How great is Liverpool and Egypt's Mohamed Salah?
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
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Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah has been named African Player of the Year once again. UEFA.com pays tribute.
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"I don't go to bed every night and wonder: 'Wow, how good is Salah?'," said Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp earlier last season. We do. UEFA.com pays tribute to the man who has been named African Player of the Year for a second time.
PICK SALAH IN YOUR TEAM OF THE YEAR
What they say
"Mohamed was willing to sacrifice everything. I told him to keep a timetable: no staying up late watching TV, no getting out of bed late. He didn't. He lived as he should. He would pray and then go to sleep early. I am not the man who made him but I know he listened to me. He listened to everyone."
Hamdi Nooh, former al-Mokawloon coach
"He could compete in a race with Usain Bolt."
Murat Yakin, former Basel coach
"He is still my friend and we are still in contact. He's a top, top, top player. He did not get his chance at Chelsea."
Eden Hazard, Chelsea midfielder
"We knew about his superb qualities, but we did not expect him to have such an impact on Italian football. Perhaps only Messi is faster than him with the ball at his feet."
Vincenzo Montella, former Fiorentina coach
"I'm very happy for Mo – he is the king of Egypt! He has done amazingly so far. He has scored a lot of goals, he has played brilliantly. Off the pitch, he is a very good guy. He is an amazing signing for us."
Emre Can, former Liverpool midfielder
"If he had played better at Chelsea, we'd probably not have him – so I am happy at the situation. His desire to score goals is at the highest level. He is angry at me when I take him off after 65 minutes or so. That's the mentality you need."
Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool manager
Current tally
International: 62 appearances, 39 goals
UEFA club competition: 72 appearances, 25 goals
European domestic competition*: 198 appearances, 92 goals
*domestic leagues, cups and super cups
Claims to fame
al-Mokawloon
• Signed first professional contract with al-Mokawloon (aka Arab Contractors) at 14, but his journey to Cairo involved a mammoth daily round trip from his home village. "I'd have to transfer buses three, four, sometimes even five times just to arrive at training and then back home again," he remembered.
• Played regularly for the club from 2010 to February 2012, when a stadium disaster prompted the cancellation of the remainder of the season. He was recruited by Basel after they arranged a March 2012 friendly against Egypt's U23s. Salah came on at the break, scored twice and joined the Swiss club a month later.
Basel
• Basel won the league in his only full season in Switzerland (and retained it after his January 2014 exit). Salah had also helped the Swiss team reach the UEFA Europa League semis of 2012/13, where they lost to his next club Chelsea. He scored at Stamford Bridge in that tie, and did so again in home and away games against the Blues in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage.
• Brilliant as he was, Salah's tendency to miss chances was much commented on at Basel. "If Mohamed could score as well, he would not be here any more – or he would not have come in the first place," joked coach Murat Yakin. President Bernhard Heusler added: "If he was more clinical, his value would have another zero!"
Chelsea
• Salah's opportunities proved limited at Stamford Bridge: he netted just twice in 13 matches for the Londoners, one goal fewer than in his three games against Chelsea for Basel.
• José Mourinho has been asked since to justify his decision to let Salah leave Stamford Bridge – initially on loan to Fiorentina. "I was aware of his great capabilities when he was with me at Chelsea," he said. "He improved in Italy, became more mature and improved physically. Players need time to adapt to new teams. Some remain, others prefer to move to another club. It is normal in football."
Fiorentina
• Chose 74 as his squad number at Fiorentina in honour of the 74 fans killed in the Port Said stadium disaster which had hastened his departure from Egypt.
• Was a losing UEFA Europa League semi-finalist again with the Viola – they succumbed to eventual winners Sevilla – yet Salah shone in Florence, scoring six Serie A goals during a four-month stint.
• Claimed two great strikes as Fiorentina ended Juventus's two-year unbeaten home run with a 2-1 Coppa Italia semi-final success on 5 March 2015. It was calculated that he ran 70 metres in seven seconds to notch the first.
Roma
• Rejected a permanent move to Fiorentina, instead linking up with Roma in summer 2015, initially on a season's loan. He scored five times in his first nine Serie A matches; of all the Giallorossi players since World War II, only Gabriel Batistuta (nine in nine in 2000/01) had a better start to a Roma career.
• Hit a personal-best 14 Serie A goals in 2015/16 and was named Roma's player of the season. He made his transfer from Chelsea permanent that summer, and went one goal better with 15 in 2016/17 – a total he more than doubled in his first season at Anfield.
Liverpool
• Became Liverpool's first Egyptian player when he arrived for a then-record fee, reported to be €42m (potentially rising to €50m) in August 2017.
• On 25 November, Salah bagged his tenth Liverpool goal in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, equalling Daniel Sturridge's record of scoring his tenth for the club inside his first 13 games. Honouring a pre-match promise, he swapped shirts with former team-mate Eden Hazard afterwards.
• Reached 20 goals in a 4-0 win at Bournemouth on 17 December 2017, becoming the first Reds player since Ian Rush in 1986/87 to have registered 20 in a season by Christmas. "I don't want to play Liverpool again any time soon," said Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe.
• Struck four times in a 5-0 demolition of Watford on 17 March 2018, and ended that campaign with 32 Premier League goals – a record for a 38-game season.
• His overall tally of 44 goals in 52 matches was second only to Ian Rush's 1983/84 tally of 47 in Liverpool's history, and included 11 in the UEFA Champions League as Liverpool reached the final. Suffered a shoulder injury early on in a defeat by Real Madrid in Kyiv.
• Has continued his prolific form this season, finding the net on 13 occasions in his opening 21 Premier League games. Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Harry Kane have more (14) in the English top flight.
Egypt
• Made his senior international debut on 3 September 2011 in a 2-1 defeat by Sierra Leone and claimed his first Egypt goal as Niger were beaten 3-0 the following month.
• Helped Egypt to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final – his team losing 2-1 to Cameroon – and masterminded their qualification for last year's FIFA World Cup in Russia. "Salah had a hand in all seven goals that took us to Russia – two assists, plus five of his own," explained Egypt's assistant coach Mahmoud Fayez.
• Helped Egypt to reach 2018 World Cup finals – their first since 1990 – though an injury picked up in the UEFA Champions League final limited his effectiveness. Scored in each of his two appearances, matching Egypt's finals record set by Abdulrahman Fawzi in 1934.
What you might not know
• Has made more UEFA club competition appearances and scored more European goals than any other Egyptian player.
• Remains a popular figure in his home village of Nagrig, with one childhood friend saying: "He still comes back to Nagrig every Ramadan to present prizes to local kids. He comes here, he plays table tennis and pool. When he comes back, he signs every autograph, stands for every picture. He hasn't changed."
• Married wife Magi in Nagrig on 17 December 2013; their daughter Makka was born in England.
• Is known for his generous nature. According to local legend, when a man was arrested for burgling his family home in Egypt, Salah persuaded his father not to press charges, instead giving the burglar money so he could get himself settled and find a job.
• Does not enjoy interviews. In a 12-question chat with the Liverpool Echo newspaper he came up with just 109 words in response. Key exchanges:
What was the last lie you told?
"I never lie."
What is the first thing you do every morning?
"The first thing I do each morning is smile and keep quiet for a couple of minutes."
What is your perfect day off?
"Stay at home, relax, don't talk to anyone. Don't do interviews."
What he says
"I remember watching the Champions League all the time and then trying to be like Brazilian Ronaldo, Zidane and Totti when playing out in the street with my friends. I loved those kinds of players – players who played with magic."
"Since the beginning of my career, I have always wanted to win everything. I hope I can become the best player in the history of Egypt. I work really hard every day to achieve my objective."
"[Speaking in 2013 about chances he missed at Basel] Sometimes the ball just doesn't want to go in, no matter how often you try. In five years' time maybe I will take those chances and score."
"I have dreamt of winning [the African Player of the Year award] since I was a child and now I have done so twice in a row."
What he might achieve yet
• Become Egypt's all-time top marksman; he has scored 39 so far, though he has work to do to equal Hossam Hassan's record of 70.
• Win an Africa Cup of Nations on home soil this summer.
• Win a UEFA club competition; a losing UEFA Europa League semi-finalist with Basel and Fiorentina, he went one step closer in the UEFA Champions League in 2017/18.