‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket’
SREDOJEVIC: EGYPT MUST REALISE THEY CANNOT RELY ON MOHAMED SALAH TO GO FAR AT WORLD CUP
Days of Maradona, Romario and Bebeto ‘are over’.
Milutin Sredojevic says Egypt cannot rely on Mohamed Salah alone if they are to go far at the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia next month.
Salah has had an unbelievable season with Liverpool in England, scoring 43 goals in all competitions, and helping the Reds to the brink of the Uefa Champions League final.
Yesterday he was named the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer-of-the-Year in England, to go with his PFA Player-of-theYear Award.
The skilful attacker is also the reigning Caf African Playerof-the Year and was instrumental in Egypt’s qualification for their first World Cup since 1990, scoring five times, including the penalty in stoppage time against Congo-Brazzaville in October that sealed the Pharaohs’ ticket to Russia.
“The love and passion Egyptians have towards their national team is hard to believe,” said Sredojevic, the current Orlando Pirates head coach, who formerly led the Ugandan national team the Blue Cranes.
“If you have been to the Champions League final (in 2016) between Zamalek and Sundowns (in Alexandria), multiply this by 10, and this is how it felt for them at the moment he (Salah) scored in the 95th minute against Congo-Brazzaville.
“Having said that, Uganda put him in their pocket when he played in Uganda (Egypt also played the Cranes en route to Russia 2018). I would say one player alone … cannot carry the team. I would say the times of what Maradona did in 1986 or 1990 (at the World Cup finals), or what Bebeto and Romario did in carrying Brazil (in 1994) have slowly gone. I have the sense that the power of making a result goes more to the team.”
Sredojevic also points out that good form at your club does not necessarily translate into a stellar performance for your country at a World Cup finals.
“With Lionel Messi before the 2010 World Cup, remember how they (Argentina) lost 4-0 against Germany (in the quarterfinals) … he was the best player in Europe in the Uefa Champions League,” said Sredojevic.
“It will be very hard for Salah to keep his form … despite the fact that they (Egypt) have an easier group (at the World Cup) with Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Russia.”
Sredojevic does believe, however, that the striker’s commitment to the Egyptian cause cannot be questioned.
“When he was a nobody at Arab Contractors (at the start of his career), I know how he went to Basel, and who was managing him and I can tell you it (his success) has not come as an accident. He is one of those rare players who give equally to his national team and his club,” says Sredojevic, who also believes Egypt have an excellent chance of getting out of their group in Russia, while he also backs Senegal.
“It is very hard to predict but at least we can expect two teams in the quarterfinals. Egypt must go through in by far the easiest group. With the rest of the teams, I have seen and it pained my soul that South Africa did not go through … so I have in my mind that Senegal have beaten us (South Africa) and I wish they can go as far as possible so we can say the team that qualified ahead of us has gone far.”