Canada coach: Alphonso Davies’ confidence growing at Bayern Munich

Canada international and former Vancouver Whitecaps star Alphonso Davies is settling in nicely with Bayern Munich. According to Canada national team coach John Herdman, the 18-year-old’s confidence is growing, while his game is evolving.

Herdman detailed to CBC.com how Davies has had to adapt his play while practicing among the world’s best players.

He was told very quickly that “If you don’t know what you’re doing with the ball before you receive it at this level, you’re dead.” He said it took him two weeks to adapt to that.

The experience and skill development that Davies is gaining with Bayern is invaluable according to Herdman. The Canadian coach said Davies is excited at the prospects of showing the national team how his game is improving.

He’s standing on a higher ground at this point in his confidence. But the humility’s still there and I love that about him. He can’t wait to come back and almost show what he’s learned and where his game is now.

Davies has played 18 minutes across three games for Bayern so far, but has absolutely shown flashes of the great potential the club saw in him. How Bayern coach Niko Kovac continues to integrate Davies into the lineup will be interesting to watch over the coming weeks as the Bavarians are juggling a Bundesliga title race, the DFB-Pokal, and the Champions League set against Liverpool.