Football: Phoenix star Ulises Davila finds silver lining in Covid cloud

Phoenix's Ulises Davila Plascencia (Yellow) holds off Western Sydney's Tate Russell during the A-League - Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanders football match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz

Being cooped up inside is bad enough. When you're a professional athlete accustomed to roaming the wide open spaces of Australasian football fields, it must be doubly difficult.

That's the situation facing Wellington Phoenix star Ulises Davila as he quarantines alone for two weeks before rejoining his team-mates for a tilt at the A-League title.

Davila has spent the last three months in his homeland Mexico, so before he can reunite with the rest of the squad, who are also quarantining in Sydney, he'll spend a fortnight confined to his hotel room. At least he's got a view of the harbour.

"I can't go out for anything," Davila said.

"The (staff) knock on the door to bring me food, but I have to bring it inside. I'm not allowed to (leave) the room.

"The club is trying to get a bike into my room and some weights.

"It's most important that I don't lose power and strength in my legs. You can run all day, but it's not the same as (playing) football. I want to get out of here as soon as possible and join the team.

"I will try to be ready for the games and in the 14 or 15 days (after I get out) I will train hard to be ready for the season."

There weren't too many silver linings on the Covid cloud that enveloped the sporting world for 100 unprecedented and unforeseen days from mid-March, but Davila found one.

Wife Lily gave birth to the couple's first child – Ulises junior – on March 13 in Mexico and with the A-League season paused by coronavirus shortly afterwards, Davila was able to return home and spend the first three months of his son's life alongside him.

Two days after his son was born, Davila notched his 11th goal of the A-League season and celebrated with the now famous "rocking baby" celebration, first performed by Brazilian attacker Bebeto at the 1994 World Cup.

That strike set Wellington on course for a club record-equalling fourth straight victory and propelled them to third on the ladder, just four points off second place with three games in hand. But it was to be their last outing before the competition was called to a Covid-enforced halt.

Davila has been a standout for the Phoenix, starting all 20 games this season. His performances have put him firmly in the conversation for the Johnny Warren Medal, the award for the A-League's player of the year, won by Phoenix predecessor Roy Krishna last season. But Davila is quick to deflect any praise.

"I think the key was Uffie (Ufuk Talay) and the rest of the coaches," he said.

"They gave us a lot of confidence. Everyone knows we didn't start in the best way but Uffie was always behind us. When we started to get the connection and understand each other, that was the key. We never lost faith and always trusted in everyone."

By the time Davila and his team-mates complete their quarantine on Friday week, they'll have another fortnight to prepare for the resumption of their A-League campaign. The remaining regular season games, plus a finals series will be completed by the end of August and unless a trans-Tasman travel bubble opens before then – an increasingly unlikely prospect – the Phoenix will be based in Australia until the end of the season. Davila is contracted for another year in Wellington with the new campaign to start in December and run until July 2021.

After so much time away from his team-mates, the Mexican maestro is counting down the days until he joins the playing group again, with captain Steven Taylor likely to get an especially warm reception.

"He is the crazy guy in the team," Davila said.

"Everyone loves him. I'm excited to see (him) and laugh a lot with him."