At 33 years old, the widely-celebrated Egyptian football icon, Mohamed Salah. He’s currently on the cusp of a career-defining achievement as he prepares to coach his national side to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). On the club side of things, Salah is credited for everything he’s accomplished in football professionally. Currently, he has an opportunity to add an AFCON title to his resume, something that eluded him going as far as the finals on two occasions.
Egypt, the most successful nation in AFCON history with seven championships, looks to Salah as its captain and key player. The upcoming tournament provides him with perhaps his best chance to ever win it all once and for all. He made it to the finals in both 2017 and 2021, but came up short both times.
Salah’s journey in football has been extraordinary. He has gained notoriety for scoring the most Champions League goals of any African player. This accomplishment cements his place among the continent’s greatest sportspersons. He has already tallied a formidable 250 goals for Liverpool. In doing so, he became just the fourth player in history to be on the all-time Premier League goalscorer list. He won the African Player of the Year award in 2017 and 2018. He won four golden boots in the English top-flight.
Even with these personal victories, Salah’s international career with Egypt is still marked by the lack of an AFCON trophy. Sadio Mane, his compatriot at Liverpool, receiving this accolade with Senegal. That reveals the irony of their sharply separated fates on the global stage.
In this regard, Salah’s legacy within African football continues to take form. A great run in the coming AFCON might even have him wildly acclaimed the undisputed king of African football. Critics have noted that national level success is key to a player’s legacy.
Former Reds player/pundit Jamie Carragher took to Sky Sports this week to provide context for Salah’s plight. He said it’s team accomplishments, more than any other factor, that best tell the story of a player’s career.
“You haven’t really won anything with Egypt. All that’s telling you is, no matter how good a player you are, you need help from your team-mates, your manager and fans.” – Jamie Carragher
Carragher reflected on Salah’s earlier career struggles, noting that before joining Liverpool, he was not widely recognized as a major star.
“One thing I just want to remind Mo Salah and maybe his agent is that before he came to Liverpool, Mo Salah was known as the guy who failed at Chelsea.” – Jamie Carragher
As Egypt prepares to take on Zimbabwe in their opening game of Group B, all eyes will be on Salah. As he hopes to guide his country to an unprecedented eighth AFCON title, the pressure is on. Winning the tournament would make a crowning achievement in an already illustrious career. It would realize a long-held aspiration for him personally, as well as for his country.
His footballing achievements with Liverpool have cemented his status as a global superstar. He’s won nine league, FA and League titles with the club and has become vitally important to their success. His failure to win an AFCON trophy is the one missing beat in his otherwise perfect record.
As the tournament draws near, both fans and analysts would like to know what does Salah do under pressure? The hopes are huge. If he has a great tournament he could join the upper echelons of Ghanaian and African football royalty.
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