Alphonso "Phonzie" Davies

danyjr wrote:Is he as good as Dembélé?

McLewis wrote:At his current trajectory, he's going to go down as Canada's greatest ever export.

I think the best thing about Davies is his ability to learn quickly and adapt. I've seen him in a few Buli games this season and frankly he hasn't looked at all out of place at LB. Remarkable.

Home for the holidays Alphonso Davies a guest of Edmonton Oilers
Derek Van Diest
Published:
December 28, 2019

Canadian soccer star Alphonso Davies took a tour of the Edmonton Oilers dressing room Friday and had one player particularly interested in his exploits in the German Bundesliga.

Davies, 19, is back home in Edmonton during the Bundesliga winter break and Oilers star forward Leon Draisaitl sought him out to talk soccer following the morning skate prior to hosting the Calgary Flames. Draisaitl hails from Cologne, Germany.
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It has been an incredible year for Davies, going from the Vancouver Whitecaps of the MLS to Bayern Munich in a multi-million dollar transfer.
Davies is the first Canadian international to play for a high-profile club such as Bayern Munich. The defending seven-time German champions are currently third in the Bundesliga standings behind Red Bull Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach.
“I’m happy to be back,” Davies said. “Edmonton is my home and my family and my friends are all here. The (winter) break is about 10-12 days, so it’s not too long, but it’s enough time to see everyone I love.”

Davies is making an outstanding impression in Germany. He set up the opening goal for Bayern in a 3-1 victory against SC Freiburg on Dec. 18, with an impressive 75-yard solo run down the left wing before centring the ball for striker Robert Lewandowski to tap home.
“Things are going well, I’m playing a few more games now and getting some minutes with the team and training has been going well,” Davies said. “I’m trying to stay as healthy as possible. You learn a lot from those guys. Some of those guys are World Cup winners, some guys are Champions League winners and as a kid from Edmonton, I’m just trying to soak up as much information as possible.”

On a team full of international stars, Davies has carved out a place in the Bayern starting lineup at left back.
Traditionally a more offensive player, Davies is adjusting well to his new role as a defender. It’s where he sometimes lines up with the Canadian national team as well, although an argument can be made his country needs him in a more attacking position further up the field.

“It’s different,” Davies said. “My mindset growing up was attack, attack, attack, but now it’s defend, defend, defend. It’s different because now when I want to go forward, I have to be aware of the guys behind me. If get caught with a long ball, I could be in big trouble.
“I’m playing the game as a defender right now, and hopefully one day they put me up top. But I’m happy to play whatever position the (Bayern) coach puts me.”

Davies’ story has been well documented over the past few years. He was born in a refugee camp in Ghana where his parents were escaping civil war in Liberia.
When Davies was five years old, his family immigrated to Canada and eventually made their way to Edmonton. Davies grew up playing in the Edmonton minor soccer system and it was not long before he stood out among his peers.
“My parents wanted me to focus on school,” Davies said. “They didn’t have the education they wanted me to have in Africa. Coming here they wanted us to get as much education as possible.”
Davies attended Mother Teresa elementary school and then moved on to St. Nicholas junior high where he became the star of their soccer academy. At 14, he was recruited by the Whitecaps to join their youth academy in Vancouver and from there, things moved rapidly for the young prodigy.
After staring with the Whitecaps, Davies signed with Bayern and joined the club in January. He has appeared in 19 games for Bayern, scoring two goals. He made his first UEFA Champions League start in November against Greek side Olympiacos and has gone on to become the face of the Canadian men’s national team.

Davies has also developed into a major role model for Canadian soccer players around the country.
“I think it’s a good thing to be,” he said. “When I was little, I used to look up to some of the FC Edmonton guys. They would come to soccer camps and were an inspiration to us, because we had this dream of wanting to play professionally.”

HAHAHAHA Jersey? Ordered @AlphonsoDavies pic.twitter.com/xFvbCCK9RT

— HackedByFipsi (@hackedbyfipsi) February 3, 2020

Hapless_Hans wrote:what a gem

absolutely love him