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Alphonso Davies, The Dream of Children from Refugee Village Come True

by archyw

By: Deivor Ismanto

FC Bayern managed to end the 2019/2020 season sensationally. After locking up the domestic Bundesliga and DFB Pokal titles, Die Roten managed to win the Champions League this season by beating Paris Saint Germain in the final, Monday (24/8)

Alphonso Davies’ name emerged as one of the many impressive Bayern players. Playing as a left back, the player is nicknamed Road Runner This manages to show a brilliant performance by diligently doing Overlaps using his speed and skills.

Although he did not contribute many goals and assists, Davies was noted to have contributed greatly to the Bayern attack process. In the Bundesliga, Davies is the player with the second highest number of dribbles after team mate Thiago Alcantara. In the Champions League, recorded 3.3 dribbles per match. This figure makes Davies the defender with the most dribbles per game in the Champions League.

VIDEO: Alphonso Davies’ Lightning Speed

Davies was brought in by Bayern from Major League Soccer (MLS) club Vancouver Whitecaps at a cost of 10 million euros, this amount is also the most expensive transfer record for a player from MLS breaking the record transfer fee Jozy Altidore.

The player who was born in Ghana, November 2, 2000, appeared regularly in every match that Bayern played in the Bundesliga and Champions League. Davies is actually the original position as a wing striker, and was predicted to be the successor to Arjen Robben at Bayern. But then Davies turned the corner and became one of the best left-backs in the world today.

When Bayern suffered an injury crisis at the back, the left-footed Davies tried to play at left back. Even though he was not playing in his original position, Davies was able to show his best performance and appear consistent. Hans Dieter Flick did not hesitate to give Davies full confidence to play regularly at left back by shifting David Alaba to the center.

After Bayern beat Paris Saint Germain in the final, Davies admitted that he couldn’t fully believe what he had achieved, he really did not believe he had won the Champions League trophy.

“Who ever thought about this? I came from Canada and played for clubs like Bayern Munich and won the Champions League. If someone talked about that, 2 or 3 years ago. My reaction must be ‘you are lying!’ Dreams really come true, “said Davies quoted from the official website of Bayern Munich.

Davies became the first Canadian player to play in the Champions League Final and won it. A fantastic achievement for a teenager who is not yet 20 years old.

The Story of Alphonso Davies’s Childhood

Davies was born with the full name Alphonso Boyle Davies to Victoria Davies and Debeah Davies in the refugee village of Buduram, Ghana. The village is a special village that accommodates refugees from Liberia who fled due to civil clashes that occurred there in 1999.

One year Davies’ family lived in the refugee camp. He was born there on November 2, 2000. Davies spent his childhood in the village until he was 5 years old. With all the limited water and food, Davies grew up to be a strong and resilient child by helping his family to provide for his living there.

Due to the increasingly difficult life of the Davies family in the refugee camp, the Davies family chose to join the program resettlement (refugee relocation program) and fortunately, they were selected to be relocated in the city of Edmenton, Canada, in 2005.

Living in Canada, Davies found a better life by attending Mother Therresa Catholic School. Not only going to school, Davies also has to work to support the needs of his parents and 2 younger siblings.

Davies’ football talent began to smell when he joined SSB Free Footie, SSB which eliminates football school fees from children to adolescents. Davies became the most talented student there, showing his dribbling and kicking skills that were above average.

Seeing this potential, the Free Footie coach at that time, Tim Adams, contacted Marco Bossio who was a local trainer from the local SSB Canada St. Nicholas Soccer Academy to offer Davies to study football there with training intensity and a more complete infrastructure.

Developing his football potential there, Davies managed to level up by entering the academy of the MLS football club, Vancouver Whitecaps at the age of 14, starting from the U-16 and U-18 age groups.

Davies only took 1 year to hone his skills at the junior level. At the age of just 15, Davies made it into the Vancouver Whitecaps Senior squad and debuted in the United States’ highest league, MLS. He is the second youngest player to make his MLS debut after Freddy Adu, who debuted at the age of 14.

Career in MLS and the Canadian national team

Davies made his Vancouver Whitecaps debut against Orlando City SC and came on as a substitute. In the next match, Davies first played in the starting line-up when Vancouver hosted Colorado Rapids on September 24, 2016.


Davies ‘performance in MLS, who is still 15 years old, has drawn praise from American football figures, one of which is the Ottawa Furry coach who was amazed by Davies’ action in the field.

“At the age of 15, I couldn’t even look someone directly in the eye,” said Paul Dalglish, the Ottawa Fury coach.

“And he came out (on the pitch) and darted (past) the players in a very impressive style. The light shines bright. ” he concluded

Davies, who was not officially a Canadian citizen at that time, was actively called up and played with the Canadian junior national team from the U-15 to U20 age group. It was only in June 2017 that Davies officially chose to become a Canadian citizen and joined the Canadian national team for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup as well as becoming the youngest player in it.

Davies featured in the Gold Cup and recorded an impressive International tournament for his country. In the match against French Guiana, Davies managed to score 2 goals at the same time making him the youngest Gold Cup goalscorer and became the first player born in 2000s to score a goal in an international tournament.

Two years of a career in MLS with Vancouver at a young age, Davies managed to become the club’s mainstay player from Canada. Installed as a winger, he managed to contribute 7 goals and 10 assists in 68 games for Vancouver.

Thanks to the brilliant performance of Davies playing in MLS at a very young age, the German giant team FC Bayern dared to pay 10 million euros to recruit the player nicknamed Phonzie, as well as breaking the record as the most expensive player from MLS.

Glorious with FC Bayern

Davies made his debut with FC Bayern in the 2018/19 Bundesliga season against Stuttgart, he, who was still playing in his original position under the tutelage of Niko Kovac, came on in the 85th minute replacing Kingsley Coman.

A week after that Davies scored his debut goal for Bayern. Entering as a substitute, he managed to contribute 1 of the 6 goals that Bayern managed to score against Mainz. Thanks to this goal, he became the youngest player born in 2000 to score a goal for the team nicknamed Die Roten. In the 2018/19 season Davies also managed to lift the first Bundesliga trophy with Bayern.

Davies showed his huge potential in the 2019/20 season. When he was plotted to play as a left back by Hans Dieter Flick. He was able to displace two important players at Bayern’s left-back position, David Alaba and Lucas Hernandez. The second named is the holder of the club’s most expensive transfer record. David Alaba has now been replaced as a central defender and Hernandez is only a substitute player.

Davies played 29 matches in the Bundesliga, and only 5 times came on as a substitute, contributing 3 goals and 4 assists for Die Roten. Not only in the Bundesliga, Davies is also a regular at the UCL this season, from 8 matches he has contributed 4 assists for FC Bayern. In his second season at Bayern, Davies won the treble winner by bringing the Bundesliga trophy, the DFB Pokal and most recently the Big Ear trophy, the Champions League.

Davies is known for his incredible running speed, he is also the fastest player in 10th position with a maximum speed of 35.29 km / h. Thanks to this speed of running, he earned the nickname Road Runner, animated character in the film Looney Tunes.

“He is a very good player, great strength and extreme ability,” said Thomas Muller, as reported by Goal International

“Sometimes he may not be in the best position on the pitch, but he makes opponents think, ‘Oh, I have time, I have time’. And then ‘Meep meep, meep meep` Road Runner Bayern Munich came and stole the ball,” he added. .

Davies’ acceleration in the last 8 matches of the Champions League this season is a testament to the greatness of the 19-year-old player. Through his speed and ball skills, Davies managed to outwit 3 Barcelona players from the left side, before finally giving feedback to Kimmich who was free-standing and produced goals for Bayern. Arriving at the final and becoming champion, Davies was always the first choice and performed consistently for Bayern.

The success of FC Bayern in winning the 2019-20 Champions League is a story in itself for Alphonso Davies. Like a fairy tale, the Canadian player made his dream come true in no time.

“It feels good to win the Champions League. Everything you dreamed about since childhood came true while playing in Europe. “Being able to play for Bayern Munich is extraordinary,” said Davies, quoted by BT Sport.

“My story shows that anyone can make their dreams come true if they continue to work hard and now I have won the Champions League medal. Coming to this club as a young player and playing alongside legends, it feels like you always want to win. All players are very hungry to win many titles, “he concluded.

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Sports

Bayern superiority beat Lyon’s reactive game

by archyw

Bayern Munchen successfully conquered giant killer Olympique Lyonnais three goals without reply in the match which took place at Estádio José Alvalade, Wednesday (19/8) local time. This victory will bring Bayern to face PSG at the top of the party.

The two coaches did not make changes, either in terms of formations or line-ups. Hans-Dieter Flick continues to play a 4-2-3-1 formation as in the match against Barcelona. Likewise with Rudi Garcia. No changes were made after the impressive win over Manchester City. Lyon appeared with a 3-5-2 formation.

Tactically, Bayern have not changed. The Bundesliga champions are still playing high pressing with high intensity. Flick returned to apply a high defense line like against Barca.

Lyon doesn’t care. Like when they faced high pressing Man City, Lyon play it safe by releasing a gastric bait. Lyon’s attack is not constructive from below, but it rests on the game direct take advantage of a counterattack.

An example is the moment below when a Thiago Alcantara pass was cut by Maxence Caqueret. Without further ado, the 20-year-old sent a through ball to Memphis Depay who took advantage of the space between Bayern’s two center-backs. Depay managed to trick Manuel Neuer but his shot was still not on target.

Garcia’s reactive tactics are not to blame for Bayern’s superiority. Lyon took advantage of Bayern’s high defensive line to release the through ball on the counter attack. Karl Toko Ekambi and Depay’s foresight became the key to Lyon being quite dangerous through this scheme, especially in the first 15 minutes. Ekambi’s shot from close range almost found Neuer in goal but still hit the bar.

Despite winning two goals in the first half, Flick made changes at half-time. Niklas Sule comes on for Jerome Boateng. Sule had a higher speed than Boateng to anticipate Lyon’s through ball.

When defending, Lyon played with low blocks. The 3-5-2 formation changes to 5-3-2 when defending. The two strikers are not tightly packed together, they tend to stretch horizontally to block access to fullback Bayern.

Meanwhile, three midfielders did man-to-man to the Bayern players who occupy the central area. This aims to prevent Bayern from progressing to the middle. Last-line play zone to keep space. This tactic was quite effective in producing a disconnection between Bayern’s lines.


Bayern have no trouble finding a solution. They played patiently to open the Lyon defense meeting. No wonder you see the touch notes of Bayern players. Low-level players make a lot of touches. Thiago (116) came in first, followed by Kimmich (109) and Alaba (102). Even Sule (51) who only played one half made touches more than Thomas Muller (49) who played the whole game.

Bayern’s back line played patiently to build attacks from below. When there are no short options, Bayern try to feed the stomach into the wing. Bayern’s first goal came through this situation.

When Serge Gnabry escaped from Maxwel Cornet’s control, Joshua Kimmich released a hull bait to the right wing. Gnabry with his individual skills managed to find the shooting space from outside the penalty box. Bayern finally scored a goal. The graphic below shows Bayern’s passes before Gnabry’s goal.

Bayern superiority is shown through various attacking schemes. They don’t stick to one scheme. It’s not easy to face a team with varied attacks and high quality.

Bayern’s front line combination is clearly terrifying. The result was the second goal scored by Gnabry again. Assistance from the second line cannot be underestimated. Leon Goretzka has recorded five shots, the most in this match. Set piece situations are also very dangerous. Robert Lewandowski scored Bayern’s third goal using a pass from Kimmich’s free kick.

Bayern finally succeeded in winning the match 3-0. The victory that Bayern really deserved considering the quality of the football played. Garcia actually applied the right tactics to see the difference in the quality of the two teams. But the execution, the quality and the mentality say a lot in this game.

*

This victory took Bayern to the final of the highest European competition for the eleventh time, equaling AC Milan’s record. Only Real Madrid (16) has exceeded that record. Bayern will face PSG in the top party. Both teams are both very dominant in domestic competition, many even think that they will only excel if they succeed in winning the Champions League title.

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Sports

Hansi Flick in Soccer’s Two Great Massacres

by archyw

By: Tigaris Alifandi

FC Bayern which is managed by Hans Dieter Flick managed to beat FC Barcelona in the 2019/20 Champions League quarter-finals with a landslide score, 8-2. FC Barcelona, ​​which is reinforced by Lionel Messi, was made helpless and had to be defeated by a very striking score. Even this match is a streak that will last a long time for FC Barcelona and its fans.

Apart from conquering FC Barcelona, ​​maybe not many people know that Hans Dieter Flick is also an important actor behind another major massacre in football history, the Mineirazo tragedy when Brazil was massacred by Germany 1-7 at home. Mineirazo incised an unhealed wound for the Brazilian public. This tragedy opened an old wound that occurred 8 years earlier in the Maracana when Brazil had to be defeated by Uruguay with a score of 1-2.

Brazil’s big ambition to win the 2014 World Cup in their own country ended heartbreaking. Especially when Brazil suffered a 1-7 semi-final defeat against Germany, which was Brazil’s biggest margin of defeat at the World Cup. The world was stunned, it did not make sense, watching the Samba defenses ravaged by Der Panzer. Even according to O’Globo[1], more than 37 thousand Brazilians turn off the television every time Brazil concedes.

VIDEO: FC Barcelona’s defeat of FC Bayern 7-0 on aggregate in 2013

Everyone will ring back with Mineirazo’s memory every time Brazil meets Germany, even in a friendly match in 2018. Brazil coach, Tite, confirmed this statement. Julio Cesar, the Brazilian goalkeeper who conceded seven goals at that time, was unable to explain exactly what happened. “Germany plays great football”, added Cesar.

Behind the football prowess that Germany played at that time, Hans Dieter Flick escaped the public eye. In fact, he contributed greatly to the success of the German national team revolution which was built with Joachim Low. This deadly duo changed the face of the German national team drastically. The team that was once known to be boring and slow has transformed into a beautiful, entertaining and passionate orchestra. Low may play a lot in terms of tactics, but Hansi (Hans Dieter Flick’s nickname) plays a big role as an accomplished communicator who makes all the players bring out their best potential.

Arne Friedrich, Sports Director of Hertha Berlin who had tasted the touch of the Low-Hansi duet in the German national team, revealed the important role of the Heidelberg-born man in an interview with Rory Smith[2], the New York Times football correspondent. Hans Dieter Flick for him is a figure who is able to make a conducive dressing room, which is clearly useful for a star-studded team like Bayern Munich which he coaches now. Flick’s approach is similar to that of Jupp Heynckess, the only coach in Die Roten’s history to make treble winners.

“Heynckess has the ability to build chemistry team. You have never heard of a player complaining when he has to sit on the bench. I think this is similar to what Hansi did, ”Friedrich said.

Quotations from Olaf Thon, a former Flick teammate when he played at Bayern Munich, make an interesting conclusion at the end of Rory Smith’s writing. “Bayern have quality player material, they will win the Champions League and he (Hansi) will appear to the public as the best coach”. And sure enough, Lisbon bore witness to the second big cry Flick made in football history. As well as being an impressive opening campaign in proving the truth of Thon’s prediction.

Flick’s second big cry took place at the da Luz Stadium, Lisbon. Once again, no one thought that Barcelona would be slaughtered 8-2 in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Bayern are indeed the more favored. In addition to their consistent and increasingly impressive performances, on the other hand Barcelona’s performance has also decreased due to internal problems experienced. However, everyone would have never thought that Barcelona would lose by a margin of six goals. Moreover, this is Barcelona’s first defeat by six goals in the history of participation in European competitions.

The first ten minutes became a slick prologue for the duel that was predicted to be fierce. Bayern took the lead quickly and Los Blaugrana responded immediately through David Alaba’s own goal. Die Roten’s high defensive line scheme looks very fragile and becomes soft food for Barcelona’s front line which is spoiled by the neat placement of the ball behind the Bayern defense. A number of golden opportunities were created and created a kind of panic for the Bavarian team’s back line quartet.

The following minutes became a nightmare for Barcelona supporters. If there was no pandemic, the view of the glass screens would be decorated with rows of Barcelona supporters sitting grimly silently on stadium benches, like the Brazilian supporters at Mineirao in 2014.

Flick has played a big role in Bayern’s transformation this season. Initially he was only a temporary option to fill the void of the coaching chair after Niko Kovac was sacked after a bad score at the start of this season. Doubts had arisen considering the last time he assumed the position of coach in 2005. There is nothing special about his coaching career. It was unexpected that he became Bayern’s greatest coach by winning 30 victories from 34 matches that had been played.

Bayern could easily appoint a replacement for Kovac by contacting top and tested coaches like Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri without financial worries with large salaries and contract values. However, slowly Flick proved that he was the most appropriate person to manage FC Hollywood. Good vertical communication skills also helped Flick’s steps to convince management to maintain it.


In addition, Hansi Flick made a radical tactical change which had a significant impact on Bayern’s game. Game possession which accentuates the dominance of the lateral pass without the progression of Niko Kovac’s legacy attacks transformed into a classy show with intensity pressing and a high line of defense. Hansi also brought out the best potential of senior players like Manuel Neuer and Thomas Mueller who were considered to have run out.

Maximizing Mueller is clearly the main key why Bayern is a very clinical team in the penalty box this season. Quoting the writings of Zen RS[3] that Mueller is “Space Interpreter” aka interpreter space. A player with an archetype similar to Filippo Inzaghi who was never seen throughout the match but who could become the decisive goal scorer. Maximizing his abilities together with the wild Polish predator, Robert Lewandowski, is a scary combination. And Barcelona has tasted that cruelty in Lisbon.

Hansi also succeeded in launching young players like Alphonso Davies, who started getting the chance to play regularly. His experience as a former DFB Sports Director made it easy for him to motivate young players like Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry who were able to perform consistently throughout the season.

What Hansi Flick has made in Lisbon is the accumulation of hard work, talent and knowledge. He reminded me of the Marseille character in the La Casa de Papel series. A figure who escapes the attention of the audience but plays a very important behind-the-scenes role in the success of El Professor’s plan. In fact, Hansi Flick is precisely “El Professor” who is the brain of two major massacres in the history of modern football.

Source:

[1] https://ligalaga.id/cerita/mengenang-kekalahan-terburuk-timnas-brasil/

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/14/sports/soccer/bayern-barcelona-champions-league.html?smid=tw-nytsports&smtyp=cur

[3] https://sport.detik.com/aboutthegame//pandit/d-2255308/thomas-mueller-si-penafsir-ruang

* The author is an employee who happens to be crazy about football. Has a twitter account @TigarisAlifandi

** This article is the author’s submission via the Pandit Sharing column. All content and opinions contained in this paper are the responsibility of the author.

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Sports

Variations in the Leipzig attack dismantle Atletico

by archyw

RasenBallsport Leipzig successfully defeated Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals with a score of 2-1. The victory in the match which took place at the Estádio José Alvalade led Leipzig to the semifinals, against the Ligue 1 champions, PSG. This achievement is considered extraordinary because Leipzig is a club that was only founded in 2009.

In the match which took place on Thursday (13/8) local time, Julian Nagelsmann lowered a 4-2-3-1 formation on paper, even though the Leipzig match was very flexible. 4-2-3-1 they applied when defending. When attacking, Konrad Laimer as a central midfielder will expand to become a wing-back, Angelino as a left-back moves up to become a wing-back so that Leipzig plays like 3-1-5-1.

VIDEO: Current information about the European Champions League

On the opposite side, Diego Simeone was unable to bring Angel Correa and Sime Vrsaljko because he was positive for Covid-19. Simeone continued to use a 4-4-2 formation with a duet of Diego Costa and Marcos Llorente up front. Atletico’s wing is filled with players who are typically completely different. Yannick Carrasco on the left is more of a pure wing type while Koke on the right is actually a central midfielder.

This asymmetry makes Atletico’s attack heavy on one side. Fullback Atletico left, Renan Lodi often stepped up to help Carrasco to exploit the available space. Reporting from Whoscored, 55% of Atletico’s attacks come from the left, while the right side only contributes to 21% of attacks. Atletico have minimal variety of attacks.

Dayot Upamecano’s impressive performance also made it difficult for Costa and Llorente. Facing a striker who is 10 years his senior, Upamecano was not afraid and played very aggressively against the former Chelsea striker. As a result, Costa was unable to record a single shot.

Simeone only made changes eight minutes after Leipzig scored the first goal. Joao Felix comes on for central midfielder Hector Herrera. Felix can exploit the space between the lines to make progressions. The midfield and the front are better connected after the 20-year-old came on.

The result was evident in Atletico’s equalizer. Felix got the ball from Lodi before he made it through the Leipzig midfield. The combination of one two with Costa made Upamecano forced to drop Felix in the penalty box.

Unlike Atletico, Leipzig’s attacks were very flexible throughout the match. Leipzig will change to three defenders when attacking. Laimer as a central midfielder widens to become a wing-back. This makes Lukas Klostermann, who is at right-back, able to form three defenders with Upamecano and Marcel Halstenberg.

In the low-lying area, the three Leipzig defenders helped Kevin Kampl to form diamond. The 4v2 situation facing two Atletico strikers made it very easy for Leipzig to break through Atletico’s first line of defense. They also still have Angelino and Laimer in the wing area as a progression option through the wing sector. The result was Leipzig were able to control the match with 57% of the ball.

In making progressions to higher areas, Leipzig has several variations. Yussuf Poulsen, who plays as a striker, is able to become a target when Leipzig are forced to play hull ball. When Atletico kept their pass options well, the Leipzig center-back dared to dribble to make progress. Upamecano recorded three dribbles in this match.

Leipzig are also very dangerous when attacking from the wing, especially from the left when Koke occupies the central area. Kieran Trippier was forced to step up to pressure Angelino, leaving half space which Christopher Nkunku finally made the most of. An example is the moment below.

Atletico actually played with shape meeting. But they struggled because Leipzig were able to change the direction of the game quickly. Leipzig immediately attacked the available space when Atletico were still trying to shift shape endure them.

Leipzig’s first goal was born from this condition. At first, Atletico’s defense was still tight and neat. There is no space between lines that can be exploited. The central area is also closely guarded. Trippier keeps the ball open well, he’s just the right distance to keep horizontal distance from the center-back but can hit Angelino if he gets the ball.


As previously explained, the Leipzig defender dared to break through when the bait option was successfully closed by Atletico. This is done by Halstenberg for attack progression. Atletico remained close but Leipzig managed to move the direction of attack quickly.

After successfully moving the direction of the attack, shape Atletico are no longer neat. Coupled with the space owned by Laimer and five options in the penalty box. Including Halstenberg who did overlap. Laimer sent a cross to Dani Olmo which ended with the opener for Leipzig. A goal rich in tactical wins and good execution of playing principles.

Quoted from Opta, this goal process involves 18 passes. All players outfield Leipzig touches the ball before Olmo’s goal. Leipzig’s collective play and patience paid off. Space was created on the right side of Leipzig’s attack which was finally maximized.

The process for Leipzig’s winning goal also took advantage of the width of the field. Llorente didn’t do track back until Trippier rose to cover Amadou Haidara. Marcel Sabitzer feeds Angelino who makes use of the space behind Trippier.

Substitute Tyler Adams attacked the space between Atletico’s lines which was wide open due to the speed of Leipzig’s attack. The American scored his first goal for Leipzig despite being helped by a bounce from Jose Gimenez. Leipzig finally won the match and advanced to the semifinals.

*

This historic victory is a proving ground for Nagelsmann, who is only 33 years old. He is able to make Leipzig have many solutions for progression and creating opportunities, in contrast to Atletico which is easy to read. Variations in attack eventually became the key to Leipzig’s victory over Atletico.

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