CANADIANS ABROAD: Alphonso Davies's moment of magic | Chandra Davidson's big week | CanMNT CB depth grows
Sometimes, a moment can change everything.
No matter if you’re having the campaign of a lifetime or a season to forget, one moment can change everything - for better or worse.
Alphonso Davies had one of those positive moments this week for Bayern Munich, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for him, as the CanMNT star gets set for a crucial summer - for both club and country.
In the midst of one of his toughest seasons for Bayern Munich, who are going without a trophy for the first time in over a decade, Davies has had his fair issue of struggles along the way, as he’s battled injuries and form, even losing his starting spot at left back recently.
Because of that, it left him in a frustrating position as Bayern got set for their Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid, which was the last chance for them to win a trophy after they were eliminated from the DFB Pokal in the fall and had recently lost the Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen.
In that tie, however, Davies wasn’t expected to feature much, which was disappointing for the Canadian. Given that he’d never played the storied Spanish giants before, and has been linked to them this summer with his contract set to expire in 2025, it was a perfect chance for him to show what he could do on a grand stage, one he tends to thrive in
Unfortunately, that didn’t come in leg one, as he played just three minutes off the bench as both teams settled for a 2-2 draw. Then, in leg two, he seemed destined for the same fate, as he was once again left on the bench to start the game.
But in the 28th minute, he got his chance. After an injury to winger Serge Gnabry, head coach Thomas Tuchel threw Davies in at left wing, instead of his usual left back position, where he’s made most of his 193 appearances for Bayern.
A position he’s long wanted to play at this level, having come up as a winger with the Vancouver Whitecaps, before becoming a permanent left back for Bayern Munich despite having originally bought him as a winger, it was a huge chance for him to play his preferred position in a massive match, however.
Golazo central 🔥
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) July 29, 2018
It was the Alphonso Davies and Yordy Reyna show tonight at @BCPlace.#VWFC #VANvMIN pic.twitter.com/wuYX8nNpdH
Things started slowly for the rest of the first half for him, as one would expect coming into a match like this cold, but then he started to heat up after half time, nearly scoring a deflected strike early into the second half to give his team the lead.
And then he had his moment in the 68th minute.
After a nice switch of play from Harry Kane, Davies took the ball in stride down the left and decided to attack his defender, Antonio Rüdiger. There, instead of dropping his shoulder and going onto his stronger left foot, as is his trademark, he tried something different - he cut inside, put his head down, and struck the ball on his weaker right foot.
Naturally, Rüdiger was not expecting this from him and allowed him the space to do that, and Davies ended up doing the rest from there, curling the ball into the top corner with a beautiful strike to give his team the lead.
What a GOLAZO here from Alphonso Davies, who has scored a MASSIVE goal for Bayern Munich to give them the lead in the 2nd leg of their #UCL SF vs Real Madrid
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 8, 2024
Against Davies's potential future club, what a way to open his #UCL account#CanMNTpic.twitter.com/g2WnNqMLpD
At that moment, it seemed like all was forgotten. The injuries, his form, losing his spot - it all seemed secondary, as Davies had scored the goal of his life against one of the biggest clubs in the world, one who had shown interest in his services, putting his team 20 minutes away from reaching the Champions League final.
Safe to say, one could see the relief and joy that quickly rushed to his face, as he quickly realized the magnitude of what he just did, and what it meant for both him and the club.
Unfortunately, Bayern’s storybook ending was not to be. Real Madrid showed their famed “Champions League DNA” in the end, scoring two late goals to win the game, denying Bayern of their first final appearance since 2020, when they won it all at the end of Davies’ first full season with the club, which he capped with a start in that final.
3 - Canadian Alphonso Davies is the third player from Concacaf to score in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, joining Dwight Yorke (TRI - 1999) and Christian Pulisic (USA - 2021). Region. pic.twitter.com/PwnMYOVmIM
— OptaJack⚽️ (@OptaJack) May 8, 2024
Despite that, Davies can be pleased with how the game went. Naturally, missing out on another Champions League final will sting, especially when seeing how Real scored both of their goals, which came off a rare Manuel Neuer error and then a set-piece, but he’ll feel that he did what he could to help the team win with his goal.
And now, he’s set himself up nicely heading into a big summer. With his Bayern contract expiring in 2025 and with talks stalling, it feels like a big decision is coming for his future.
Does he renew with Bayern, and stick with the club where he’s been since 2019? Does Real Madrid decide to go for him and he joins Kylian Mbappe (who announced his departure from PSG on Friday) in their new Galacticos era? Or does he wait out the next year with Bayern and become a free agent next summer, which could be risky as he might lose his starting spot if he doesn’t renew?
Just two Canadians talking to each other 🤩🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/PFPNoGDUiV
— dedo ⚽️ (@dlicps) May 9, 2024
Either way, a moment like this will only help his case no matter what he decides his best option is going forward.
Especially if he does want to make the transition to playing more as a winger, a moment like this can show that it’s something he’s ready to do, following a similar path to Gareth Bale, who was once a left back who shifted back to the wing at 23, at the same age as Davies.
But while he figures out his future at the club level, a big summer awaits him for Canada. There, it’ll be interesting to see where he plays, especially if a new manager comes in.
After seeing a goal like this one, it might be tempting to put him on the wing, as there aren’t many in the world who have that in their locker, let alone on this Canadian squad (although Tajon Buchanan may have something to say about that after this week), something they might want to use to their advantage.
If that’s the case, however, that manager, be it interim head coach Mauro Biello or whoever is brought in, will use that goal as an example of what they want Davies to do for Canada - show his class while keeping things simple.
Sometimes prone to doing too much when playing higher up the pitch for Canada, that sort of swift and decisive action could be huge in their matches against the Netherlands, France and Argentina in June. There, if they’re to score in those matches, they’ll need to be ruthless in their execution, or else they’ll need a moment of magic like that (or both!).
Davies is certainly capable of producing those moments of magic in the attack, and he’s done it for Canada before (see Panama 2021, Croatia 2022), so finding a way to find them on a regular basis could just end the debate about what his best position is for Canada, which certainly has become a talking point once again this week.
IT HAD TO BE HIM ‼️
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 14, 2021
A moment of magic from @AlphonsoDavies puts Canada 2-1 up! A generational talent. 🙌#CanMNT | #WCQ pic.twitter.com/DrexvbcyMA
At the end of the day, no matter where he plays for Canada, be it as a defender or an attacker, one thing is for sure - Davies is a world-class talent, and they’ll rely on him big-time this summer and for years to come.
Until then, his club future looms large and will be something to watch, as he figures out what the next steps are, both in terms of landing spot and a position, which Canadians will be keeping a close eye on given his importance to the Canadian National Team.
Quick hits:
Canadians have become a big commodity at Benfica over the last few years. First, there was Cloé Lacasse, and then this year has been a big one for Marie-Yasmine Alidou, who has found the net 25 times for the club in her first season.
Now, it looks like there’s another name to keep an eye on - Chandra Davidson, who had quite the week for the club to kick off the month of May.
Having signed for Benfica at the beginning of 2024, the 25-year-old forward has slowly found her feet with the Portuguese giants, and that led to a performance of a lifetime on May 1st when Benfica took on rivals Sporting CP in the Taça Da Liga final.
Playing against her old club, where she’d spent two seasons in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, Davidson came off the bench in the 82nd minute and scored a huge goal, slotting home to win the game 1-0 for Benfica. With that, she secured her first trophy for the club, giving Benfica their second trophy of the year.
It’s a 2nd Benfica 🏆 for Marie Yasmine Alidou, and a 1st Benfica🏆 for Chandra Davidson, as Benfica beat Sporting CP 1-0 in the Taça Da Liga final today!
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 1, 2024
Davidson scored her 4th (and her most important) Benfica goal to secure the win#CanWNT/#CanXNTpic.twitter.com/kw57B7pBgT
The goal seemed to give her a big confidence boost, too, as she then started and scored in Benfica’s 1-0 win over Valadares that next weekend, putting them a win away from securing the league title, which they can do this weekend. Along with the Taça de Portugal final on May 19th, it means Benfica is now two games away from doing a domestic quadruple (they won the Super Taça last fall), which would be quite the campaign for the club.
Chandra Davidson scored a goal straight out of Concacaf today, heading home in Benfica's rain-soaked clash vs Valadares
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 5, 2024
Big week for Davidson after her cup final goal in midweek... she's now got 5G/1A at Benfica since joining in January#CanWNT/#CanXNTpic.twitter.com/6eXCsVURF8
So to see Davidson and Alidou play a big part in that is huge, as the pair could become key pieces of the CanWNT going forward, the same way Lacasse has.
Unfortunately, it’ll likely have to wait for the Olympics - despite her excellent campaign, Alidou is a longshot to make that squad despite several call-ups, and Davidson is yet to earn a Canadian call, but they could be pieces to watch for the 2027 World Cup.
If that’s the case, chalk up another victory for Benfica’s desire to sign Canadian talent, which may lead to more Canadians joining the club in the future, which is an exciting proposition.
Speaking of Canadian forwards, Evelyne Viens also made a big statement this past week, scoring a goal and adding three assists in a 6-5 Roma win over Sassuolo, before adding a brace in a 4-3 win over Inter Milan. Now up to 15 goals and 7 assists in her debut campaign in Rome, she’s making a strong push for Canada’s Olympics squad, and will hopefully get a good audition in a starting role for Canada in the June window.
Evelyne Viens scored 2 beautiful goals for Roma today in a 4-3 win vs Inter Milan, showing great speed, skill and finishing on both
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 5, 2024
She's now got 15G/7A for Roma in 23/24 after a 3G/3A week
Surely she gets some #CanWNT/#CanXNT minutes this summerpic.twitter.com/OErjgUvOfl
Another Canadian forward attracting attention is 23-year-old Tani Oluwaseyi, who has continued his dream start to his first full MLS season with Minnesota United. This past weekend, he scored in a 2-1 win over Atlanta United, putting him up to five goals and two assists in just 348 minutes across 10 appearances.
IT’S TANI TIME⏰
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 5, 2024
3rd straight start for #MNUFC, 3rd straight goal for Tani Oluwaseyi, who continues to be red-hot in MLS play with this BANGER
He’s now got 5G/2A in less than 350 minutes😵💫
Continues to enter #CanMNT discussionpic.twitter.com/DGUVlAzSTW
Plus, he’s not slowing down as he earns more minutes - after starting the year with two goals and two assists in seven appearances off the bench, he’s scored his last three goals in his first three MLS starts, scoring in each start, showing that he can consistently find the net no matter the role.
Canada’s loaded at striker between Jonathan David, Cyle Larin, Iké Ugbo, Theo Bair and Jacen Russell-Rowe, so it’ll be hard for Oluwaseyi to crack the CanMNT’s Copa América squad, although with the rumours that the competition will have 26-player squads, maybe he sneaks in if he keeps this form up.
And even if he doesn’t make it, keep an eye on him if this form continues, as he’ll be someone to watch going forward as a potential call-up, adding to Canada’s depth up front.
Continuing on the theme of Canadians scoring goals, Tajon Buchanan had a special moment this week for Inter Milan, scoring his first goal for the storied Italian giants in a win over Frosinone. And perhaps inspired by Davies, his goal was one to behold, as he cut inside and confidently curled the ball into the low corner, showing that there are multiple Canadians who can produce that sort of moment of magic.
Heading into Copa América, that's positive to see... and will only certainly open up calls to play Buchanan and Davies together as inverted wingers.
Lastly, it’s been a good couple of weeks for some CanMNT centre backs, as their depth in that position continues to grow.
First, Derek Cornelius helped Malmö win the Svenska Cupen, as they defeated Djurgårdens to help Cornelius win his second trophy for the club. Amid his hot start to the year and the rumours of top Dutch clubs being interested in his services, he looks poised to play some big minutes for the CanMNT this summer.
Big morning for Derek Cornelius, as Malmö defeated Djurgårdens on PKs in the Svenska Cupen final
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 1, 2024
Now, Cornelius has 2 🏆 for Malmö after winning the Allsvenskan in 2023
With that and the recent 🇳🇱rumours, big week for Cornelius
Key #CanMNT starts in June loading?
📸Malmö FF pic.twitter.com/B5BdZipeeb
And if Cornelius’s form makes a favourite to start, the same can be said for Moïse Bombito, who continues to shine for the Colorado Rapids. This time, he’s coming off a big performance against New York City FC, as he made one tackle, one block, five clearances, two interceptions, seven recoveries and won four out of five of his duels as his team picked up a 2-0 road win. With his speed, size, smarts and potential, one has to imagine he will play a big role for Canada this summer, as he continues to grow with each game for the Rapids.
Finally, there was some good news on Scott Kennedy, who made his first appearance for Wolfsberger since December after an injury. He’ll look to push for minutes to end the year strongly and is someone not to forget in the Canadian pool, as in terms of quick centre backs, he and Bombito are the fastest Canada has. If a new coach wants to come in and play a high line, those two could be important pieces, perhaps flanking Cornelius in a back three or together in a back four, depending on the formation.
For the 1st time since December, Scott Kennedy played for Wolfsberger, going 90’ today as he returned from injury
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) May 4, 2024
Something to watch for the #CanMNT, as he returns to full fitness
If a new manager wants a high line… he and Moïse Bombito are the fastest CBs in the pool https://t.co/tZKtVOfn9d
