Vancouver, BC — On the pitch, Alphonso Davies is a chaotic blur. Blink and you might miss him.

A cannon in the open field, the 16-year-old striker possesses natural end-to-end speed while simultaneously maintaining meticulous ball control.

Perhaps faster than his feet has been the Canadian soccer sensation’s sudden ascension into international glory. Davies, a member of the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS, has been the toast of the CONCACAF Gold Cup over the last week, accruing 3 goals in Canada’s first two matches – making him the youngest goal scorer in Gold Cup history.

On social media, the legend of Alphonso Davies exploded.

“At 16 i was living in my Nanny's house in Newcastle using dial up internet to chat on MSN messenger. Well done ‪@AlphonsoDavies,” tweeted one of his teammates.

“Alphonso Davies for Prime Minister” wrote another user on Twitter.

At 16 i was living in my Nanny's house in Newcastle using dial up internet to chat on MSN messenger. Well done @AlphonsoDavies 🇨🇦 — David Edgar (@davidedgar141) July 8, 2017

Not bad compliments for someone who just became a Canadian citizen last month and has logged only eight starts in 21 total MLS regular season games.

In Vancouver on July 10, where the Whitecaps resumed practice from their brand-new facility at the University of British Columbia, players and team personnel were anything but surprised about Davies’ coming out party over the previous weekend.

“I think everybody on the team was really happy for him to get those goals,” Whitecaps goalie David Ousted told Sporting News Canada. “I kind of feel like everybody on this team knows what he’s capable of, so it wasn’t much of a surprise to any of us.”

Team GM Bob Lenarduzzi watched Canada’s 4-2 victory over French Guiana from the Whitecaps’ downtown offices with Greg Anderson, VP of Soccer Operations. Lenarduzzi couldn’t contain himself as his prodigy scored his first international goal in New Jersey – a breakaway, capped off with a crafty shot through the French Guiana goalie’s legs.

“He made it look so easy,” Lenarduzzi told Sporting News Canada in a phone interview. “He was just inside their half and it should have been a foot race, but it wasn’t, because he’s just so explosive.”

Whitecaps fans have seen flashes from Davies. They witnessed him steamroll through the ranks, taking the express lane from the team’s residency program to their FC2 squad to finally, a prominent role on their main roster in the span of just two years.

But it has not only been his skill and upside that have won locals over.

“First and foremost, he’s a nice young man,” Lenarduzzi said. “And that’s not always something you can say about talented athletes. He obviously has a lot of ability, but equally important, he’s a humble kid.”

Humility and maturity are not the most common traits with teenagers – nor are they really even expected. But if you understood where he came from, you can appreciate his perspective.

He was born in a refugee camp in Ghana during a time of turmoil and civil war in his parents’ home country of Liberia. On top of the surrounding day-to-day danger, the camp consisted of dire conditions, where water and food were often scarce.

When Davies was 5, his family fled Africa in a search for a better life in Canada, first in Windsor, ON, before eventually settling in Edmonton, AB. With his parents working to make ends meet, Davies was often tasked with taking care of his infant siblings.

“That makes you grow up quick,” said Pa-Modou Ka, his former residency coach with the Whitecaps and mentor. “What he had to witness in the past, that’s something you take with you wherever you go.”

In a country and city where hockey rules, Davies found solace and an identity on the soccer field. He spent countless hours as a kid at the Clareview Recreation Centre in Edmonton, honing his skills and emulating his hero, Leo Messi.

“He's got a good head on his shoulder, which I think is one of the things that makes him rare,” said Ousted.

Davies may be wise beyond his years, but there is still plenty of evidence of his age. He owns a baby face, accented with innocent eyes and a kind, child-like smile. Like most teenagers, he wastes infinite hours playing video games — in his case, it’s FIFA 17.

On days off, he can be seen riding the Vancouver Skytrain with his friends — all sporting identical backpacks — while commuting from his host family’s residence in Burnaby to downtown adventures. His teammates constantly laugh at his incessant Snapchatting and Instagram Stories posts.

“He’s into the new trends like the fidget spinners, the circle glasses, the Russell Westbrook look,” teammate Tim Parker, 24, said with a chuckle.

How far Canada goes in the Gold Cup remains to be seen. After a 0-0 draw against Honduras in Friday’s Group A finale in Frisco, Texas, the Canadian team advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009. But whenever he rejoins the Whitecaps, his platform will be larger and the expectations will be higher.

Even before the Gold Cup, international scouts and agents have started to linger around. Premier League powerhouses Manchester United and Liverpool have reportedly shown interest. The media attention was already brewing; his current performance opened the flood gates.

“Pressure doesn’t seem to faze him, especially at his age. He’s not bothered by the fame, he just wants to play,” Modou Ka said.

(Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/Sporting_News_CA_CMS_image_storage/d8/50/alphonso-davies_1nre6htv2bynw11qfxbg23irzn.jpg?t=1113894517&w=500&quality=80

The organization hopes Davies keeps his focus on constant improvement.

“He has ability, and now he just has to ensure that he continues to do the things he has been doing and not assume that he’s made it, because he hasn’t yet,” Lenarduzzi said. “There have been players who have shown a lot of promise and have faded.”

One of the players Lenarduzzi may be referring to is another West African native, Freddy Adu, who in 2004 became the youngest player to ever sign a professional contract in team sports, at 14. Despite garnering mainstream attention and multiple endorsements early, Adu never lived up to the hype and spent his career bouncing around various leagues.

The Whitecaps have done their best to shield Davies from the cutthroat world of professional sports. They limit his media accessibility and monitor his progress in high school, a promise the organization made to his mother, Victoria, back in Edmonton.

More: U.S. is the clear Gold Cup favorite now, but Canada could keep surprising

Behind closed doors, there has been no shortages of coaches or teammates willing to pass on wisdom — whether that is how to create space between defenders, or how to conduct oneself like a professional on road trips.

“We can’t smother him, but you can stay on top of things,” said Lenarduzzi. “With the topic of agents, we can’t do a lot in that regard. We can’t tell him who he should or shouldn’t be going with. He has his advisor, who is a friend of the family, and his youth coach, who has worked closely with us.”

As Davies' legend continues to rise, there is an imminent threat of him bolting the Whitecaps for lucrative contracts overseas and packed European stadiums. Lenarduzzi maintains that he has not fielded any offers for Davies, nor does he expect to receive one anytime soon. But if Davies’ brief history has taught us anything, it’s that things can change in the blink of an eye.

But that’s not necessarily the end of the world for the Whitecaps, according to Lenarduzzi. Rather, when he does inevitably receive that call, Lenarduzzi will be reassured of one certainty:

“Then we’ve done our job.”