Alphonso Davies: "I used to play as Bayern Munich on FIFA, I never thought I'd be playing for them!"
Canadian teenager Alphonso Davies has spoken of his delight at signing for Bayern Munich, saying the move "is a childhood dream come true".
Davies has inked a five-year deal with the record German champions, but has to wait until he turns 18 in November for the transfer to be cleared by FIFA, at which point he will be free to officially make the switch in the January 2019 transfer window.
"Being able to sign for a club like Bayern Munich is really exciting, I wanted to jump and scream," Davies told media after his first training session back at the Vancouver Whitecaps. "I'm really excited to be playing alongside world-class players, like [Arjen] Robben, [Franck] Ribery, [David] Alaba. Those are the guys that – you know – as a kid, I was looking up to. Watching them on TV, playing as them on FIFA. It's just a dream come true."
Davies didn't go into the details, but the 17-year-old is quietly confident he will get the chance to play in the Bayern senior team in the not too distant future. The vision put to him by the club hierarchy was one of the reasons he chose Munich over the likes of European giants Liverpool, Manchester United and Real Madrid in the first place.
"A lot of clubs showed an interest," the Canada national team's youngest ever debutant revealed. "Bayern showed me their plan on the field. They showed me how they'll put me in the team or at least try to put me in the team if I perform enough. Going to Germany will really test my limits. I think it will improve my skill massively."
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That would make it one more dream fulfilled for a player who debuted in the MLS at 15 and for his country a year later. For those youngsters looking to emulate the achievements of Canadian soccer's brightest prospect, Davies has one piece of advice.
"Listen to coaches of course, but once you're on the field coaches can't play the game for you." he told CBC. "You've just got to go out there, have fun and do your best. Play with a smile on your face, because you're playing the game because you love it. You're not playing it because you're forced to."
Chris Mayer-Lodge
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