The Alphonso Davies enigma: Canada’s biggest star, his secretive trainer and the World Cup return mystery that could define the biggest game in CanMNT history

As Canada’s players make their way onto the pitch for training sessions, so too does the hulking German trainer, whom few seem to know much about. He wears a Canada Soccer shirt, one that barely fits over an upper body that has clearly spent ample time on a bench press, and black cleats, standing out among a group of players who almost all wear pink boots.

On his website, Blankenburg describes himself as an “expert who works at the highest level,” but provides few details. In the past, he has worked with Bayern Munich stars David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, Malik Tillman and Franck Ribery, and now Davies, though he is not an official member of Bayern’s staff.

For Davies, once an easygoing and energetic leader within the Canadian group, Blankenburg has been a watchful presence.

The trainer appears to operate independently, and Canada have offered few public details about his exact setup within camp. He became part of the plan after Davies, Canada Soccer, and Bayern Munich sat down to determine the best path forward, and he is expected to continue working with Davies for the foreseeable future.

“When Alphonso had mentioned that he wanted to bring a personal trainer to help in his rehabilitation, I was fully supportive of it, and I think it's really important, especially when you're the level of athlete that Alphonso is, to have somebody who knows specifically what the demands of your body are, and I think he's been a huge help,” Canada coach Jesse Marsch said.

“With the highest-level athletes, you have to treat them like they're Ferraris. You have to really maintain them and make sure that you're hitting all the benchmarks before you let them really go and be free.”

Over the past several weeks, as Marsch and Davies have spoken to the media, Blankenburg has often stood within earshot before heading off to work individually with Davies. It has been another reminder that he has become a visible part of Davies’ return process.

Davies’ true fitness remains uncertain, partly because of FIFA’s limited media access to training. That has left supporters searching for clues, trying to determine what role Canada’s biggest star can realistically play in this World Cup run.

In the final two group-stage games, the plan surrounding Canada’s first-ever men’s World Cup goalscorer became even more unclear - and more divisive.

Marsch said Davies would be ready to play against Qatar and effectively guaranteed that he would see the pitch against Switzerland. Davies did not play in either match, and Marsch later admitted that the public messaging had been part of a “decoy” plan.

Davies even asked to play against Switzerland, but Marsch shut down that idea ahead of the match because Davies had not hit the physical benchmarks required to return. Instead, Canada stuck with the plan.

“It’s been easy because we’ve had a plan,” Marsch said Thursday, effectively acknowledging that his public messaging had not fully reflected Canada’s internal plan. “The only deviation from the plan is how I’ve communicated it with you guys.”

Over two weeks in Vancouver, Davies spoke to reporters for all of 45 seconds in a brief post-match interview after the Qatar game. After the Switzerland match, he held his phone backward while seemingly accepting a fake call as he hurried past reporters.

On Saturday in Los Angeles, though, he offered his clearest insight yet into the process, his recovery and his place within the team as he approaches what could be his tournament debut.

“This is the biggest competition in the world, and especially when you're a host nation playing in your home, there’s going to be criticism everywhere, but for me personally, I didn't really focus too much on it,” Davies said. “Playing knockout football... I think we all understand how important this is. We know we can't make mistakes, and even if we do, we have to fix them as quickly as possible.”

The Davies story remains difficult to read from the outside. Canada know where he stands physically, but the public picture of his fitness remains incomplete. In front of the cameras, though, he has embraced his role as a leader, often sharing light-hearted moments with the younger players on the team.

Meanwhile, Marsch’s handling of Davies’ return has become one of the defining storylines of Canada’s World Cup. Davies, for now, waits on the sideline until his number flashes on the substitute board.

And whenever it does, Blankenburg will not be far away.

Canada’s first World Cup knockout game could not have landed in a more fitting setting.

The team would surely have preferred to win Group B and keep playing home games through the Round of 32 and potentially the Round of 16. Still, Los Angeles, a city with plenty of Canadians, is not a bad middle ground.

It is also a place of real significance for Canadian soccer. In 2000, Canada won their only major men’s trophy, lifting the CONCACAF Gold Cup at the nearby Rose Bowl after defeating Colombia in the final. In March 2025, Los Angeles was also the last place Davies played for the national team, when he tore his ACL in a match that later prompted Bayern to threaten legal action against Canada Soccer.

Bayern never followed through, but Davies has not played for Canada since.

“Coming back to this stadium, now I get to finish something I started a year ago in March,” Davies said. “[That was] the first time I was in the stadium. It’s a beautiful stadium, beautiful atmosphere, and it was cut short, but at the end of the day, that's football.”

The move stateside also takes Canada out of the home spotlight, which might not be the worst thing for a team still adjusting to the pressure of playing in front of roaring home crowds. Canada played just 13 home games between the 2022 World Cup and this summer, and they have never truly contended with this kind of attention before.

There will be Canadians in Los Angeles - more than 4,000 have coordinated through Canada Soccer, with more expected — but it will not be a full sea of red. Maybe that is helpful for a group trying to win the biggest game in Canadian men’s soccer history.

And if they do? Davies wants to be part of it.

He is Canada’s biggest unknown and their greatest talent at this World Cup. Whether he starts, comes off the bench or simply waits for his moment, Blankenburg will likely be nearby, one more visible reminder of just how carefully Canada are managing Davies’ return.