Mo Salah……..Mo Salah…….Salhahhhaallahhaa…………………… as the Kop sings. Mohammad Salah is our Egyptian king. If you ask anyone who has been Liverpool’s best player in the past years of dominance, they would most probably say Salah, at least in attack. He is the goto player in FPL, an ambassador for Africa AND Middle-East, and a great bloke all around.
The first time I saw him play was for Basel vs. some decent European team. He flew all around the pitch. Terrorizing the opposition for the entirety of the match, he definitely was not just another decent player from a minnow in Europe. He looked legit.
When the silly season came, he was linked to Liverpool. Like any other fan, I developed interest in the bloke being linked with my team. These attachments backfire most of the time, as it happened then, when he signed for Chelsea. I felt disappointed, as I had with Mata, Mikhitaryan, Willian and the like. I was gutted especially as Chelsea didn’t need him. They already had Hazard, Shurrle, an unknown deBruyne, and a clutch of attacking midfielders, off of which they could just play half at a point in time. As expected, they shipped him out on loan-to Fiorentina. Seemed like an apt destination for him. A mediocre side for a mediocre player.
He performed brilliantly in Florence. It can be said this was the start of the scintillating run which continues to the day. By this time he had developed a signature style, a modus operandi. The drill started with him wafting in from the left, running like a road runner, outpacing or dribbling past the opposition players, and shooting at the goal (another staple). He crossed at times, but only sparingly.
Next he went to Roma, where he shone too. He was there for 2 seasons, the first one of which was on loan. He impressed the club, who purchased him from Chelsea. The next season was an outright success. He scored many goals, and seemed destined for a blockbuster move to a European giant.
Enter Liverpool. Enter Klopp.
He was a perfect Klopp forward. Fast, hardworking, possessing good attitude and the ability to play across the frontline, he fit the mold superbly. We bought him for a hefty 34 Million Pounds. Even so, Roma were not willing to let him go, but reluctantly took the money. We would go on to poach Allisson from them in a couple years.
He got going from the first game, when he scored. We weren’t to know that he would score in the first match of the following 4 seasons.
His maiden season was the most prolific. He bagged about 40 goals in all competitions. He would go on to net 20+ in each of the next 3 seasons. He proved to be our most consistent attacker, one of our best ever.
Most great players have a signature goal. Robben had the most iconic one. Henry’s was just as iconic, a mirror image of the Dutchman’s. Salah has one similar to Robben, and it could turn out to be even more recognizable, as he scores more of them. Dribbling in from the left, bypassing defenders as an afterthought, he scores irrespective of the difficulty of the shot.
People say Salah is the best striker for Liverpool in the past decade. Even if he breaks Fowlers or Owens record, he will not be the best for me. He Is efficient, but he is too functional for my taste. I prefer the magic. I prefer the number 10. Never appreciated van nistelrooy or inzaghi, if you get my drift. He has scored screamers, he has scored impossible goals, but still I miss the magic, the pizzaz, the unexpected. He surely gets a raw deal from me.
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