Recently, many may have heard of Vancouver Whitecaps superstar, Alphonso Davies, as he has had many impressive performances with the Whitecaps, which lead him to be acquired by FC Bayern Munich. Davies was born a refugee in Ghana before coming to Canada. When Davies arrived in Canada, he moved to Edmonton, where he played with the Edmonton Strikers. Davies’ skill caught the eye of some members of the Vancouver Whitecaps staff. From there, he began playing on the Whitecaps’ second team in the USL, Vancouver Whitecaps FC  2, eventually working his way up to the Whitecaps first team in the MLS, where he became the third youngest player ever to play in the league; he was brought on as a substitution at the age of 15 years and three months.

Davies’ incredible skill resulted in him getting called up to play on the Canadian National team, in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a soccer tournament in which teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean all compete; Davies was just 16 years old at the time. During the tournament, Davies played in a game against French Guiana where he scored two goals, helping Canada to a 4-2 win. In the next game, Davies scored a goal against Costa Rica to tie the game. While Canada went out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, losing to Jamaica, Davies’ impressive performances won him the best young player of the tournament award. His performances also won him top scorer of the tournament. These performances got Davies featured in the incredibly well-known, (but controversial) Colin Kaepernick Nike ad. The ad stated, “If you’re born a refugee, don’t let it stop you from playing soccer for the national team, at age 16,” as a video of one of Alphonso Davies’ goals in the Gold Cup played in the background. Davies continues to play for the Candian national team to this day, and he hopes to help Canada qualify for the World Cup in 2022.

Alphonso Davies with a Bayern Munich jersey on.

Davies’ continued to play for the Vancouver Whitecaps, and his skills and impressive performances caught the eye of one of the best clubs in the world, FC Bayern Munich of Germany. Bayern currently have some of the best players in soccer/football; such as, Manuel Neuer, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, and many other very talented players. Bayern Munich has won the Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup) five times, most recently in 2013. Bayern Munich has also won the German League (Bundesliga) 27 times and has won the last six German league titles in a row, as well as having won ten of the last 14 titles. The incredibly successful, FC Bayern Munich made an approach for Davies and on July 25, 2018, it was confirmed that Davies would be transferred to Bayern Munich. Bayern will pay the Vancouver Whitecaps’ a reported fee of $28,766,980 CAD for the 17-year-old, making history as the biggest ever transfer deal in North American soccer history. And since Davies’ qualifies as a homegrown player, the Whitecaps will receive 100% of this money, which they may use to sign other players for the team. However, due to rules and regulations, Davies is not able to join Bayern until January 1, 2019, meaning that Davies was able to finish the season with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

The Whitecaps had a very disappointing season, finishing with a record of 13-8-13 (wins, draws, losses), they failed to make the playoffs. Davies, however, had a very good season, finishing the year with eight goals and 11 assists. Davies played his final game with the Vancouver Whitecaps on October 28 at BC Place. In his final game, Davies scored two goals, in a 2-1 win for the Whitecaps, in front of an emotional hometown crowd. An excellent end to his career with Vancouver.

Davies will now head to Bayern on January 1 and attempt to further his career. Farewell to Alphonso Davies and best of luck at Bayern Munich!

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