Picking up on the other end of the line for the latest episode of ‘The Dial Up’ – our series that gets up close and personal with the pros without us actually having to get up close to the pros – was none other than Bundesliga Rookie of the Year, Alphonso Davies, hot off of what has got to be one of the best breakout seasons in a long time.
Alphonso Davies is rapid, and his speed on the pitch is matched only by his ascension in the game. The Canadian wonderkid completed a storybook campaign last weekend, winning the DFB-Pokal to capture the German double with Bayern Munich, those team awards sitting nicely alongside the personal achievement of being named Bundesliga Rookie of the Year. But despite his growing reputation in the game alongside these achievements – all at the tender age of 19 – Davies remains level headed and down to earth.
Speaking about everything from his extensive sneaker collection to his early life and development in the game, and obviously not forgetting his TikTok efforts and his future desire to become an actor when he hangs up his boots, one thing became abundantly clear: that being Alphonso Davies must be a hell of a lot of fun. As far as his future acting career goes though, Chris Tucker, or Idris Elba? We’ll leave you to make up your own mind…
One day I made a video. Then I made another video. Two, three, four videos later and I saw my followers going up, and they were telling me to do more, do more. I was like, no, I can’t… but once you’ve made that three or four videos you get hooked, and that’s it, it’s over”
I remember my first training session was a passing session, and these guys were passing the ball hard! When I was playing MLS, we’d pass the ball, but not as aggressive as that. So when they were flinging the ball at me I was like, ‘oh man, I don’t know if I can handle this!’”
Canada is not really a footballing country, and growing up there I knew I had to do a little bit more if I wanted to become a pro. There’s not many people looking to Canada for footballers!”
Watch the full interview with Alphonso Davies on IGTV.