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Alphonso Davies will never play for his country of birth, but former Ghana international goalkeeper Abukari Damba says the African nation should be proud of what the teenager has accomplished since moving to Canada as a child and moving to Europe with him. Bayern Munich at 18 years old.
Davies was born in Buduburam, a Ghanaian refugee camp, after his parents fled the civil war in Liberia. The Davies family was able to immigrate to Canada when Alphonso was five years old, eventually settling in Edmonton, Alberta.
At the age of 14, he enrolled in the Vancouver Whitecaps residency program. He made history as the first player born in the 2000s to play in Major League Soccer, at just 15 years, eight months and 15 days old, and went on to make 65 first-team appearances before agreeing to join Bayern for a record MLS fee. in July 2018.
The teenager would have been eligible to represent his country of birth internationally, but chose to play for Canada. After showing up for the U17 and U20 teams, he made history as the youngest player to participate in the majors, debuting against Curaçao on June 14, 2017. He had only obtained his Canadian citizenship a week earlier.
“Davies couldn’t have known everything his parents went through in Ghana because he was so young,” Damba, who was part of the 1992 African Cup of Nations Black Stars team, told Goal about Davies’ journey.
“It may be a lost talent [to Ghana], but let’s remember that he had to go through processes and opportunities opened up in Canada.
“Honestly, it’s in Canada where he really identified who he is or who had to identify him and nurture him to become who he is. We keep talking about being born in Ghana but let’s not forget that his formative years were in Canada where his talent stood out, they had to take him through the different stages, and give him every opportunity.
“I don’t think we should feel left out because he doesn’t play for us. It will definitely trace its roots to Ghana. But it would definitely have been a nice addition to the Black Stars. “
A blessing to the club and the country, Davies has made unprecedented progress since officially switching to Bayern in January 2019. ‘Phonzie’ played six times for the senior team during the second half of the 2018/19 season, becoming the club’s first scorer born in the 2000s and the youngest in 20 years, courtesy of a late goal in a 6-1 thrashing over Mainz on March 17, 2019, before ending the campaign with the medals of Bundesliga champion and DFB Cup.
Although he was an offensive winger by trade, Davies became Bayern’s first-choice left-back in 2019/20, starting 37 of Bayern’s 51 competitive matches en route to completing a Bundesliga, DFB Cup and the UEFA Champions League in a defensive role. He is the first Canadian international to play and win a Champions League final.
Davies also made another piece of history on the international scene on October 15, 2019 as the first player to score for Canada against the United States since 2007, in the CONCACAF Nations League Group A tie of the neighbors of the United States. North America. The landmark strike was the fifth for Canada in its sixteenth senior international appearance.
The winner of the Bundesliga Rookie of the Season award for the 2019/20 season, Davies could still cap off an unforgettable year by claiming the 2020 Golden Boy award as the best footballer under 21 in Europe.
“This young man born here [in Ghana], and nobody anticipated that it would reach this level, but it was not easy, “explained Damba.
“It is a brilliant example; Up and coming can take inspiration from the fact that this is one of us who was born into such a community [like the refugee camp]but he has grown to be who he is today. They will dare to do things right, they will stand firm and could even become better than this young man we are seeing today taking the whole world by storm.
“U.S [Ghanaians] We are very proud of him “.
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