If you are a great player you often end up being loved in at least one major city. If you are very special, it becomes a tale of two cities. Mohamed Salah is worshipped from the Colosseum to the Kop.
The African King spent two seasons at Roma and wowed fans in the Eternal City. But that’s the past, now Liverpool is utterly besotted with the quicksilver Egyptian. The 25-year-old is breaking records and spearheading the Reds’ mission to win a sixth European Cup/Champions League. And the road to the final in Kiev reunites him with old friends from the Italian capital in the semi-final.
Salah joined Roma from Chelsea in summer 2015. He had shone on loan to Fiorentina between February and May that year. When it became clear his future wasn’t in the Chelsea’s royal blue or the purple of the Tuscan side, Roma swooped, paying around £3m for an initial loan.
Mohamed Salah has been in glittering form for Liverpool in his first season at the club
On Tuesday night, he will come up against his old side Roma for the first time since leaving
In his first campaign at the Olympic Stadium Salah scored 15 times 42 games in all competitions. The Romans knew they had a gem and made the deal permanent in August 2016. In his second and final season with the Giallorossi Salah plundered 19 goals across all tournaments in 41 matches.
Gazzetta dello Sport’s Roma correspondent Davide Stoppini says: ‘Mohamed was loved. Perhaps not as much as he is at Liverpool, but he was adored. And not just because of his talent, but because he is a lovely guy and perfect professional.
‘He never made any negative headlines off the pitch, and everyone was very sad when he was sold. And seeing how well he is doing in the Premier League, it feels like he went cheaply at £37m!’
Of course, admirable personality traits count for a lot less than what happens on the turf. And the Egyptian winger was fantastic for Roma. Coach Luciano Spalletti worked out how to maximise Salah’s gifts and he rapidly became intrinsic to the team. The supporters, and in particular one lanky Bosnian, were very grateful.
Roma’s highly credible second-placed finish last season, fending off Napoli, owed so much to their supersonic wideman. It didn’t thrill the disciples of tiki-taka, but the Giallorossi fired long balls to Edin Dzeko, who nodded down or laid off to Salah.
Then the Egyptian finished himself or drew in panicking defenders before putting the ball on a plate for Dzeko in the area. So many of the former Manchester City striker’s 39 goals last season originated from the dazzling winger’s sumptuous service or ability to engage several opponents.
Salah has scored 41 goals this season and has already been crowned the PFA Player of the Year
He is loved in Rome as much as he is Liverpool and the fans were desperate to keep him
Often the ruse was even more basic, a case of ‘give it to Mohamed and see what he can do’. It certainly functioned. So much so, Roma fans were traumatised when Salah left for the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2017.
They were desperate for Egypt to be eliminated early. They wanted success and joy for their dashing star No 11, but couldn’t face a month without him. There were mixed feelings when Egypt reached the final (where they lost to Cameroon).
The modest ace was such an integral component that when new coach Eusebio di Francesco took over last summer, he dedicated large portions of pre-season to retraining the squad to play in a more possession-based style, in order to flourish without the Anfield-bound Salah.
The advantage of facing a player you know very well won’t be lost on Roma. Many of Spalletti’s staff are no longer working at the Olympic Stadium, but lots of Salah’s former team-mates will be waiting for him. And Di Francesco is a master tactician.
The Egyptian talent poses with the PFA Player of the Year trophy in London on Sunday night
Roma fans were distraught when Salah headed off to the Africa Cup of Nations back in 2017
Stoppini says: ‘We know it’s hard to man mark Salah. But Di Francesco could repeat what the team did so well against Lionel Messi in the quarter-final second leg in Rome. He switched to three central defenders and the team were very compact. They left no space for Messi.
‘That could work against Salah. They can put several players around the Egyptian and deny him the 30 or 40 metres in which he can destroy you. They have to make it dense around him and try to guide him on to his less favoured right foot. That worked on Messi. Man marking is out of the question because Salah is so quick and strong and can ride tackles.’
There is enough love for Salah in both Rome and Liverpool. But there is only space for one team from these two football-mad cities in the 2018 Champions League final. All eyes will be on the electrifying Egyptian during his emotional derby.
One Italian journalist believes Roma may mark Salah in a similar way to Lionel Messi this week
Salah spreads his arms wide after scoring against Bournemouth in the Premier League