From flop to African king
ACCRA. — It took Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah just three years to transform from a Chelsea reject to being crowned African Player of the Year in Ghana on Thursday night.
Salah failed to blossom after moving from Swiss outfit Basel to Stamford Bridge, leading to him being lent to Italian Serie A sides Fiorentina and AS Roma, then sold to the latter.
At Roma, his career took off as he scored 29 goals in two seasons and created 17 others to draw the attention of several English Premier League suitors.
Liverpool made a successful $46.5 million bid and Salah has not looked back since, scoring 23 goals in 29 matches in all competitions.
He has made a habit of bagging braces with the most recent helping Liverpool come from behind at home to edge Leicester City 2-1 last month.
Seventeen of the goals have come in the Premier League, placing him second in the scorers’ charts, only one goal behind Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur.
Apart from his Liverpool exploits, Salah last year helped resurgent Egypt finish Africa Cup of Nations runners-up and reach the World Cup for the first time since 1990.
The African Player of the Year title completed an awards hat-trick after he was named BBC African Footballer of the Year in December and Arab Player of the Year earlier this week.
It is a far cry from a few years ago when Salah was doubting whether he could ever become a regular scorer in a major European league. “Mohamed has been absolutely amazing and gives Liverpool a different dimension because his pace gets him behind defenders,” said former Liverpool star Ian Rush.
“Before the arrival of Salah, opponents of Liverpool were happy in the knowledge that no one was going past them.”
Another former Liverpool star, Gary McAllister, said the Egyptian combined individual skill with teamwork.
“Mohamed has wonderful flair, but also works effortlessly for the side and is very much a team player.
“He works his socks off for the badge and that is what really impresses me. He is also capable of scoring from all areas of the pitch.” Most Egyptian stars eventually play for one of the Cairo club giants — Al Ahly or Zamalek — before considering a move to Europe.
But Salah never lined up for the “Red Devils” of Ahly or the “White Knights” of Zamalek, turning out for less fashionable El Mokawloon instead in the Egyptian capital.
His goals attracted the attention of Basel, who signed him after Egyptian domestic football was suspended in 2012 when a football-related Port Said riot claimed more than 70 lives.
He played for Egypt at Under-20 and Under-23 levels before making his senior debut and was the leading 2018 World Cup qualifying scorer in Africa with five goals.
In the penultimate round of World Cup qualifying, Salah scored the brace that edged Congo Brazzaville in Alexandria, including the stoppage-time winner from a penalty that sealed a trip to Russia.
Salah’s Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane, of Senegal, was runner-up and 2015 winner, Gabon and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang third after a 30-player list had been trimmed to three.
National coaches, Confederation of African Football (CAF) officials, journalists and the public were involved in the voting.
“Winning this award is a dream come true — 2017 was an unbelievable year for me I had a fantastic time with the national team,” said Salah after receiving the trophy.
“This is a big award for me, a special moment in my career. I would like to dedicate it to all the kids in Africa and Egypt.
“I want to tell them to never stop dreaming, never stop believing.”
The Egyptian succeeds Algerian Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City as holder of the most prized CAF individual award.
It is the first time since 1986 that stars from the north of the continent, which along with the west is the strongest football region, have won successive titles.
Victory on Thursday completed an awards hat-trick for Salah, who was named BBC African Footballer of the Year in December and Arab Player of the Year earlier this week.
Mane was voted 2016-2017 Liverpool Player of the Season, but the 25-year-old has since been overshadowed at Anfield by Salah’s scoring exploits.
He did stand out for Senegal, however, as they secured a first World Cup appearance since 2002, providing much of the creativity in a team stacked with physically formidable footballers.
Aubameyang was Bundesliga top scorer with 31 goals last season, holding off Bayern Munich and Poland ace Robert Lewandowski.
He flopped with Gabon, though, failing to take the 2017 Cup of Nations hosts past the first round and shunning several World Cup call-ups as Gabon failed to qualify.
Other award winners included Women’s Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala of Nigeria and Youth Player of the Year Patson Daka of Zambia.
Argentine Egypt manager Hector Cuper was named Coach of Year and other honours went to Egypt (national team), South Africa (women’s national team) and Wydad Casablanca (club).
Ahead of the awards ceremony, CAF president Ahmad Ahmad told a media conference why the Africa-based Player of the Year and Referee of the Year awards had been scrapped.
“When a footballer aims for excellence, they must rise to the highest standards, irrespective of where they play. We hope one day the best player will be based in Africa.
“Referees already have their rewards and marks of recognition. They are evaluated after every match and the best are designated matches like the CAF Champions League final.”
Shortlists had been drawn up for both awards when the CAF executive committee decided to dump them, initially without offering any explanations.
AFRICAN PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS
4: Abedi“Pele”Ayew (GHA), Samuel Eto’o (CMR), Yaya Toure (CIV) 3: George Weah (LBR) 2: Roger Milla, Thomas N’Kono (both CMR), El Hadji Diouf (SEN), Didier Drogba (CIV), Nwankwo Kanu (NGR) 1: Ahmed Faras, Mustapha Hadji, Mohamed Timoumi, Badou Zaki (all MAR), Theophile Abega, Patrick Mboma, Jean Manga-Onguene (all CMR), Emmanuel Amunike, Victor Ikpeba, Rashidi Yekini (all NGR), Lakhdar Belloumi, Rabah Madjer, Riyad Mahrez (all ALG), Frederic Kanoute, Salif Keita (both MLI), Mahmoud al Khatib, Mohamed Salah (both EGY), Karim Abdul Razak, Ibrahim Sunday (both GHA), Emmanuel Adebayor (TOG), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (GAB), Kalusha Bwalya (ZAM), Tshimimu Bwanga (COD), Tarak Dhiab (TUN), Paul Moukila (CGO), Cherif Souleymane (GUI)
Note: France Football magazine organised an annual poll between 1970 and 1994 and the Confederation of African Football did likewise from 1992, resulting in three years when there were two awards.
Awards in full
African Player of the Year: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt) Women’s Player of the Year: Asisat Oshoala (Nigeria & Dalian Quanjian) Youth Player of the Year: Patson Daka (Zambia & Liefering) Coach of the Year: Hector Cuper (Egypt) Club of the Year: Wydad Athletic Club National Team of the Year: Egypt Women’s National Team of the Year: South Africa