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Teenage soccer phenom

Veteran defender Pa-Modou Kah was on the practice field with the Vancouver Whitecaps one morning last season when a lanky 15-year-old joined training.

Alphonso Davies had been promoted to the club's first team and found himself matched up against Kendall Waston, a hulking six-foot-five centre back.

With Waston bearing down on Davies, the teenager took one touch of the ball and cooly scooted away.

"I'm like: 'Wow,'" recalled the now-retired Kah. "When Kendall is coming, a lot of people get afraid of him, but he was just composed and calm. His talent was evident. Everybody could see it."

Kah's was just one of the many jaw-dropping reactions during Davies' meteoric rise over the last 12 months.

Now 16, the Liberian-born, Edmonton-raised midfielder has been a bright spot for Vancouver, which is off to a sluggish 0-2-1 start to the Major League Soccer season.

Davies kicked off 2017 by scoring in the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals against the New York Red Bulls, a goal that helped propel the Whitecaps into the last four of the competition.

He also bagged an injury time winner in the group stage, his smooth stride and deft handling often leaving opponents in his wake.

The Whitecaps have tried to keep Davies away from the spotlight as much as possible. They limit his media availability and downplay his performances, even when he's the best player on the field.

"You do have to remember he's just 16," said Robinson. "He's still got homework to do ... he's still got to be a boy."

With his family in Edmonton, Davies lives with billets and goes to high school when he isn't with the team. Otherwise, he does his Grade 11 courses on the computer.



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