Alphonso Davies

[Complete Homer]

1 hour ago, canta15 said:

Is Liberia seriously a desirable destination?

Apparently he's quoted recently as being undecided who to represent at the senior level. 

[jpg75]

3 hours ago, shamrock said:

 For all we know, Caps sell him to Juventus next season and he plays 5 years in Italy.

He can't sign for a club outside of Canada or Liberia until his 18th bday, which will be after the 2018 MLS season.

[Bertuzzi44]

He should continue with the U17 and U20 teams. 

[PhillyCanuck]

Is Alphonso Davies even eligible to be called up to the national team? He is a citizen of Liberia and a permanent resident of Canada from what I understand. I've heard that the reason he did not make the trip to Houston with the Whitecaps this weekend was due to passport issues. Citizens of Liberia are required to obtain a visa prior to entering the United States. Maybe it will benefit Davies and the Whitecaps if he obtains a Canadian passport sooner rather than later. 

[Complete Homer]

1 hour ago, PhillyCanuck said:

Is Alphonso Davies even eligible to be called up to the national team? He is a citizen of Liberia and a permanent resident of Canada from what I understand. I've heard that the reason he did not make the trip to Houston with the Whitecaps this weekend was due to passport issues. Citizens of Liberia are required to obtain a visa prior to entering the United States. Maybe it will benefit Davies and the Whitecaps if he obtains a Canadian passport sooner rather than later. 

He's played for our youth side...90% sure you can't do that if you aren't a citizen 

[Blackdude]

20 minutes ago, Complete Homer said:

He's played for our youth side...90% sure you can't do that if you aren't a citizen 

Actually, you can. Youth matches aren't official. 

[hamiltonfan]

1 hour ago, Blackdude said:

Actually, you can. Youth matches aren't official. 

Unless the match is an official youth match! Have to love the system

[Floortom]

6 hours ago, PhillyCanuck said:

Is Alphonso Davies even eligible to be called up to the national team? He is a citizen of Liberia and a permanent resident of Canada from what I understand. I've heard that the reason he did not make the trip to Houston with the Whitecaps this weekend was due to passport issues. Citizens of Liberia are required to obtain a visa prior to entering the United States. Maybe it will benefit Davies and the Whitecaps if he obtains a Canadian passport sooner rather than later. 

He needs to get Canadian citizenship before he turns 18. Otherwise, he won't be eligible until he turns 23 due to 5 year rule 

[BCM]

10 hours ago, Floortom said:

He needs to get Canadian citizenship before he turns 18. Otherwise, he won't be eligible until he turns 23 due to 5 year rule 

You're forgetting exemptions,which are routinely given for normal migration. It's not difficult to obtain. 

Even the ineligible player New Zealand used in Olympic qualifying has now been cleared. 

[youllneverwalkalone]

I believe it was a work permit issue, not passport. 

[coach_86]

He is eligible for citizenship, however under immigration law, because he is under 18 years of age, his parents need to pass the immigration test in order for the entire family to obtain citizenship. Not entirely sure what the wait is but I'm sure Alphonso will get his citizenship before any youth qualifiers or world cup matches. There are "special" circumstances in which they will allow a person younger than 18 years of age to go out and write the test on their own or just obtain citizenship if deemed being able to benefit Canada. I think this might be one of those cases. ......................This is only based on things I've read about immigration system and athletes in Canada, I'm by no means an expert on this so I could be way off.

[dyslexic nam]

2 hours ago, coach_86 said:

This is only based on things I've read about XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, I'm by no means an expert on this so I could be way off.

I get the feeling that this caveat could be applied to many posts in many forums.

[red card]

I got my citizenship when I was a teenager and no one asked me if my father was a citizen (he was) or my mother (she wasn't yet) or my younger sister (not yet). Now this was 3 decades+ ago, so I don't know if the rules changed. But if did to family level, it seems like a nonsense rule.

[Dub Narcotic]

#8 in the USL 20 under 20.

 

TopDrawerSoccer.com Scouting Report
The youngest player to get a game in USL history, Davies is a ballyhooed prospect for good reason. Davies has every tool you want out of a central midfielder, and his creativity driving at defenders clearly serves him well on the professional stage. Between finding runners and beating defenders himself, Davies is an undeniable creative force. The fact that he recently signed for the Whitecaps’ MLS team at the tender age of 15 should give you an indication of his talent ceiling, which is as high as anyone’s north of the border.

[A_Gagne]

39 minutes ago, Dub Narcotic said:

#8 in the USL 20 under 20.

 

TopDrawerSoccer.com Scouting Report
The youngest player to get a game in USL history, Davies is a ballyhooed prospect for good reason. Davies has every tool you want out of a central midfielder, and his creativity driving at defenders clearly serves him well on the professional stage. Between finding runners and beating defenders himself, Davies is an undeniable creative force. The fact that he recently signed for the Whitecaps’ MLS team at the tender age of 15 should give you an indication of his talent ceiling, which is as high as anyone’s north of the border.

It seems to me Canada has 5 of the 15 top USL "20 under 20" released so far. Not a bad ratio!

[Dub Narcotic]

Yes, although I think that is it unless Tabla gets a nod.

[baulderdash77]

6 hours ago, A_Gagne said:

It seems to me Canada has 5 of the 15 top USL "20 under 20" released so far. Not a bad ratio!

There is definitely a higher representation of Canadians on the list than our population should be developing.

I'm not sure if that means we're developing more talent or if our development pathway is steering a greater % our our top talent to USL.

[Dub Narcotic]

The Canadian clubs have been way better at youth development than the American ones. Only Dallas really compares to Toronto and Vancouver in terms of commitment and results.

[Gordon]

15 minutes ago, Dub Narcotic said:

The Canadian clubs have been way better at youth development than the American ones. Only Dallas really compares to Toronto and Vancouver in terms of commitment and results.

And what evidence do you have for this statement? I don't believe that there is an objective criteria you could identify to support the statement. 

[Vince193]

9 minutes ago, Gordon said:

And what evidence do you have for this statement? I don't believe that there is an objective criteria you could identify to support the statement. 

Vancouver and Toronto have pumped out a number of players, but many of them have faded into obscurity. 

[Soccerpro]

45 minutes ago, Dub Narcotic said:

The Canadian clubs have been way better at youth development than the American ones. Only Dallas really compares to Toronto and Vancouver in terms of commitment and results.

Vancouver has produced Canadian soccer Jesus. That's it.

Think about that.

Seattle had Deandre Yedlin and Jordan Morris.

RSL has a couple regular players developed from the academy.

L.A has regular players like Zardes, a national team player.

Vancouver has a great academy, but hasn't done anything at all when it comes to producing good MLS players.

TFC have Jordan Hamilton, who has started for a few matches, and Jay Chapman, who was signed after being let go from the academy as a teen and then doing well in the NCAA. Would Doneil Henry even be a starter if he returned? I have my doubts.

 

[yomurphy1]

2 minutes ago, Soccerpro said:

*Edmonton has produced Canadian soccer Jesus. That's it.

Think about that.

Fixed your post

[lazlo_80]

1 hour ago, Gordon said:

And what evidence do you have for this statement? I don't believe that there is an objective criteria you could identify to support the statement. 

Just going off what the experts on MLS and Top Drawer soccer say they are often touting the TFC and Vancouver academy. The top US academies they talk about tend to be Dallas, LA and RSL. I don't know if you can objectively say TFC and Vancouver are the best, but they are considered very strong academy set ups by people who know about these things way better than me.

Alot of MLS teams have academies only really in name. Often they don't have the infrastructure or investment the same way the top ones do. The fact Vancouver has the residency set up and the Toronto facilities are ridiculous by MLS standards are what help these two stand out.

[Northvansteve]

11 minutes ago, lazlo_80 said:

Just going off what the experts on MLS and Top Drawer soccer say they are often touting the TFC and Vancouver academy. The top US academies they talk about tend to be Dallas, LA and RSL. I don't know if you can objectively say TFC and Vancouver are the best, but they are considered very strong academy set ups by people who know about these things way better than me.

Alot of MLS teams have academies only really in name. Often they don't have the infrastructure or investment the same way the top ones do. The fact Vancouver has the residency set up and the Toronto facilities are ridiculous by MLS standards are what help these two stand out.

Maybe we can move this topic to another thread, but why isn't Montreal's academy producing any top players? They seem to have success at the younger level but nothing translates to the pro level. 

[yothat]

There's something in the water in Edmonton .. Tons of soccer players have been produced before fced arrived(ricketts, REB, mattlam, shaunsaiko, rago, daniel fernandez, asmir begovic, hanson boakai, tam, lar hirschfield)  ...Got credit edmstrikers for davies devekopment