Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah spoke about adapting to England once again, winning the Golden Boot, and fan encounters.
With the Premier League season just a few days away from returning, Mohamed Salah spoke about returning to England last summer after spending two-and-half seasons in Italy. But the Egyptian had a hard time adjusting to driving on the opposite side of the road again.
“In the first few weeks it was hard, I had couple of accidents where I did drive on the sidewalk. But then everything worked out just fine,” Salah commented on the adjustment.
Though it took some time to get re-aclamted to England living, it took no time to adjust to Liverpool. Over the season the ‘Egyptian King’ won many awards and broke multiple records including becoming the first player to score 32 goals in a 38 game season. His efforts led him to win the Golden Boot, his favorite of his awards, after out-scoring the likes of Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero.
“Premier League Golden Boot, for sure,” he said when asked what his favourite prize was. “I had to work hard for that, and concentrate on every match to score. Also I had to fight for it with great players such as Harry Kane and Kun Aguero.”
Salah’s rise to prominence has not only been the center of English media but has also been taken to the extreme in Egypt. Right after Salah returned from the World Cup a fan released the forward’s address on Facebook leading to mass crowds forming outside his door. However, that isn’t the craziest of encounters according to Salah.
“Once I was at home in Egypt, a fan knocked my door and asked to take a picture with me. I agreed, two hours later he came back with about eight people and asked me to take pictures with them and I agreed,” the 25-year-old began.
“At night the door knocked again, I opened and found him with a bus behind him full of people! I asked him ‘What are you trying to do?’. He told me that he told them to come take pictures with Salah, and that he is going to bring more people the next day!” Salah recalled of the moment.
Though he enjoyed a wonderful first season, Liverpool were unable to win any titles with the team going so close to winning the UEFA Champions League before Salah’s shoulder injury in the final against Real Madrid. The club has bolstered their squad ahead of the new season including bringing in Salah’s former Roma teammate Alisson Becker who is expected to be Liverpool’s starting keeper.
“No one, really. I am very happy with the squad we have and feel very comfortable,” Salah said of who else he would like to see at Merseyside.
Liverpool will begin their season against West Ham on Sunday August 12 with the Egyptian looking to break more records in his second season.
Salah started his senior career with hometown club El Mokawloon in the Egyptian Premier League in 2010, departing shortly thereafter to join Basel for an undisclosed fee. In Switzerland, he starred as he won the league title in his debut season, winning the SAFP Golden Player Award in the process. Salah’s performances then attracted Premier League side Chelsea, and he joined the club for a £11 million fee in 2014. However, he was used sparingly in his debut season, and was allowed to leave on loan to Serie Aclubs Fiorentina and Roma, with the latter eventually signing him permanently for €15 million.
Following consistent match-winning performances in Rome to lead them to second-placed finish and a record points-tally in 2017, Salah relocated back to the Premier League to sign for Liverpool for a then club-record fee of £36.9 million. During his second spell in England, Salah adapted his game from a natural winger to a complete forward, and quickly became the focal point of the team. He would go on to break the club’s scoring record for a debut season, receiving the Premier League Golden Boot after registering a record 32 goals in 36 league games. He also became the first player to win three Premier League Player of the Month awards in the same season. His record breaking performances saw him receive a number of other accolades at the end of the 2017–18 season, including the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, the Football Writers’ Player of the Year, and the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year awards. He was also named in the 2017–18 PFA Team of the Year.
At international level, Salah represented Egypt at youth level, winning a bronze medal in the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, and participated in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was awarded the CAF Most Promising African Talent of the Year in 2012. Making his debut with the senior national team in 2011, he helped Egypt reach the final of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, and he became the top scorer during CAF qualification to help the team qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. For his performances, Salah was named CAF African Footballer of the Year and the BBC African Footballer of the Year.He was also selected in the CAF Team of the Year and Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament.