Alphonso Davies: Best Left Back In World Football?
Alphonso Davies is already one of the best footballers on the planet. Davies doesn’t celebrate his 22nd birthday until November 2022, but the Canadian is a guaranteed starter at Bayern Munich.
He’s the biggest name in a generation of gifted, young Canadian players and Davies is a prominent figure in Bundesliga news articles.
Already with an impressive list of individual honours, Davies has made a seamless transition from winger to explosive left-back. The step up in quality, playing at Germany’s biggest club, hasn’t fazed him.
The lights get brighter, and Davies’ performance match the occasion. He is a three-time Bundesliga champion, a Champions League winner and was named Bundesliga Rookie of the Season in 2019-20.
This is just the start of Davies’ career. He has potentially 12 or 13 years left at the top of the sport. So much has happened already, and the possibilities over the coming seasons are jaw-dropping.
Already a massive star on both sides of the Atlantic, everything from Alphonso Davies girlfriend to his net worth makes the headlines.
Anything Is Possible
It’s not controversial to say Alphonso Davies is the best left-back in the world. Others can put forward a claim, of course, but Davies hasn’t taken long to play himself into that select group of upper-echelon full-backs.
His blistering pace first catches the eye, and with good reason. PSG pair Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi are rapid.
The same goes for Premier League stars Marcus Rashford and Adama Traore. Davies is in that same group, and he’s registered a top speed higher than any of that quartet.
The acceleration and top speed enable Davies to be such an effective two-way player, though his game is far more than athleticism and industry. For all the marauding overlaps and lung-busting recovery runs, Davies is a gifted attacking player.
He’s got a brilliant left foot to pick out crosses and through passes. His tally of 10 goals in 30 international caps should he’s a goal threat when allowed to roam centrally, too.
Davies only finished third to Erling Haaland and Ansu Fati in the 2020 Golden Boy voting. There’s still been plenty of acknowledgement of his talents, however, including a selection to the UEFA Team of the Year in 2020.
Like Haaland and Mbappe, Davies isn’t just good for a young player. Regardless of age, he belongs among the elite, even if there are areas that fans of Die Roten would like to see him improve.
Given the transition from attacking force to left-back, it’s no surprise that Davies has proved to be a work-in-progress in defence.
His decision-making can be questionable, and there are times that he’s too aggressive in trying to win the ball back. Fortunately, pace is a safety blanket for defensive players, and Davies invariably can make up for any errors.
Breaking Through
Davies became the second-youngest MLS player of all-time when he debuted for the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2016.
Similar records followed, including the honour of being the second-youngest starter in MLS history. He also scored a late winner in the Champions League for his first senior goal.
Named as one of the 60 most exciting young talents in the world in 2017 by The Guardian, Davies was soon attracting interest from the financial superpowers in Europe. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United were linked.
It was Bayern who sealed the deal, however, agreeing to a fee of up to $22 million with Vancouver in 2018. Davies stayed with the Canadian franchise to see out the season before joining the Bavarians in January 2019.
His first Bundesliga start came in 2019-20, and Niko Kovac soon moved him to left-back. It didn’t take long for Davies’ effectiveness from the left-side of defence to attract praise, particularly with his efforts in the Champions League.
He signed a two-year contract extension with Bayern in 2020, extending his deal to 2025.
Alphonso Davies Honours
- UEFA Team of the Year – 2020
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season – 2019-20
- IFFHS Men’s World Team – 2020, 2021
- Lionel Conacher Award – 2020
- Canadian Men’s Player of the Year – 2018, 2020, 2021
- CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Boot – 2017
- MLS All-Star – 2018
- Bundesliga Rookie of the Season – 2019-20
- Bundesliga Team of the Season – 2020-21
- VDV Newcomer of the Season – 2019-20
- Vancouver Whitecaps Player of the Year – 2018
Does Alphonso Davies Have A Girlfriend?
Alphonso Davies’ girlfriend is Jordyn Huitema. The couple have been together since September 2017.
Huitema is a forward for PSG’s women’s team and has 45 caps for Canada – she also won a gold medal with the Canadian team at the 2021 Olympics.
After visiting his other half in Paris in 2019, Davies was fined €20,000 for turning up late to practice.
There have been rumours that Huitema could move to Bayern to be closer to Davies, though it’s worth noting that she played a pivotal role in PSG winning their first Division 1 Féminine title in 2020-21.
A modern football power couple, Davies and Huitema answered questions about their relationship on YouTube in 2021. There was a bit of disagreement over how it started out.
Davies explained, “Listen I was a young guy. It was terrible but I was 16. I was walking into training because we all trained together and I pulled her aside and said ‘come here” so she slowed down.”
Huitema put forward a different version of events.
“No, you didn’t train there! You trained there in the morning and you came to the school to pick me up and you walked me to training.”
Davies got back to his story.
“I came to walk her to training and I knew this is the day I’ve got to do it. Mind you, I was really nervous and I was trying to grab confidence from somewhere. Something inside me told me to say this so I pulled up on here.”
Huitema then chimed in. Apparently Davies simply asked, “So I’m wondering if you want to be Alphonso Davies girlfriend?”
It worked, of course, and the couple have stayed together despite playing in different countries.