Whitecaps’ Alphonso Davies excited to play with Bayern Munich soccer stars

“Those are the guys that as a kid, I was looking up to, watching them on TV, playing them in FIFA. Getting to meet them and play with them is just exciting,” Davies said.

And the prospect of being a character in a FIFA game one day soon?

“I don’t know what to say. It just puts a big smile on my face,” the teen said, smiling wide and showing off his braces.

Davies has been doing a lot of smiling since he signed the contract with Bayern. For his mother, though, the initial reaction was shock.

“I talked to her (on Wednesday) and she almost burst out in tears. She couldn’t believe it,” he said.

Davies was born in a refugee camp in Ghana after his parents fled the Liberian civil war. His family immigrated to Canada when he was five, eventually settling in Edmonton, where his parents and five siblings still live.

It hasn’t been an easy life, the teen soccer star said.

“My family went through a lot coming to Canada. I’m just really, really happy that I can do this for them and that they’re proud of me,” he said.

The rising soccer star knows that achieving his dream of playing for a premier European club won’t be easy for his mom.

“Moving overseas, no mother wants to see their kid go so far away from them,” he said. “But coming (to Vancouver) really opened her eyes that I can take care of myself and I’m ready to take that next step.”

Davies has been on an “unbelievable journey,” said Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson.

He joined the team’s residency program in 2015 and since then has steadily worked his way up to the starting line up.

A lighting-quick player with astonishing ball control, Davies has three goals and eight assists for Vancouver this season and is set to play in the MLS all-star game in Atlanta next week.

“The progression of Fonz, since he’s been with the first team over the last two half years, has been phenomenal,” Robinson said.

“Dreams do happen. Fairy tale stories do happen.”

Despite his age, Davies hasn’t rebelled or pushed back against authority, the coach added. He said the young man is completely different than his 16-year-old daughter because he listens.

“He’s got his feet on the ground. He’s humble, he’s honest and he’s trustworthy,” Robinson said.

Before Davies takes the next step and joins the German Bundesliga, he’ll play out the MLS season with the Whitecaps.

After weeks of negotiations about his future — which Davies described as being “kind of boring at times” — and missing three games with the Whitecaps, the young athlete is excited to get back out on the field. He wants to score his first-ever hat trick before leaving Vancouver.

There’s still a lot of work do, Robinson said.

“I’m so excited for the boy. I really am. But listen, I won’t let him off the hook for the next three months, let me tell you that,” he said.

The young man described by his teammates as a wonderful person and a great friend said he’s looking forward to that work, both with his current team and the one he’ll join next year.

Amidst all the excitement, there are some nerves, Davies admitted.

“But life comes with challenges and I’m ready to take on this one,” he said.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Whitecaps’ Alphonso Davies excited to play with Bayern Munich soccer stars

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