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The Importance of Alphonso Davies


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It is hard to judge how timid he was just based on a cut video like that. If you were to put together a video like that for Sane or Sterling on Man City I’m sure it would look fairly similar. They don’t run at defenders too often. 

I tend to feel it in my gut when i see space that wasn’t exploited. There was a couple times that Davies could have gone forward with it, but most of those clips he didn’t have much of a chance.

In terms of making space for himself, Unless he has an attacking mid fairly close in the middle, going 1 on 2 is a pretty low chance of success. Most of those clips he was pretty isolated. 

Overall, he looked decent in attack, especially for his first game. The second half of the game seemed much better than the first half. If he settles like that i am sure he will get playing time.

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1 hour ago, red card said:

An euphemism from Davies: 

Davies, wearing No. 19 at Bayern, said training now is “very different” to what he was used to at the Whitecaps, and that he is determined to make the most of his chance.

https://globalnews.ca/news/4853495/mens-soccer-alphonso-davies-bayern-munich/

 

I’d expect one of the best clubs in europe to have “very different” training sessions than an MLS team that began less than a decade ago. Not really a euphenism

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7 hours ago, Macksam said:

Yes....if they want to lay claim to that checkered hodge-podge history they like to call the Whitecaps.

Actually, they do.

The current Whitecaps are the continuation of an unbroken history dating back to the start of the 86ers 32 years ago. The claim to the history of the original NASL Whitecaps is a bit dubious, but you cannot deny that there was a lot of continuity in the playing and off-field personnel and the gap of 2 years wasn't that great.

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I just want to say that I've found some of the comments here rather odd, in relation to his debut. He was positionally very disciplined, he fit in naturally with teammates, there were no confusions, he was playing vs. a team sitting back, and even double teaming him (in fact all serious teams have a mid tracking back alongside a fullback to cover an attacking wing , only Whitecaps under Robbo could never bother with such an idea). His passing was quite precise, he found the right lines of pass. He took on defenders a few times. 

I can frankly say that Dembele at Barça took twenty games to get even close to the image of tactical order and strong ball criteria we saw with that Davies debut. Now I now that he is ideally a "havoc" player, someone who breaks down a defensive structure and does so in a disorderly way, but you cannot be in that mode permanently. You have to choose the right moment, otherwise the defender takes 4 steps back and your options beating him drop dramatically. The day he is on the pitch and they go up a goal, which they usually do, and the rival has to come out of their shell, his counter-attack options with rise. 

For me it was an exceptional start and anyone who thinks it was just mediocre has probably not seen too many 18 year olds debut in friendlies for world class teams.

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13 hours ago, canta15 said:

I’d expect one of the best clubs in europe to have “very different” training sessions than an MLS team that began less than a decade ago. Not really a euphenism

It's more relevant that he is comparing a team conceived to counter with the lowest possession in MLS, and coached by a guy with relatively little experience coming from lower division English models of  the last century (who cares if you lose the ball stupidly, if you have to bunker in front of your keeper vs. a rival with the same budget as you), with a team that dominates possession almost always in its league and has to break down a rival with talent and tactics and a lot of insistency, apart from having the demand from fans and internally to win every year, to go for league, Pokal and Champions with real possibilties every season.

That said, in international football training sessions and models are becoming rather unified, things that people were shocked by when they saw Cruyff's Barcelona in the early 90s are now standard across the board.

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7 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

I just want to say that I've found some of the comments here rather odd, in relation to his debut. He was positionally very disciplined, he fit in naturally with teammates, there were no confusions, he was playing vs. a team sitting back, and even double teaming him (in fact all serious teams have a mid tracking back alongside a fullback to cover an attacking wing , only Whitecaps under Robbo could never bother with such an idea). His passing was quite precise, he found the right lines of pass. He took on defenders a few times. 

I can frankly say that Dembele at Barça took twenty games to get even close to the image of tactical order and strong ball criteria we saw with that Davies debut. Now I now that he is ideally a "havoc" player, someone who breaks down a defensive structure and does so in a disorderly way, but you cannot be in that mode permanently. You have to choose the right moment, otherwise the defender takes 4 steps back and your options beating him drop dramatically. The day he is on the pitch and they go up a goal, which they usually do, and the rival has to come out of their shell, his counter-attack options with rise. 

For me it was an exceptional start and anyone who thinks it was just mediocre has probably not seen too many 18 year olds debut in friendlies for world class teams.

This pretty much nails it for what Davies will need to be learning in the next stage of his professional development. 

Truly smart, organized defensive sides bring a whole different look to what you usually face.  For example, until they had to really press more (and get exposed as a result) vs France in the World Cup final, Croatia did a great job of nullifying M'Bappe's threat.

Edited by BearcatSA
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6 minutes ago, Keegan said:

Is today the day we seen an 18 year old Canadian debut for Bayern Munich? 

I think it’s likely. Ribery is out and Robben is doubtful for the match. Leaves only Coman and Gnabry ahead of him, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get subbed on at some point.

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6 minutes ago, Keegan said:

Is today the day we seen an 18 year old Canadian debut for Bayern Munich? 

I sure as hell hope so. I'm dragging 3 mates out after work to a great Indian joint in NW London that will show BT Sports on several TVs. None of them knew the first thing about Alphonso Davies before this morning, but I've been feeding them some online profiles and YouTube clips all day. I'm predicting that he gets on at about the 60th minute and does the usual Phonzie things.

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58 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

I sure as hell hope so. I'm dragging 3 mates out after work to a great Indian joint in NW London that will show BT Sports on several TVs. None of them knew the first thing about Alphonso Davies before this morning, but I've been feeding them some online profiles and YouTube clips all day. I'm predicting that he gets on at about the 60th minute and does the usual Phonzie things.

Ugh, hyping people up about Canadian soccer and getting them to watch something with you?  Prepare for disappointment.  I did the same thing October 16, 2012.  ?

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As long as nerves don’t get to him (which has happened in the past and is completely understandable at his age) he should be able to really excel as a sub.

Either way, once he gets the confidence rolling it’s hard to stop him. 20 min of a friendly may have been all it took haha

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