Alphonso Davies Update

There is no question that Alphonso Davies is the best player to come from the Vancouver Whitecaps system. In celebration of Davies turning 19 on November 2^nd, we felt it was a good time to recap some of the highlights of Davies career since he left Vancouver a year ago.

Bayern Munich

Davies officially joined Bayern Munich in January 2019 for a base transfer fee of $13.5 million, with performance bonuses raising that total to a potential $22.0 million. He made his Bayern debut in the Telekom Cup, against Borussia Monchengladbach, on January 12^th. He made his Bundesliga debut on January 27^th coming on as a late substitute against VfB Stuttgart. He scored his first goal for Bayern on March 17…and injured himself in the celebration slide. At 18 years 4 months and 15 days he became the youngest player to score for Bayern in over 20 years, and the first Canadian. He has won three trophies thus far: Telekom Cup, Bundesliga, and DFB-Pokal. In total, Davies appeared in six Bundesliga matches for 74 minutes.

His 2019/2020 campaign with Bayern has been excellent thus far. He has already eclipsed his minute total from last season, having appeared in four Bundesliga matches, starting two, for a total of 279 minutes. He currently has one goal and one assist. He has primarily been deployed as a left back for Bayern and has started each of their last four matches. This includes two Bundesliga matches, one DFB-Pokal match, and his first Champions League match.

In his Champions League debut, Davies had 60 passes, completing 53 (88% accuracy), three shots, three dribbles, four tackles, three interceptions, 1 clearance, and one aerial duel won. Our friends over at Bavarian Football Works, fan website for Bayern Munich, have lauded his performances thus far, and comments on articles like this are littered with positives from casual and hardcore fans.

After a poor Bundesliga performance last weekend, manager Kovac resigned. With Davies recent run of matches there were obviously some concerns that Davies momentum might be halted with the new manager. However, interim manager Hans-Dieter Flick has said that Davies will be a big player for the club going forward.

This weekend Bayern plays rival Borussia Dortmund. It will be interesting to see if a) Davies starts and b) how he performs against, probably, his toughest opponent thus far playing with Bayern.

International

Davies growth with Bayern has been evident this season in his play for the National team. This year, he has played in eight matches on the international stage and has demonstrated strong leadership through his calmness on the ball and confidence on the field. Davies has been primarily deployed as a left back or left winger, depending on John Herdman’s needs. However, in Canada’s most recent match against the United States, an early injury to Mark Anthony Kaye led to Davies playing centrally. He was a nightmare for US defenders and ended up scoring the game winner in Canada’s important victory.

Canada now find themselves in a coveted top six ranking in CONCACAF. Next Friday night Canada will be in Orlando to take on the United States in their final Nations League A match. Pull off an unexpected victory and Canada is almost guaranteed to be in the all-important hex for World Cup qualifying, as well as the semi-finals of the inaugural Nations League. Draw and the result is likely the same. Canada is poised to reach new heights and Davies continues to be a big part of that.