Mo Salah: Egyptian king

26:08Then Mohamed Salah came with us. He was a little uncertain because he was struggling in Chelsea. He didn't have enough minutes. Mr. Cooper called Mourinho. Mourinho spoke very well about Salah. He said he's an amazing player, but just he needs to improve his tactical part. And it's a big club. There is a competition. Salah was uncertain about his future to prove himself in Chelsea or accept one of the offers. He was at Letico Madrid, I think, at Tombella, I think, and Frentina. We advised him, Salah, We can take some steps back to go forward. And Salah has a very good point in his character. He listens to everyone.

26:54He never, never, never say, no, no, I don't listen to this person. No, no, he's very modest, very humble to listen to everyone. And he took the decision to change in this time from Chelsea to Frentina. So you were with him 2015 to 2018. Yes. Working closely with him. Did you see him change from that uncertain Salah that you talked about at the start in 2015 into the guy we know now, the megastar that we know now. Exactly. It was like when you see, because Salah for me, it's like brother. I am very proud that one day I worked with him. And I saw him like from a child growing, growing, growing to megastar.

27:35I speak seriously. If you see, for example, in our first camp in March 2015, and when you see Salah in June 2015, big improvement in every detail, in the muscles of his stomach, in the muscles of his feet, foot, everywhere, every muscle, he's working in every detail in his life. Mentality, in his way of thinking, training, in his gym, in everything. For that we are watching him growing, growing, growing, growing. And the best point of Salah is that he always bet himself, challenge with himself. For that, he don't have a top of his ambition. He always wants more because he is betting with himself.

28:21Not betting with Ronaldo or Messi. No, no, no. I am betting with myself. Every day, I want to be a better version for myself. As Salah's club career got back on track at first Fiorentina and then Roma, before that historic move to Liverpool in 2017, Mahmoud Fayez got to witness the moment that would propel Salah to another level of iconic status here in Egypt. An injury time penalty that changed his life and changed Egyptian football history.

29:01It's the 8th of October 2017. Egypt knew that a win against Congo would end their 28-year wait to reach the World Cup and avoid the prospect of everything coming down to their final group game away to Ghana. Salah gave them the lead at home in the second half and all was going to plan until three minutes from time when against the odds, Congo equalised. Every Egypt fan's nightmare was coming true until Salah had the chance to score a winner from the penalty spot. Imagine it, a nation of 120 million waiting this moment to qualify to the World Cup. And he had the most tough moment for one player.

29:45In minute 94, he had to score. And I tell you something, the night before, we had our goalkeeper with Hadari. You know Hadari, our legend also. After the training, Salah shot three times. And three times, the goalkeeper Hadari, he stopped all. But I get Salah to Salah. Tomorrow, I think you can have penalty and you can score it. And came the match against Congo. And we had the penalty. And minute 94, many pressure. 120 million people waiting for you. Not just the Egyptian people, also the other nations. All Arabic nations are waiting for this moment to score. And he scored. And we went together to World Cup 2018.

30:26What was it like after that game against Congo in the dressing room? What were the celebrations like? How was Mohamed Salah reacting when he got back into the dressing room after all the crowd had invaded the pitch? What was he like? What was going on? Mohamed like a child. Mohamed is very humble, very modest. He started to dance in the pitch. And then when he went to the dressing room, he started to hug everywhere. He hugged the coach, he hugged me, he hugged all the kit men. And all the people started to hug him. And we did it. He's shouting, we did it. We did it. After 20 years, we did it. It was a moment unbelievable for all of us.

31:07Can you imagine the pressure of stepping up to score a penalty to take your country to a World Cup? Well, we're about to meet a man who got to experience, for a few weeks at least, the pressure Salah must feel playing for Egypt week in, week out, day in, day out. It's the doctor who had to get him fit for that World Cup in 2018 after an injury that made headlines around the world. Mo Salah says he's confident of playing in the World Cup despite being forced off with a shoulder injury in last night's Champions League final. Egypt played their first game on the 15th of June. A few weeks before Russia 2018, Salah was just finishing his first season at Liverpool.

31:46It had exceeded expectations with 44 goals in 51 games. It all culminated in Salah's first Champions League final against the mighty Real Madrid. But his night and his World Cup was about to be ruined by a tussle with Real's Sergio Ramos and a shoulder injury which stopped Egypt in its tracks. This is very bad for Mo, very bad for us, very bad for Egypt. After that injury, the man now in charge of getting Egypt's biggest star fit for their first World Cup for 28 years was the team's doctor, Mohamed Aboud. and we're meeting him now at his surgery in the Madi area of the city. We were in Ramadan and we were fasting, just arriving to our team camp in Italy.

32:29And then the whole team sitting, watching when this very famous scene had happened. And we had Mo catching his children. And then actually I was like, the only guy everyone in the room looks at. Is he inside the World Cup or outside the World Cup? We went directly from Italy to Spain. I checked more, examined him, what we wanted to do as scans, and we checked everything, we put the plan, and then he joined us. From day one, we were planning that actually he's not inside the first game. He did a great work. Working at this time, like seven, eight hours per day, and the rest was just time for eating and sleeping, actually, to recover.

33:10It was really, really, really mentally tough and sticking to the plan so that we can join the next game. And there was so much pressure at that stage on him, on you as well.

33:45board members that hey, Mohamed, you are now the most important team in the whole world. They say there are tens of millions of football managers in Egypt. There must have been tens of millions of doctors there. Everyone had an opinion, didn't they? Yes, of course. I had calls from the Minister of Health at this time. I tried to, don't worry, don't panic, everything is going well. But at the end of the day, as you said, too many doctors, too many coaches too many everyone started to say what he thinks but i think we managed properly you got an insight there into the pressure that muhammad salah must feel all the time being this star this icon in egypt how do you think he copes with it i'm trying i always tell him this i'm trying to learn how he's doing this in many cases in many situations he is taking decisions and saying things that just sit down and say come on man how how did you manage this mo has a very nice habit when you had a newcomer a new player in the national team from the first time he always goes to himself even if he comes the second day of the camp ask about the name of the player go to him give him his Liverpool t-shirt and have a photo with him so actually the guy is is really really nice and humble to be honest it took us all to a different level it's time to take a break now from the hectic streets of Cairo because we're on a journey now we're going to jump right back to the start of Salah's Egyptian football journey, where it all began, the village where he was born and raised.

35:14It's about a two and a half hour trip from the capital, if the traffic is treating you well. It's not too bad at the moment. The roads are getting bumpier now though, as we get towards the village. We're surrounded by farmland rather than traffic and high-rise buildings. And in the car with us again, the Egyptian journalist, Weill El-Sayed, to head to Negrig. so here we are in the greek home of muhammad salah let's get out the car well the first thing you notice is that it's very different to cairo whale it's a yes bambi road but still like countryside roads uh but still a very nice village with a population estimated between 15 000 and 20 000 uh the the village is in the heart of the mild delta, like agriculture land, lush green areas and nice people.

36:11They are very welcoming. Mohamed Salah's family lives here. Never moved out of here. They're still here now? Still to his dad? And his dad and mom and relatives and uncles and aunts, they still live here. They never moved from here and they're loved by everyone in the village. Let's go and meet some people in Nagrig to find out more about Mohamed Salah when he was a young boy and the influence and the impact he still has on this village. You lead the way, Will.

36:43The first stop here really has to be a football pitch. So we're heading into what was called the Nagrig Youth Centre.

36:54But after getting an upgrade in honour of the village's most famous son is now called the Mohamed Salah Youth Centre. and the first thing that strikes you is how modern the facilities are. A beautiful new AstroTurf pitch and inside the fences surrounding it, there are photos tied up to the fences of some of the greatest moments of Salah's career. The golden boot win, holding the Champions League, I can see over there, wearing a Premier League winner's medal. It would have looked very different back when Salah was playing here and waiting for us on the pitch. Shweil, one of the coaches who would have seen him in action in those days.

37:36One of Mohamed Salah's first coaches, I think. This is Mr. Al-Ghamri Al-Saadani. He used to coach Mohamed Salah when he was young, like 10 or 12. He's a very well-known man here in the village. Hello, Mr. Al-Ghamri. Hello, sir. Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm John. Nice to meet you. What a pleasure. Nice to meet you. Let's have a sit down and get some more Mohamed Salah stories from one of his first coaches. Every time I enter the space, I immediately remember Mohamed Salah. This is where it all started for him. Whenever I walk in, I can't help but recall how he used to move, how he trained, and what his early days looked like, and how all of that led him to where he is today.

38:16When we talk about Mohamed Salah, we remember how small he was compared to his teammates. But it was obvious that Mohamed had determination and drive, as he was doing things that even the older boys couldn't manage. His shots were incredibly powerful and the way he controlled the ball was truly something else. He exceeded all our expectations but behind that success is a powerful story of struggle, persistence and incredible willpower. Tell me more about Mohamed Salah's family and how influential and important they have been for him. Mohamed Salah's family is truly the foundation and the secret behind his success.

38:56They were the cornerstone he relied on throughout his journey. His family made many sacrifices when he was young to help him travel to Cairo and deal with the long commutes, sometimes four or five different micro-buses a day. It required great effort from his family, especially his father and his uncle, who is actually the chairman of this youth centre. They were incredibly supportive of Mohamed Salah from the very beginning, always standing by his side. They ensured he had resources that other children in the village didn't. They tried to provide him with everything he needed, standing behind him and lifting him up.

39:34Mohamed Salah's humility comes from his upbringing. They're all extremely humble and respectful people. But Mohamed Salah has even surpassed his family in humility, respect and discipline. To us, he has become something truly special. Talk me through his football journey. how he went from this pitch here in Nagrig to being discovered by Arab contractors. How did that happen? From a young age, it was clear that Mohamed had a natural talent. Recognizing this, his family did everything they could to advance his career. His first step was joining a club called Basyoun Union Club, where he spent a short period.

40:12His exceptional talent started to stand out, and there was someone passionate about football named Captain Ridha Mallah, a well-known talent scout for young players. He followed Mohamed Salah while he was playing for Bassoon Union Club. And he was the one who took him from there to Othmasoon Club in Tantah. Othmasoon had a close partnership with the Arab Contractors Club in Cairo. It was seen almost as a feeder club with a more prestigious Premier League side. That was the true beginning of Mohamed Salah's journey. Mohamed Salah stayed at Othmasoon for about a year. And eventually, he was selected to move up to the Arab Contractors Club in Cairo.

40:51From the youth centre, we're now heading back into the centre of the village to find out more about Mohamed Salah's early days and his impact on the community here. Now, this looks like a shop. Oh, it looks like a barber shop. Let's climb the stairs here. Let's go inside. Hello. We are at the barber shop where Mohamed Salah used to have his haircuts. All right, and this is the man who cut Mohamed Salah's hair? Yeah, he himself looks like Mohamed Salah. Yeah, I was going to say, what's his name? Ahmed. Ahmed Al-Masiri. So this is Ahmed Al-Masiri. They say Mohamed Salah used to have his hair cut here.

41:34And he looks like Mohamed Salah. And the guy looks like Mohamed Salah. He's the same height, probably, and he has this hair that Mohamed Salah has. Let's have a sit down with Ahmed then and ask him more questions about Mohamed Salah and what he was like as a boy. I used to cut his hair and play football with him at the training centre. When he was a youth player with Arab contractors, Mohamed would come back late from training. I'd wait up for him and give him a trim. He always liked getting his hair cut at night, and I'm the one that gave him the curly hairstyle and the beard. His friends told him not to get his hair cut here because we're from a village, not a city.

42:11But he'd always come to me, and the next day his friends would be surprised at how good he looked and ask him, who's your barber? He's the son of the village and everybody loves him because he's so humble. He's always been a nice, respectful man. Tell us the memories of Salah with the football. Mohamed was always the fastest and top scorer when we played together. You could tell from the first glance that he was marked with speed. But the big thing that I remember most is that when we all played PlayStation, Salah would always choose to be Liverpool. The other boys would choose Manchester United or Barcelona.

42:47but he'd always be Liverpool. All the young kids now living in the village want to be like him. Though Mohamed Salah is a global star, he's still like a brother to the young men here. He's always been respectful. When he comes home for Eid, we'd eat breakfast together, gather around, pray together. He walks through the village just like one of us, not like a celebrity. And finally, how inspirational is he for the people in the village? People in the village and all over Egypt wish to be like Mohamed Salah Everybody wants to be like Mohamed Salah All the kids dream of being like him So of course Mohamed Salah is an inspirational figure here But his impact on the village is a lot more practical than that as well Salah has, among other projects, funded a new post office to serve the local community An ambulance unit, a religious educational institute and he's also donated land for a sewage station.

43:54The children from Salah's old school have just found out we're here to talk about their football heroes, so we're being followed now. As we head to find out more about how Salah's helping villagers here in the Grig, we're heading to meet Rashida, who is 70 years old and receives regular help from Salah's charity foundation aimed at giving back to members of the community here. He's a good man. He respects me and treats us kindly. He is respectful and kind to poor people like us. He gives us money to live on and he's kind to us. He's like a brother to us. He's like our son.

44:31John Bennett:He's a good, respectful man. Hassan Bakra helps to run Mohamed Salah's charity organisation here in Negri. Mohamed Salah started a charity under the Social Affairs Department of the Ministry of Social Solidarity, aiming to help orphans, divorced and widowed women, the poor and the sick. It provides monthly support, meat and meals. It's just a small supplement to the pension a widowed or divorced woman receives, plus food boxes on holidays and special occasions. Supporting people was the main reason the charity was established, to support the poor, the sick and those in need. The work here is managed by Mohamed Salah's father and brother Nasser, and they're the ones who deal with Mohamed Salah directly.

45:18One thing that always comes up when people talk about Salah's Egyptian football journey is a bus journey. Multiple buses, to be precise. So we couldn't leave Nagrig without experiencing this bus journey. From here in Nagrig to Cairo and back in a day when he was a teenager, there's been some debate as to how long it would take. The truth is that probably it's varied. It varied day to day. But there's no argument about how gruelling it would have been for a young Salah. The former mayor of Nagrig has actually told us it would be three or four hours there to Cairo to get to training. Then up to five hours back, all in one day.

45:57The white buses or vans, they're more like vans that Salah used back then, whiz past you all the time in Egypt and especially in Cairo. So along with the Egyptian journalist, Wael El-Sayed, we're going to jump on board. We are going to get into one of these micro-buses, the same micro-buses that Mohamed Salah used to take.

46:28This is it. I mean, they are tiny. Bus is a big term for this micro-bus, isn't it? It's like a small van, basically, but how many people have we got? We've got the driver, someone sitting next to him. We've got two ladies and a young boy in front of us, and then us two at the back seat. So one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Yes, it's a seven-seater little van. It's very tight. I mean, I would say Mohamed Salah would have sat here, and he felt like squeezed in his seat thing. And that used to take Mohamed Salah from her, from his village, hometown Negriq, to the next village where he was playing for the club, Basioun.

47:06And then he'd have to get another bus, wouldn't he? When he went up the ranks and went to Arab contractors, he'd have to get another bus, wouldn't he? Yes, he needs to get three other buses or little vans to get to the Arab contractors in Cairo. So as a teenager, as a youngster, he'd be in this bus for nine hours. Yes, he has been moving between these four buses, little vans, for several hours. And, I mean, you can imagine it was like just 14 or 15. Former Egypt international Hani Ramzi says Salah's journey is a similar one to many Egyptian footballers, some who made it and some who didn't. Also, I have to go take the bus from my home and I walk like five, six kilometers by my foot to go to my club.

47:52It's also given me the motivation that I continue because it's too hard. I cannot stop in the middle of the way. No, I think also Muhammad Salah has the same. They have a very, very hard beginning, and he cannot stop in the middle and say, OK, now I'm tired, or that's enough. For me, Mohamed Salah has no sense of it's enough. He's always looking for better, always looking for better. He's dreaming, and he believes in his dream. So that tough start when he was traveling for hours on a bus, traveling on his own, that shaped him, really? That turned him into the personality that we know now? Yes, 100%.

48:31100%. This kind of life for me, it builds strong players. And this is where Mohamed Salah would get out after his epic trip on micro buses. We are outside Arab Contractors, the club where he started his professional career, where he played as a teenager as well. Wael is still with me. Wael, we're not going to pretend we did the whole trip on a micro bus. No, we did it in a private vehicle And it's such an arduous trip Very long, very exhausting And you can imagine this is just driving in one vehicle But if you imagine Salah jumping from one micro bus to another It becomes so hectic, so exhausting I would imagine how he had played with this He must have been so tired after this journey to train for hours and play matches.

49:29It's Arab contractors, also known as Al-Mokaloun, who gave Salah his start in professional football in the Egyptian Premier League. Here's one of the most famous football broadcasters in Egypt, Hani Hatout. If we talk about Arab contractors overall, they are one of the biggest in history in Egypt. They got a lot of trophies in Egypt and in Africa, but still, the biggest achievement they had, They got us Salah. They don't talk about their championships. They don't talk about their investments. They don't talk about big games. They don't talk about anything. We only have Mohamed Salah. And this is enough.

50:09And actually, they can face any history from other clubs by, OK, you have these, these, these. We have Salah. And actually, this is very big for them. Back on the streets of Nagrig, Salah would have had dreams of winning the Champions League, which he's achieved. dreams of playing in a World Cup, which he's achieved, and dreams of winning the Africa Cup of Nations. Well, that one's been a bit more complicated. Twice he's come close, but yet so far. In 2017, Salah played in his first AFCON, but it ended in a 2-1 defeat to Cameroon in the final in Libreville, Gabon. Then, four years later, there was another Africa Cup of Nations final and the start of a double header of disappointment for Egypt and for Salah against his then Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane, who was the star man for Senegal.

51:00First, Egypt lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Senegal on penalties in Cameroon. And then just months later, they lost a qualifier for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, again on penalties, again to Senegal. It had another dimension that it's Salah against Mane, because everyone in Egypt supports Salah, and they think that Mané didn't pass the ball for Salah. Salah didn't pass the ball for Mané. So it's very, with a lot of dimensions and angles when we talk about the game against Senegal. Actually, I see Salah did his job and the players did their job, but against a very, very tough team side of Senegal.

51:46But it's penalties, so it was very heartbreaking for us. And two months later, we played against Senegal again. Salah missed a penalty. So it was like, oh, it's not meant for us to win now. So will Salah's Egypt national team fortunes change at the next Africa Cup of Nations? I'm at a football academy now in Cairo called The Maker. It's based inside a beautiful stadium that could easily host league matches. And the kids getting a team talk in front of me here are all hoping to follow in Salah's footsteps. The man who runs this academy is one of the biggest names in Egyptian football, who, like Salah, made it in European football, becoming a cult hero at clubs like Ajax and Tottenham.

52:32We love Mido! We do! We love Mido! We do! Oh, Mido! Africa Cup of Nations winner and former Premier League and La Liga striker Mido spent 11 years playing in European football, and he's now trying to get a new generation to make that same journey. If you want to make it to the top, it's to have the right mindset. The reason Salah is where he is now on the top is because he works on his mental strength, Salah, daily. And he knows that it's a big part of... It's the most important tool to any football player now is to have the right mindset. And this is what some of the African boys and some of the Egyptian boys were proud that we are Africans, of course.

53:20They don't understand that to make it in Europe and to succeed, you need to understand the culture, the culture of where you're playing. How you can reach their heart without leaving any of your principles. This is the balance that Salah has done. You know, I think this is the brilliance of Salah. Tell us how much of an inspiration he is for the boys you have here at the Academy and for everyone in Egypt. Just how much of an inspirational figure is he in this country? First of all, I think he is the greatest ambassador for Egypt. He made those young boys and these young boys dream. If someone from the same, come from the same background as I do and the same circumstances made it to the top, why couldn't I make it?

54:13Why? Why not? Why not? And you could give us a fantastic insight into the pressure that Mohamed Salah feels because you are a massive name in Egyptian football. You had to shoulder that responsibility when you played for Egypt. Just how tough is that? How much pressure is there on someone like Mohamed Salah when he walks out on the pitch for Egypt's national team? Do you think guys like me and Salah worry about pressure? We don't worry about pressure. We love pressure. I played for the national team. the front of 110 ,000 people in the stadium when I was only 17. I'm the youngest player who ever represented Egypt in Egyptian history.

54:50And I never felt any pressure. I love to feel that people are depending on me. Never had a problem with this. Ansala is the same. He knows his responsibilities as a captain. Okay, he still hasn't won the African championship yet. Hopefully, we have a very good squad. I think we have a good chance to win the next African Cup of Nations in Morocco. Do you think he needs to win the African Cup of Nations to kind of complete his story? A bit like everyone was waiting for Messi to win the World Cup. Mohamed Salah hasn't won anything for Egypt. And the generation before that you were part of used to win it all the time, won it three times in a row.

55:30But his generation of Egyptian football, they've done well, but they haven't won anything yet. Do you think he needs that for his legacy? Salah has already done his legacy. He's the greatest, in my opinion, I always say that, he's the greatest Egyptian footballer. And what he's done, no one else has done before. In my opinion, he doesn't have to prove anything to anyone.

55:58Egypt, Egypt are the king of Afghans. That was the moment in January 2025 when Egypt found out who they'd be playing at the next Africa Cup of Nations. South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe will be their opening round opponents as Mohamed Salah will try yet again to finally get his hands on the Africa Cup of Nations trophy. Egypt, as ever, will be one of the favourites in Morocco. I was in the stadiums when Salah lost his two finals, the one in Gabon in 2017, the one in Cameroon in 2021. I can still picture how heartbroken he looked on the pitch, so you can only imagine how motivated, how determined he's going to be to put that right.

56:36In a moment, we'll hear from the former under-20s coach of Egypt, Diyah El-Sayed, after the former Egypt Olympic team head coach, Hani Ramzi.

57:06Maybe for every young boy, for every player, every father and mother, then his son, I want Salah, I want Salah, I want Salah, I want Salah. You've been listening to the documentary from the BBC World Service. And for Mohamed Salah, after all his success at Liverpool, it's now a massive moment for his time with the Egypt national team. The Africa Cup of Nations, then a World Cup. The shy boy from the Grig, who was always listening to his coaches, always trying to improve, who turned into a leader, who ended Egypt's 28-year wait to reach the World Cup, who suffered injury heartbreak, Afghan final heartbreak, but has won everything there is to win in English football, could be about to make himself an even bigger hero here in Cairo and across this country.

57:54What's already been a great career could be about to get an even more exciting final few chapters.

58:25The End

58:33about Francis Galton and the racist, discredited pseudoscience of eugenics with Desiree Birch. We'll meet many medieval saints in their bone boxes with Rachel Parrott. So if that sounds like your sort of thing, listen to You're Dead to Me wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you. Bye.