‘Natural talent’ Davies goes from refugee camp to Bayern Munich’s roster
EDMONTON Soccer phenom Alphonso Davies and his former Edmonton Strikers coach, Nick Huoseh, often talk or text after his matches with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Huoseh said they usually go something like this:
“Good job,” texts Huoseh. “Thank you, but I’m not done yet,” replies the 17-year-old midfielder.
Huoseh, who now represents Davies as his agent, said the Edmonton-raised soccer star is driven to succeed.
“He’s set his goal,” said Huoseh. “He wants to go to the top.”
Davies, who is set to play in the MLS all-star game in Atlanta this week, took another step closer toward his goal last week when the Whitecaps finalized his transfer to German soccer giant Bayern Munich for a record-breaking US$22million transfer deal. He’ll start playing for the team in 2019.
His journey so far has been one of resilience, humility and determination — with many helping hands along the way.
Davies was born in a refugee camp in Ghana on Nov. 2, 2000, after his parents fled the civil war in Liberia.
“It was hard, it was dangerous. It was hard to live there because the only way you survive sometimes is
you have to carry guns too,” said his father, Debeah Davies, in a video. “We didn’t have any interest in shooting guns. So, we decided to just escape from there.”
“Very scary,” added his mom, Victoria Davies. “You had to cross over bodies to go and find food.”
She said the refugee camp was safe, but there were no schools.
The Davies family was able to immigrate to Canada when Alphonso was five years old, eventually settling in Edmonton.
Victoria Davies’ focus has been to make sure her son gets his education — he told reporters last week that he’s hoping to finish high school before he heads overseas.
Davies, who became a Canadian citizen in June 2017, often thanks his parents for his success.
Davies said Edmonton has been a major part of his life. “That’s where I started my soccer, that’s where I played, that’s where I went to school, that’s where my family and my friends live,” he said.
His Grade 6 teacher, Melissa Guzzo, said she met Davies at Mother Teresa Catholic school.
“Our little Alphonso,” she said. “He’s just one of those kids who had a permasmile on his face, always dancing in the hallways.”
The school, now called St. Teresa of Calcutta, joined Free Footie — a free after-school soccer league for inner-city kids in Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 who can’t afford registration fees and equipment or get transportation to games.
Guzzo, who coached the program, said Davies played with their after-school program. “He’s such a natural talent,” she said.
Guzzo called Tim Adams, who founded Free Footie, before the year-end tournament and suggested he take a few minutes out of his day to watch Davies play.
“I saw Alphonso take one touch and I knew he had something special,” said Adams. “He had a gift.”
Adams had also called soccer coach Marco Bossio to check out the tournament. Bossio, who runs the St. Nicholas Soccer Academy in Edmonton, said he recognized Davies’ natural talent immediately.
“There was something special about this boy,” he said. “He was fast, he had unbelievable control of the ball. I knew that was something special at that age.”
After the game, Bossio went up to the 11-year old and asked him about his plans for junior high.
“He said he was coming to the soccer academy at St. Nick’s,” said Bossio. “We were delighted and coached him for three years.”
Davies was also playing with the Edmonton Strikers.
Both Huoseh and Bossio watched Davies develop and helped him navigate the next step with the Whitecaps. Davies joined the team’s residency program in 2015 and has steadily worked his way up to the starting lineup. Davies has five goals and 10 assists for Vancouver this season.