Following Alphonso Davies‘ cruciate ligament rupture, FC Bayern had voiced clear criticism of the Canadian Football Association. Now Franz Schiemer, an insider of the Canadian national team, has spoken out – and clearly contradicts Munich’s interpretation
„It was just unbelievably bad luck. It quickly became clear that Canada can’t be blamed for anything,“ said Schiemer, who works as a consultant for the coaches of FC Schalke 04, Austria Vienna, the Canadian national team and various players, in an interview with SPOX
Davies suffered the serious knee injury in March in the third-place match of the Concacaf Nations League against the USA (2:1). The Canadians initially gave the all-clear and sent the left-back back to Munich, where the devastating diagnosis followed: torn cruciate ligaments – a month-long break
FC Bayern was furious, and CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen had clear words to say at the time: „We are demanding that Canada Soccer provide a full explanation of what happened and expressly reserve the right to take legal action. In our view, sending an obviously injured player with a damaged knee on a twelve-hour intercontinental flight without proper medical clarification is grossly negligent and a clear breach of medical due diligence.“
From Munich’s point of view, it was also problematic that Davies was already suffering from muscular complaints before the clash with the USA. His deployment was „in no way justifiable“, Dreesen continued at the time
Schiemer clearly contradicts Bayern
Schiemer now presents the situation differently: „Jesse had said at the press conference beforehand that Alphonso had muscular problems but could still play. Then he actually got injured. The media, Alphonso’s advisor and Bayern jumped on Jesse – even though the injury was in a completely different place and had nothing to do with the original story.“
He thus rejects the accusation that Canada acted negligently, saying that in his view the injury was not related to the previously communicated muscular problems
Davies is now fit again and is once again one of the key players for both FC Bayern and the Canadian national team. Schiemer raved about the 25-year-old’s „extreme charisma“ and recalled: „I can still remember the first training session with him. I couldn’t believe how quickly he runs past players with the ball. He takes the whole team with him.“
The spat between Munich and Canada at the time has probably not been forgotten – but Davies is now back in the spotlight in sporting terms.