ST PETERSBURG: As the referee blew his whistle to allow Egypt to make their third and final change, everyone's eyes went towards the touchline. When they saw 21-year-old Huddersfield winger Ramadan Sobhi making his way towards the fourth official, a lot of groans must have gone up across Egypt. That move meant that Mohamed Salah would not be taking the field. The Egyptian King would not be holding court today.
History has shown us that footballers are capable of a great deal more than kicking a ball and kicking other footballers. In the 1960s, the Nigerian Civil War took a break for a couple of days so that everyone could watch a visiting Pele play. Chelsea star Didier Drogba helped end one in his home country of Ivory Coast.
Every now and then, a footballer comes along who transforms the psyche of an entire nation. The goodwill that George Weah generated as a footballer was enough to carry him to Liberia's presidency 25 years after his retirement. For Argentina, Diego Maradona's performance in 1986 delivered to them more than just the World Cup. It gave them some much-needed closure after a humiliating defeat to England in the Falklands War. It was Zinedine Zidane that finally helped France reconcile with the fact that they were not just the Blues but a rainbow of colours.
For Egypt, that man right now is Salah. To say that the country is not having the best of times is an understatement — a political crisis precipitated by the Arab Spring and the subsequent overthrow their first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi still rages on while Egyptians reel under an economic crunch. Amidst all this Salah represents the hope that not all is doom and gloom.
“It's the most beautiful feeling,” says Mario Guindy, who says he wouldn't have missed out the chance to travel to Egypt's first World Cup in 28 years. “One of the top players in the world is Egyptian. Football for Egyptians in one of the most important things. When he scored that penalty that took us through, it is impossible to describe what was going on Egypt. People were falling down, crying, laughing.”
What stands Salah apart from previous Egyptian big names like Mido, Amr Zaki or Mohamed Aboutrika is his lack of pretense. Those in the small village of Nagrig where he was born often talk of how he has still remained the same even after all his success — quiet, humble and compassionate.
“He comes from very deep inside Egypt,” says Loui Awadi, who has travelled to Moscow from Cairo. “Nagrig is a very small village. Yet he is proud of where he comes from.”
Salah's popularity in Egypt soared to such great heights after his record-breaking season with Liverpool that people reportedly struck out names of the candidates on the ballot in the country's presidential elections and wrote in Salah's. At a time when headlines in the country are hogged by controversial figures, Salah's meaning is unique. You can remain a good man and still be successful at what you do.
“He is one of the most important role models we have,” says Guindy. “Not just in football, for success in general. You can follow his way of life, his way of thinking in your life, in your career, in your studies.”
It is a view that Awadi echoes. “He inspires us, you know? He is out Superman and our Batman,” he says. “We've never had anyone like him before in any field in the history of our country. Now we have a dream. If Mo Salah can be the best in football, so can we. Maybe not at football, but at something else.”