Alphonso Davies

Alphonso Boyle Davies (born November 2, 2000) is a professional soccer player who plays as a left-back or winger for club Bayern Munich and the Canada national team.

Considered one of the best full-backs in the world, Davies has earned the nickname "The Roadrunner" for his exceptional pace, dribbling ability, and creativity.

Davies was the first player born in the 2000s to play in a Major League Soccer match.

In 2005, the family emigrated to Canada, eventually settling in Edmonton.

At the age of 14, Davies relocated alone to Vancouver to join the Whitecaps FC Residency program.

As part of the program, he attended Burnaby Central Secondary School.

After playing for Edmonton Internationals, and Edmonton Strikers, Davies joined the Whitecaps FC Residency in 2015 at the age of 14.

After joining Vancouver Whitecaps FC during their 2016 MLS preseason tour, Davies signed with Whitecaps FC 2 in the USL on February 23, 2016.

At the time of his signing, he became the youngest player signed to a USL contract at 15 years, 3 months.

Davies made his professional debut for Whitecaps FC 2 at the age of 15 years, 5 months in April 2016.

On May 15, 2016, he scored his first professional goal, making him the youngest goal scorer in USL history at 15 years, 6 months, a record held by Davies until 2020.

He scored two goals in 11 games played during the 2016 season.

Davies was named to the Whitecaps roster for the 2016 Canadian Championship on a short-term contract.

On June 1, 2016, he made his first team debut in the first leg of the Canadian Championship against Ottawa Fury FC and started the second leg in Vancouver.

On July 15, 2016, Davies signed a first team contract with the Whitecaps through 2018, with options for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

At the time of his signing, he was the youngest active player in Major League Soccer, and the third youngest player to have signed an MLS contract.

Davies made his MLS debut on July 16, 2016, becoming the second youngest player to play in MLS, behind Freddy Adu.

In September 2016, he scored his first goal for the first team in the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League against Sporting Kansas City in injury time to send the club through to the knockout round.

In September 2016, Davies became the second youngest starter in MLS history when he started a game against the Colorado Rapids.

On October 2, 2016, he started against rival club Seattle Sounders FC earning a penalty kick.

During the 2016 season, Davies played in eight MLS games, four Canadian Championship games, and three games in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Born in Ghana to refugee Liberian parents, Davies obtained Canadian citizenship in June 2017; he was until then a Liberian national.

Later that month, he became the youngest player to appear for the Canada national team.

By scoring two goals in a 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup match against French Guiana, he became the youngest player to score for the team, the youngest to score at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and first player born in the 2000s to score at a top level international tournament.

He would go on to be named CONCACAF Men's Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022.

Davies was called up to play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he scored Canada's first ever World Cup goal.

He is widely considered both the best player on and the face of the Canada national team.

Davies is the first soccer player, and first Canadian, to become an ambassador for the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.

Davies was born to Liberian parents in Buduburam, a refugee camp in Ghana, the fourth youngest of six siblings.

His father, Debeah Davies, and his mother, Victoria Davies, originally lived in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

They fled during the Second Liberian Civil War, which displaced more than 450,000 Liberians.

On June 6, 2017, he received Canadian citizenship; until then he had been a Liberian national.

Davies attended St Nicholas Catholic Junior High in the Edmonton Catholic School District.

His school soccer teammate Onesphore Hamis recalled, "Soccer was the thing he wanted to get into, but language was a problem."

His classmate and fellow Liberian immigrant Chernoh Fahnbulleh recalled of Davies, "He spoke English but it was, like, broken English".

As a child in Edmonton, Davies first played organized soccer with Free Footie, an after-school soccer league for inner-city elementary school students who cannot afford registration fees and equipment, or who lack transportation to games.

He joined Bayern in January 2019 from MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps FC on a contract lasting until 2023 for a then-record MLS transfer fee.

Davies was named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season for 2019–20.

In that season he also was part of the team winning the continental treble after Bayern won the Bundesliga, the UEFA Champions League and the DFB-Pokal.

His performances led him to be a finalist of 2020 Golden Boy award.