die Roten managed to win the Champions League this season by beating Paris Saint Germain in the final, Monday (24/8)
Alphonso Davies’ name emerged as one of the many impressive Bayern players. Playing as a left back, this player nicknamed the Road Runner managed to show a brilliant performance by diligently performing Overlaps utilizing his speed and skills.
Although he did not contribute many goals and assists, Davies was noted to have contributed greatly to the Bayern attack process. In the Bundesliga, Davies is the player with the second highest number of dribbles after team mate Thiago Alcantara. In the Champions League, recorded 3.3 dribbles per match. This figure makes Davies the defender with the most dribbles per game in the Champions League.
Davies was brought in by Bayern from Major League Soccer (MLS) club Vancouver Whitecaps at a cost of 10 million euros, this amount is also a record for the most expensive transfer for a player from MLS breaking the record transfer fee Jozy Altidore.
The player who was born in Ghana, November 2, 2000, appeared regularly in every match that Bayern played in the Bundesliga and Champions League. Davies is actually the original position as a wing striker, and was predicted to be the successor to Arjen Robben at Bayern. But then Davies turned the corner and became one of the best left-backs in the world today.
When Bayern suffered an injury crisis at the back, the left-footed Davies tried to play at left back. Even though he was not playing in his original position, Davies was able to show his best performance and appear consistent. Hans Dieter Flick did not hesitate to give Davies full confidence to play regularly at left back by shifting David Alaba to the center.
After Bayern beat Paris Saint Germain in the final, Davies admitted that he could not fully believe in what he had achieved, he really did not believe he had won the Champions League trophy.
“Who ever thought about this? I came from Canada and played for clubs like Bayern Munich and won the Champions League. If someone talked about that, 2 or 3 years ago. My reaction is definitely “you are lying!” The dream has really come true, “said Davies quoted from the official website of Bayern Munich.
Davies became the first Canadian player to play in the Champions League Final and won it. A fantastic achievement for a teenager who is not yet 20 years old.
Alphonso Davies Childhood Story
Davies was born with the full name Alphonso Boyle Davies to Victoria Davies and Debeah Davies in the refugee village of Buduram, Ghana. The village is a special village that accommodates refugees from Liberia who fled due to civil clashes that occurred there in 1999.
One year Davies’ family lived in the refugee camp. He was born there on November 2, 2000. Davies spent his childhood in the village until he was 5 years old. With all the limited water and food, Davies grew up to be a strong and resilient child by helping his family to provide for his living there.
Due to the increasingly difficult life of the Davies family in the refugee camps, the Davies family chose to join the resettlement program and fortunately, they were selected to be moved to the city of Edmenton, Canada, in 2005.
Living in Canada, Davies found a better life by attending Mother Therresa Catholic School. Not only going to school, Davies also has to work to support the needs of his parents and 2 younger siblings.
Davies’ football talent began to smell when he joined SSB Free Footie, SSB which eliminated football school fees from children to adolescents. Davies became the most talented student there, showing his dribbling and kicking skills that were above average.
Seeing this potential, the Free Footie coach at that time, Tim Adams, contacted Marco Bossio who was a local trainer from the local SSB Canada St. Nicholas Soccer Academy to offer Davies to study football there with training intensity and a more complete infrastructure.
Developing his football potential there, Davies managed to level up by entering the academy of the MLS football club, Vancouver Whitecaps at the age of 14, starting from the U-16 and U-18 age groups.
Davies only took 1 year to hone his skills at the junior level. At the age of just 15, Davies made it into the Vancouver Whitecaps Senior squad and debuted in the United States’ highest league, MLS. He is the second youngest player to make his MLS debut after Freddy Adu, who debuted at the age of 14.
MLS & Canadian National Team
Davies makes his debut with the Vancouver Whitecaps against Orlando City SC and came on as a substitute. In the next match, Davies first played in the starting line-up when Vancouver hosted Colorado Rapids on September 24, 2016.
Davies ‘performance in MLS, who is still 15 years old, has drawn praise from American football figures, one of which is the Ottawa Furry coach who was amazed by Davies’ action in the field.
“At the age of 15, I couldn’t even look someone in the eye directly,” said Paul Dalglish, the Ottawa Fury coach.
“And he came out (on the pitch) and darted (past) the players in really impressive fashion. The light shines bright. ” he concluded
Davies, who was not officially a Canadian citizen at that time, was actively called up and played with the Canadian junior national team from the U-15 to U20 age group. It was only in June 2017 that Davies officially chose to become a Canadian citizen and joined the Canadian national team for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup as well as becoming the youngest player in it.
Davies featured in the Gold Cup and recorded an impressive International tournament for his country. In a match against French Guiana, Davies managed to score 2 goals while making him the youngest ever Gold Cup goalscorer and became the first player born in the 2000s to score a goal in an international tournament.
Two years of a career in MLS with Vancouver at a young age, Davies managed to become the club’s mainstay player from Canada. Installed as a winger, he managed to contribute 7 goals and 10 assists in 68 games for Vancouver.
Thanks to the brilliant performance of Davies playing in MLS at a very young age, the German giant team FC Bayern dared to pay 10 million euros to recruit the player nicknamed Phonzie, as well as breaking the record as the most expensive player from MLS.
Glorious with Bayern Munich
Davies made his debut with FC Bayern in the 2018/19 Bundesliga season against Stuttgart, he, who was still playing in his original position under Niko Kovac’s tutelage, came on in the 85th minute replacing Kingsley Coman.
A week after that Davies scored his debut goal for Bayern. Entering as a substitute, he managed to contribute 1 of the 6 goals that Bayern managed to score against Mainz. Thanks to this goal, he became the youngest player born in 2000 to score a goal for the team nicknamed Die Roten. In the 2018/19 season Davies also managed to lift the first Bundesliga trophy with Bayern.
Davies showed his huge potential in the 2019/20 season. When he was plotted to play as a left back by Hans Dieter Flick. He was able to displace two important players at Bayern’s left-back position, David Alaba and Lucas Hernandez. The second named is the holder of the club’s most expensive transfer record. David Alaba has now been replaced as a central defender and Hernandez is only a substitute player.
Davies played 29 matches in the Bundesliga, and only 5 times came on as a substitute, contributing 3 goals and 4 assists for Die Roten. Not only in the Bundesliga, Davies is also a regular at the UCL this season, from 8 matches he has contributed 4 assists for FC Bayern. In his second season at Bayern, Davies won the treble winner by bringing the Bundesliga trophy, the DFB Pokal and most recently the Big Ear trophy, the Champions League.
Davies is known for his incredible running speed, he is also the fastest player in 10th position with a maximum speed of 35.29 km / h. Thanks to this speed of running, he earned the nickname Road Runner, animated character in the film Looney Tunes.
“He is a very good player, great strength and extreme ability,” said Thomas Muller, as reported by Goal International
“Sometimes he may not be in the best position on the pitch, but he makes opponents think, ‘Oh, I have time, I have time’. And then ‘Meep meep, meep meep` Road Runner Bayern Munich came and stole the ball,” he added. .
Davies’ acceleration in the last 8 matches of the Champions League this season is a testament to the greatness of the 19-year-old player. Through his speed and ball skills, Davies managed to outwit 3 Barcelona players from the left side, before finally feeding Kimmich who was free-standing and yielded a goal for Bayern. Arriving at the final and becoming champion, Davies was always the first choice and performed consistently for Bayern.
The success of FC Bayern in winning the 2019-20 Champions League is a story in itself for Alphonso Davies. Like a fairy tale, the Canadian player made his dream come true in no time.
“It feels good to win the Champions League. Everything you dreamed about since childhood came true while playing in Europe. “Being able to play for Bayern Munich is extraordinary,” said Davies, quoted by BT Sport.
“My story shows that anyone can make their dreams come true if they continue to work hard and now I have won the Champions League medal. Coming to this club as a young player and playing alongside legends, it feels like you always want to win. All players are very hungry to win many titles, “he concluded.
ASL
