MARIETTA, Ga. — The story of Alphonso Davies — rising from Vancouver Whitecaps FC academy player to MLS All-Star and future Bayern Munich player in only two years — is the stuff of that movies are made of.
Davies is fresh off one of the best performances in MLS this season, eviscerating Minnesota United FC to the tune of two goals and two assists in a 4-2 win. Oh, and he also scored a transfer to global soccer giant Bayern Munich after the MLS season ends, for a league-record fee that could reach as high as $22 million.
Seriously, EA Sports’ FIFA video game has based a career mode off a very similar story to what Davies has experienced coming through the Vancouver Whitecaps’ system.
“These last 10 days have been amazing,” Davies said following the first training session ahead of Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game presented by Target (7:30 pm ET; ESPN, UniMás, TSN, TVAS). “I think there's going to be more to come, but coming off that busy week and then being able to help my team win against Minnesota is an amazing feeling. Then, to come here and play with all these amazing players is a cool experience.”
The only difference between Davies' real-life story and the video games and movies are that those theatrical versions include lots of drama from teammates and family members that can come along with such a hasty ascension into the global soccer consciousness. Davies laughed when thinking about the comparison, noting that as long as he focuses on what’s important, the rest comes naturally.
“The people around me make it pretty easy to stay grounded,” said Davies. “My business is on the field. What I do on the field is the reason all of this is happening. When I first started playing at 15 years old in my MLS career, I didn't know what to expect. Everything has risen amazingly, so hopefully it keeps going from here.”
Davies is in Atlanta this week thanks to MLS Commissioner Don Garber, who made the 17-year-old Canadian international a Commissioner’s Pick to join the rest of the squad that was voted in by fans or selected by MLS All-Star manager Tata Martino. Davies was taken aback by the gesture and tells of how he was informed.
“I was about to leave the training ground,” explained Davies, "and then I got a call saying that coach wanted to talk to me. Usually, that's not a good thing! When [Whitecaps manager Carl Robinson] started talking to me, I thought I was getting fined or something because he had a piece of paper in his hand. I don't even remember what he said, but when he told me the news, I was over the moon. I'm just really excited.”
Davies said that while this has been an exciting period for him with his performances on the field and the career developments happening off of it, he’s determined to make sure there are more moments to come.
