Davies nets player-of-year honours; Montero may not be done with Caps
On the day he returned to the pitch for the first time since Oct. 24, Alphonso Davies was named Canada's men's soccer player of the year on Thursday.
The darling of Bayern Munich hadn't played or practised fully since the Bavarians' game against Eintracht, in which he partly tore an ankle ligament when he twisted it 55 seconds into the match.
But, back at practice, he was able to complete a 75-minute training session and will be slowly worked back into shape with an eye at returning to game action later this month.
Thursday's honour from Canada Soccer — he beat out Jonathan David, Scott Arfield, Atiba Hutchinson and Richie Laryea — is the second time the 20-year-old Edmonton product has won the award. He also took it home as an 18-year-old in 2018.
“I'm very grateful to win this award. Hard work always pays off. Thanks to everyone for supporting me,” he posted on Twitter.
Bayern won five trophies last season, including the Bundesliga and Champions League crowns, with Davies playing a key role on that team. The influence of the Bundesliga rookie of the year was so staggering it's made him the front-runner for the Lou Marsh Trophy, annually given to Canada's top athlete. Christine Sinclair (2012) is the only other soccer player to win it.
“To see what Alphonso Davies has accomplished this year is awe inspiring for the next generation of players,” national team coach John Herdman said in a news release. “His achievements have raised the flag in our sport higher than anyone else in our lifetime on the men's side of the game and he has helped put this country as a football country on the world map.
“Alphonso has to be commended for his passion and spirit with which he plays, but also for his ability to connect with people off the field. He is a real ambassador for our sport in Canada and on the global stage.”
FREDY NOT FINISHED YET
La puerta no se ha cerrado para Fredy Montero. That is, the door has not closed on the Colombian striker's return to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
In what seemed to be a foregone conclusion — especially after what appeared to be a goodbye post on Instagram — an unconfirmed report from Colombian sports journalist Carlos Arturo Arango indicated that Montero will be returning to the MLS club for the 2021 season.
Both the Whitecaps and Montero's representation declined to comment, but this comes on the heels of Caps sporting director and CEO Axel Schuster saying they'd had positive contract talks with the out-of-contract striker.
“Our first idea of a new contract was not exactly the idea that Fredy and his agent had,” Schuster said earlier this week.
The 31-year-old Montero was brought back to Vancouver for a second stint before the 2019 season, but he didn't seem to recapture his previous form that saw him score 13 goals in 2017.
He appeared to fall out of favour with coach Marc Dos Santos, being left behind when the Whitecaps travelled east for the Canadian series — part of the MLS Phase 2 restart — but when he finally was inserted into the starting 11, he proved to be the Caps' most effective offensive player.
Of his team-high five assists, four were game winners. He was second in goals scored — all in just 13 games over two months.
Bringing him back would be a shift in what the team had previously stated was their philosophy of youth and potential, capable of executing a high-intensity, high-pressure defensive strategy. He made $968,000 last year, but
shouldn't be making anything close to that should he return for the 2021 season.
MARCO OR BUST( OS)
Thursday came and went with more signings by Pacific FC, but keen observers noted that Marco Bustos wasn't among the announcements.
The Victoria-based Canadian Premier League team finalized agreements with goalkeeper Nolan Wirth and defensive midfielder Alessandro Hojabrpour, but a deal with Bustos — whose seven goal involvements (five goals, second in CPL; three assists, first) was tops in the Island Games — was nowhere to be found.
But no need to worry. Sources close to the team say his option for the 2021 season has been picked up, and he'll back with the Tridents next season — unless an MLS club was to come knocking at his door. The Winnipeg-born former Vancouver Whitecap has made no secret of his desire to take the next step in his career.
The Comox-born Wirth has played two seasons with Pacific, as has the 20-year-old Burnaby native Hojabrpour, the latter another member of the Whitecaps' academy pipeline.
“Ale is a young player who is taking all steps into the right direction and he is poised to take on an even bigger role with the team in the coming season,” Pacific coach Pa Modou-Kah said in a news release.
“He is an example of a young Canadian player who is able to now play at home and develop in our environment.”
Pacific now has Kadin Chung, Jordan Haynes, Abdou Samake, Lukas MacNaughton, Victor Blasco, Matthew Baldisimo, Alejandro Diaz, Josh Heard, Callum Irving, Terran Campbell, Marcel De Jong, Sean Young, Jamar Dixon, Thomas Meilleur- Giguere and new signing Manuel Aparicio under contract.
Negotiations with Surrey-born midfielder Noah Verhoeven are still continuing, however.