Matthew Thomas "Matt" Davies(born 7 February 1995) is a professionalfootballerwho plays primarily as aright-backforMalaysia Super LeagueclubJohor Darul Ta'zimand theMalaysia national team.
 Davies playing forMalaysiain 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Thomas Davies[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 7 February 1995 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Perth,Australia | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Right-back | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Johor Darul Ta'zim | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | A.I.S. | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2015 | Perth Glory | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | Perth Glory | 16 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Perth Glory NPL | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Sri Pahang | 92 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020– | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 74 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Australia U19 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Malaysia U23 | 15 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015– | Malaysia | 55 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 January 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||
He started his professional career in his native Australia withPerth Gloryat 18 years old. After playing for two seasons at Perth Glory, Davies went on toSri Pahangin 2015 in theMalaysia Super League.After his first season, Davies was given captaincy for Sri Pahang at age 21 years old, making him the youngest captain ever for Sri Pahang and the first half-Malaysian to become captain in the Malaysia Super League.
Born in Australia, Davies qualified for Malaysia through his mother, who hails fromSabah.He made his international debut with caretaker coachOng Kim SweeagainstSaudi Arabiaduring theWorld Cup qualifiersin September 2015 at 20 years old. Davies also featured for Malaysia at the2015 SEA GamesinSingaporein June 2015.
Early life
editBorn inPerth,Davies grew up playing football from a young age, stating that his brothers' participation in the sport encouraged him to play.[3]Davies was raised in Australia, although he was able to obtain Malaysian citizenship through his mother.
Davies moved to Malaysia when he was 20 years old. "I left Australia because I'm impatient in nature... I wanted playing time and I knew I wasn’t going to get much by staying in Australia", he said. "The opportunity to play international football for the country my mother was born in was too good to refuse. There are not many A-League regulars in the Socceroos".[3]
Club career
editYouth
editDavies started his career with theA.I.Sin 2010. He captained the squad and was awarded player of the year and voted players player during his 2011/2012 NYL season with the AIS. Previously to this he was a product of the National Training Centre (NTC) programs in Western Australia.[4]
Perth Glory
editDavies signed forPerth Gloryand played in theNational Youth LeagueforPerth Glory youth.In 2013–2014 season, Davies was promoted to the senior squad after signing a two-year contract with the club. He went on to make his senior debut againstMelbourne Cityon 27 October 2013. He spent two years with Perth Glory accumulating 16 senior appearances.[5]
Sri Pahang
editIn April 2015, Davies signed withMalaysia Super Leagueclub,Sri Pahangduring the April transfer window. He was signed as a local player based on his Malaysian heritage.[4]He made his league debut in a 2-0 away win against Kelantan on 11 April 2015. In February 2016, Davies became captain of theMalaysia Super Leagueteam, Sri Pahang shortly after the season had started. He is the youngest player ever to be given captaincy at just 21 years old and the first half-Malaysian to be given the honour in theMalaysia Super League,as he is half Australian and Malaysian.
Matthew Davies captainedSri Pahangto victory in 2018, becoming the Malaysian FA cup winners. Davies became the youngest captain in the history of the competition to lift the FA cup at just 23 years of age. The year before Davies narrowly missed the opportunity to obtain the credential at 22 years old after losing toKedah Darul Aman.[6]
On 15 February 2020, two weeks before the start of2020 Malaysia Super Leagueseason, Davies officially left Sri Pahang after five seasons with the club.[7]
Johor Darul Ta’zim
editDavies joinedJohor Darul Ta'zimprior to the2020 Malaysia Super Leagueseason. It was not a surprise Johor snatched Davies after his success in both rival teamSri Pahangand theMalaysia national football team.Johor Darul Ta'zimownerTunku Ismail Idrisstated, “We have been keeping a close watch on him for the last three to four years but we decided to let him get experience with Sri Pahang before joining Johor Darul Ta'zim. “It's a great investment because he is just 25 years old and it’s a long term investment for JDT to improve the team. “We are grateful that there is a player who has a professional attitude and quality in our team.” [8]
On 2 November 2023, Davies made his 100th appearance for the club in the second leg of the2023 Malaysia CupagainstPerak.
International career
editAustralia U19
editDavies was selected for the U19 Young Socceroos squad to represent Australia at the COTIF Tournament in L'Alcúdia, Spain from 12 to 21 August in 2013.
Malaysia
editUnder-23
editAn Australian by birth, he chose to represent Malaysia at the national level. He was eligible by virtue of his mother who was born in the Malaysian state ofSabah.[9]He made his international debut for Malaysia's under-23 team at the2015 Southeast Asian Gamesplaying 4 out of 5 Group games. Malaysia finished third in their group and were unsuccessful in qualifying for the semifinal.[10]
Senior
editDavies is a regular for the national team, consistently being called up since his citizenship. He has only missed call ups due to injury. He debuted for the Malaysian national team on 8 September 2015 during the2018 FIFA World Cup qualifyinggame againstSaudi Arabiain a 1–2 lost. He's since made numerous appearances for the Malaysian national team including representingMalaysiaat the2016 AFF Championship.[11]Davies was the team captain for the nation's2023 AFC Asian Cupcampaign in Qatar.
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 11 January 2025[12]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental[a] | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Perth Glory | 2013–14 | A-League | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 16 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | A-League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 16 | 0 | |||
| Sri Pahang | 2015 | Malaysia Super League | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| 2016 | Malaysia Super League | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2017 | Malaysia Super League | 18 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | – | 32 | 2 | ||
| 2018 | Malaysia Super League | 18 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 1 | – | 32 | 1 | ||
| 2019 | Malaysia Super League | 21 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 0 | – | 36 | 2 | ||
| Total | 92 | 3 | 24 | 1 | 39 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 157 | 7 | ||
| Johor Darul Ta'zim | 2020 | Malaysia Super League | 6 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | Malaysia Super League | 15 | 1 | – | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2022 | Malaysia Super League | 17 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Malaysia Super League | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
| 2024–25 | Malaysia Super League | 13 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Total | 74 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 112 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 182 | 5 | 35 | 1 | 49 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 286 | 9 | ||
- ^IncludesAFC Champions LeagueandAFC Cup
- ^One appearance in2022 Piala Sumbangsih;one appearance in2022 Malaysia FA Cup
International
edit- As of match played 16 January 2024[13]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | 2015 | 5 | 0 |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 49 | 0 | |
Honours
editSri Pahang
- Malaysia FA Cup:2018,runner-up2017
Johor Darul Ta'zim
- Malaysia Super League:2020,2021,2022,2023
- Malaysia Cup:2022,2023,runner-up:2021
- Piala Sumbangsih:2020,2021,2022,2023
- Malaysia FA Cup:2022,2023,2024
Malaysia U-23
- Southeast Asian Gamessilver medal:2017[14]
Malaysia
- Pestabola Merdeka:2024
- King's Cuprunner-up:2022
Individual
References
edit- ^"Matthew Davies Profile".2017 Southeast Asian Games.Archived fromthe originalon 25 December 2017.Retrieved19 December2017.
- ^"Matthew Davies (Perth Glory)".Ultimate A-League.Retrieved17 December2017.
- ^abVijhay Vick (8 November 2015)."Davies: I left Australia for Malaysia because of my impatient nature".FourFourTwo.Archived fromthe originalon 16 February 2016.Retrieved16 March2016.
- ^abSeng-Foo Lee (7 April 2015)."Pahang snap up Matthew Davies".FourFourTwo. Archived fromthe originalon 19 September 2015.Retrieved16 March2016.
- ^"Glory LEGEND welcomes YOUNG stars".Perth Glory FC.7 March 2013.Retrieved16 March2016.
- ^Ooi Kin Fai."Davies dedicates win to Pahang family".goal.Perform Group.Retrieved23 September2018.
- ^"Davies leaves the Elephants".15 February 2020.Retrieved15 February2020.
- ^"Matthew Davis joins Malaysian champions JDT".19 February 2020.Retrieved25 November2020.
- ^Zulhilmi Zainal (8 April 2015)."Transfer News: Pahang sign Perth Glory youngster".Goal.Retrieved16 March2016.
- ^"Ong Kim Swee names 20-man Malaysia squad for SEA Games".ESPN FC.26 May 2015.Retrieved16 March2016.
- ^Chua Siang Yee (9 September 2015)."Malaysia match abandoned".The Straits Times.Retrieved16 March2016.
- ^"Matthew Davies Statistics".Soccer Punter.Retrieved29 September2018.
- ^"Matthew Davies".National Football Teams.Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann.Retrieved12 October2018.
- ^"SEA Games: Malaysia loses to Thailand 1-0 in football final".The Star.29 August 2017.Retrieved30 August2017.
- ^K. Rajan (20 December 2015)."Rightback Davies the only bright spark in Pahang's dim season".The Star.Retrieved16 March2016.
External links
edit- Matthew Daviesat Soccerway
- Matthew Daviesat National-Football-Teams
- Matthew Daviesat WorldFootball.net
- Matthew Davies profileat Ultimateleague