Ulises Davila
Phoenix’s magic Mexican
When Ulises Davila heard about the interest in him from the Wellington Phoenix, he wasn’t exactly overwhelmed.
He had just finished a stint in India, and was back in Mexico when his agent phoned, telling him about an approach from the A-League club.
Davila’s globetrotting career had already hit decent heights.
He signed a five-year deal with Chelsea as a 20-year-old, helped Cordoba get promoted to La Liga for the first time in four decades and played in the top division in Portugal and Holland but wasn’t sure what was next.
“First I wanted to stay in Mexico, and when he told me, I said ‘okay, great, but let’s wait for other things’,” Davila told the Weekend Herald. “I knew it was in New Zealand [but] I didn’t understand 100 per cent they play in an Australian league.
“My agent said it was a good team, they made the playoffs last year, they have a new coach, new players.”
Davila went back to his holiday, until his agent got in touch again, saying Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay wanted to talk. It became the phone call that changed everything.
“Uffie called me and we started to talk about the project, the club, the way he wanted to play and I felt a good connection with him, with the project,” says Davila.
“At the beginning, I didn’t know so much about the league. [But] I realised I wanted to come, to have an important role there, in an important season, so I said this is a good opportunity to take and make something great.”
He spoke with his wife and family, then called his agent back the same day.
“After a couple of hours, I said ‘yes, please fix everything’,” said Davila. “It was so fast. You know sometimes you have a good feeling.
“If you listen to friends, family and other people, it’s important. But at the end, [the one] who will fight and who will play is [you] and you have to listen to yourself and trust in yourself.”
It’s been a brilliant move. Davila, who wears the No 10 shirt against Melbourne City tonight at Eden Park, has been hailed as the best new import in the A-League, with 12 goals in 16 appearances and a swag of assists.
The 28-year-old seems perfectly suited to the Phoenix, and the feeling is mutual.
“The first impression was more than I expected,” said Davila. “People can tell you 100 things but it’s different until you arrive.”
“[The club] works all day for the players, the head coach works a lot, the team is great, the country is amazing . . . it was lovely to come and see that everything they say is true. It feels like home. I feel the love of the people, the teammates, the staff. And I don’t have to worry if my wife goes out, or my family or something, nothing happens here.”
Davila comes from Guadalajara, the second-biggest city in Mexico (population five million) and was surrounded by football from a young age.
“My parents had a small house and my mother was always saying to my brother and I to go out to play football. She would take us to a small club close to the house, to expend all the energy.”
At 12, Davila was invited to join the Chivas academy, and then things “got more serious”.
“Everyone wants to be a footballer [there],” says Davila. “When you are 14 or 15, it starts to be harder, because you are closer to being professional and you have to work hard because there are thousands of kids behind you waiting for an opportunity. The key is to focus on what you really want and don’t forget the basis of where you come from.”
Davila made his professional debut at 18, then caught Chelsea’s attention with his displays at the 2011 Under-20 World Cup. He never made a first team appearance for the Blues and spent the entire period on loan in Spain and Holland, but still has fond memories of his “so-near-yet-so-far experience” at Stamford Bridge.
“It made me a better player and person,” recalling the pre-seasons training alongside Didier Drogba, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne.
“There were lots of big players and it was a dream to play in England but it was also difficult.” Without a European passport, Davila needed to be a national team representative to gain a work visa. He came close but has not played for the senior Mexican side. “That’s why I went to Spain and Holland. But those experiences, and the pre-seasons at Chelsea, were great and that’s what made me get better.” Davila is still remembered fondly in Cordoba, where his last-minute goal secured promotion to La Liga for the first time in 42 years.
“It was amazing,” said Davila. “It was one of the best moments in my career because it was important for the club, the city, and all the players. I hope we can have something similar here. We are working for that.”
Davila has taken the road less travelled, with 10 clubs in 12 years across seven countries, but has no regrets about his nomadic path.
“I’m proud because I am never afraid to take a challenge,” says Davila. “I can be comfortable, go back to my country, have a good club, same language, my people.
“But I always try to push myself to be better. It also helps you to improve a lot as a person and a player. I always want to have new challenges, out of my comfort zone.
“It’s always hard at the beginning [at a new club], you have to show why you are there. As a foreigner, you have to be different, have to be a different player.”
Davila’s long range shooting has caught the eye this season, with a series of bullet strikes, usually hit precisely towards the corner, a product of endless sessions with his father.
“When I was a kid, my father kept telling me, ‘you want to be different, you have to train more than other people. You have to improve the one quality you have . . . you have to practise, practise, practise and always make it better’.
“It was good from my father to push me, to try and be better all the time. [But] it wasn’t like I was working extra. I was enjoying, I was a kid, and if I could play 24 hours, for sure I would.”
Davila’s silky touches have helped the Phoenix into the top four, which was unlikely at the start of the season after the club’s massive rebuild.
“No, I’m not surprised. Because we really expected this. Maybe not so well, but we expected to have a good season. From the beginning, from the pre-season, we had the goal to be in the top six, so we are working every day to go to the finals. We have a good opportunity.”