Ghazal sees greatness in Egyptian star Salah
Aly Ghazal’s return gave Vancouver Whitecaps fans a reason to tune into their game. It seems to be a thing with Egyptian soccer players these days.
Ghazal, ever the fan himself, is hoping for an early end to training today so he can tune in to watch compatriot Mo Salah and Liverpool take on Roma in the secondleg Champions League semifinal (11:30 a.m., TSN1).
Salah’s season has set the world on fire with his first-leg showing against Roma — two goals and two assists in a 5-2 victory — further cementing his breakout year as one of the best Premier League debuts of all-time.
With two games to go and sitting on 32 league goals, he’s already set the record for most goals in an EPL debut season and tied the record for a 38-game season. Another four goals would make him the highest scorer in the last 50 years of Premier League play.
He has been named player of the year by the Player’s Football Association and the Football Writers’ Association, both of which are some the highest accolades a player can receive. He’s neck-andneck with Lionel Messi for the Golden Boot, awarded to Europe’s top scorer, with the Barcelona star holding a one-goal lead.
But it was Salah’s indomitable performance against Roma last week, becoming the first African and first Liverpool player to score 10 Champions League goals in a season, that has catapulted him into the realm of global mainstream recognition.
“He shows every game that he’s a top player,” said the 26-year-old Ghazal. “But, especially in that game, he showed that he’s top three in the world at the moment.
“At the moment, he’s the best. I don’t care. The people talk about Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo because they’re consistent, every season they have a good year, but if you come to this year at this moment, he’s the best.”
As Sky Sports’ Adam Bates put it: “Salah is not even close to having a Messi career, but he is having a Messi season. And it is not just about the numbers, the sight of Salah in full flow is undeniably reminiscent of the great man.”
To go from a player who has never scored more than 20 goals in a season to being a World Cup hero — he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Ghana to send Egypt through to the tournament in Russia this season — and a global icon on par with the two greatest players of our generation is a singular achievement.
Ghazal would love to contribute to even a small part of that story as the Caps’ defensive midfielder is still holding out hope of being named to Egypt’s preliminary 35man World Cup roster, which is due May 14.
He hasn’t been capped since 2014, but his body of work since joining the Whitecaps certainly warrants a look. Signing in August 2017, he started seven of nine games after working his way back into shape before a pre-season injury kept him out of action for all but 16 minutes of the first seven games of the season.
He’s started the past two games; with Friday’s 2-0 home win over Real Salt Lake, the Whitecaps are 4-0-3 when he starts at B.C. Place. He had four interceptions against Real and is averaging 3.1 interceptions per game, the best number of any MLS player with 10 or more games.
“There’s a lot (of talent in Egypt). Trezeguet is doing great for the national team. (Mohamed El) Neny, who plays for Arsenal. (Ahmed Hegazi), he’s doing great … I think they’re the best that you can watch,” said Ghazal.