Alphonso Davies from Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team has
\u200bbeen named the 2020 Canadian Player of the Year presented by Allstate. Davies
\u200bwins the national award for the second time in three seasons after a
\u200brecord-setting year in which he won five club trophies with world renowned FC
\u200bBayern München including his first UEFA Champions League title.
Davies was named the 2019-20 Bundesliga Rookie of the Season
\u200band was shortlisted as a nominee for the UEFA Team of the Year, the UEFA
\u200bDefender of the Year, and Tuttosport’s prestigious Golden Boy Award for U-21
\u200bplayers. Across the calendar year, he was part of FC Bayern’s streaks of 23
\u200bconsecutive wins (16 February to 24 September 2020) and 32 undefeated matches
\u200b(11 December 2019 to 24 September 2020), which included the 2019-20 Bundesliga
\u200btitle through 27 June, the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) on 4 July, the UEFA Champions
\u200bLeague title on 23 August, and UEFA Super Cup title on 24 September. He lifted
\u200bhis fifth trophy of the year on 30 September when FC Bayern won Germany’s
\u200bDFL-Supercup.
Davies from Edmonton, Alberta was honoured from a vote
\u200bshared by Canadian media and Canadian coaches, in fact earning the highest
\u200bvoting score just a fraction better than Christine Sinclair’s record from 2012.
\u200bThe Canadian Players of the Year Award presented by Allstate is shared by
\u200bwinners from both Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team and Women’s National
\u200bTeam, with Davies’ 2020 co-winner to be announced on Friday 4 December.
“To see what Alphonso Davies has accomplished this year is
\u200bawe inspiring for the next generation of players,” said John Herdman, Canada
\u200bSoccer’s Men’s National Team Head Coach. “His achievements have raised the flag
\u200bin our sport higher than anyone else in our lifetime on the men’s side of the
\u200bgame and he has helped put this country as a football country on the world map.
“Alphonso has to be commended for his passion and spirit
\u200bwith which he plays, but also for his ability to connect with people off the
\u200bfield. He is a real ambassador for our sport in Canada and on the global
\u200bstage.”
Crossing the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons from January
\u200bthrough October 2020, Davies featured in 33 matches and scored two goals and
\u200bsix assists primarily as a left back. After missing a month through injury, he
\u200breturned to first-team training on Thursday 3 December. Along the way, he was
\u200bCanada Soccer’s Player of the Month in February, July and August as well as FC
\u200bBayern’s Player of the Month and the Bundesliga’s Rookie of the Month in May (a
\u200bmonth in which there was no Canada Soccer award because of the global Covid-19
\u200bpandemic). On 16 June 2020, he set an all-time Bundesliga record with the
\u200bfastest in-match speed at 36.51 km/h.
While Davies has starred in highlight-reel moments
\u200bthroughout the year, from his UEFA Champions League performance against Chelsea
\u200bin February to his jaw-dropping assist in the Quarter-finals against FC
\u200bBarcelona in August, the pinnacle of Davies’ season was the 2019-20 UEFA Champions
\u200bLeague Final in Lisbon, Portugal when he became the first male Canadian player
\u200bto win the team award. He was also the first Canadian selected to the men’s
\u200bUEFA Champions League Squad of the Season.
Before this year, Davies previously won the Canadian Players
\u200bof the Year Award in 2018, the same year he won the Postmedia Male Athlete of
\u200bthe Year, moved from Vancouver Whitecaps FC to FC Bayern on an MLS-record
\u200btransfer fee, and spoke at the FIFA Congress on behalf of the United 2026 bid
\u200bwhich will bring the FIFA World Cup to Canada, Mexico and USA in 2026. Still
\u200bonly 20 years old, he has already made 17 international “A” appearances for
\u200bCanada and scored five goals and seven assists. Off the pitch, he has garnered
\u200ban incredible global audience with more than 3.1 million followers on Instagram
\u200band 2.9 million followers on TikTok.
Early in 2020, Davies, a former refugee, became a Supporter
\u200bof the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, using his platforms and
\u200bhis public profile to raise awareness and fundraise in support of refugees. In
\u200bAugust, he became an Ambassador for the video game eFootball PES2021 SEASON
\u200bUPDATE and was featured on the cover alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi
\u200band Marcus Rashford.
Davies was just 13 years old when he made his debut in the Canadian youth program in 2014. He was 16 years old when he made his international “A” debut for Canada on 13 June 2017, the youngest Men’s National Team player in program history. He scored his first goal for Canada on 7 July 2017 at the Concacaf Gold Cup.
2020 Canada Soccer Player Awards
\u200bThis marks the 28th edition of the Canada Soccer Player Awards. Amongst men’s footballers, Alphonso Davies finished first in voting ahead of runner up Jonathan David and top-five finishers Scott Arfield, Richie Laryea and, tied for fifth, both Atiba Hutchinson and Jonathan Osorio.
As part of the 2020 Canada Soccer Player Awards, Tajon
\u200bBuchanan and Jade Rose were named Canadian Youth International Players of the
\u200bYear while Mohamed Farsi was named Canadian Futsal Player of the Year. Maxime
\u200bCrépeau, meanwhile, was named the 2020 winner of the Allstate Canadian National
\u200bTeams Good Hands Award.
Beyond the Player Awards, Canada Soccer will announce the
\u200bCanada Soccer Nations Champions presented by Toyota on Monday 22 December, a
\u200bnew award that will honour individuals that have made a difference in their
\u200bcommunity at the grassroots level of the game. Nominations for the Canada
\u200bSoccer Nations Champions are open from 24 November through 13 December.
Past winners of the Canadian Players of the Year Award
\u200b2019 Jonathan David & Ashley Lawrence
\u200b2018 Alphonso Davies & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2017 Atiba Hutchinson & Kadeisha Buchanan
\u200b2016 Atiba Hutchinson & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2015 Atiba Hutchinson & Kadeisha Buchanan
\u200b2014 Atiba Hutchinson & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2013 Will Johnson & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2012 Atiba Hutchinson & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2011 Dwayne De Rosario & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2010 Atiba Hutchinson & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2009 Simeon Jackson & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2008 Julian de Guzman & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2007 Dwayne De Rosario & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2006 Dwayne De Rosario & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2005 Dwayne De Rosario & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2004 Paul Stalteri & Christine Sinclair
\u200b2003 Pat Onstad & Charmaine Hooper
\u200b2002 Jason deVos & Charmaine Hooper
\u200b2001 Paul Stalteri & Andrea Neil
\u200b2000 Craig Forrest & Christine Sinclair
\u200b1999 Jim Brennan & Geraldine Donnelly
\u200b1998 Tomasz Radzinski & Silvana Burtini
\u200b1997 Mark Watson & Janine Helland
\u200b1996 Paul Peschisolido & Geraldine Donnelly
\u200b1995 Alex Bunbury & Charmaine Hooper
\u200b1994 Craig Forrest & Charmaine Hooper
\u200b1993 Alex Bunbury