To achieve his goal of making The Reds the champion of this season’s Champions League, Salah will need to destroy his former team, Italian soccer club AS Roma, in the first match of the semifinals at Anfield Stadium.
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PA VIA AP/NIGEL FRENCH
Liverpool\'s Mohamed Salah scores his side\'s second goal of the game during an English Premier League soccer match between West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, England, on Saturday (April 21, 2018).
LIVERPOOL, MONDAY – Egyptian soccer superstar Mohamed Salah reignited the memory of Liverpool’s glory in European elite soccer competitions. To achieve his goal of making The Reds the champion of this season’s Champions League, Salah will need to destroy his former team, Italian soccer club AS Roma, in the first match of the semifinals at Anfield Stadium on early Wednesday (25/4/2018), Jakarta time.
Late last week, Salah scored his 41st goal of the season when The Reds faced West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League. For Liverpool fans, Salah’s goal brought back memories of the 1980s.
In the 1983-1984 season, Liverpool fans witnessed the rise of a striker with a killer goal-scoring instinct. His name was Ian Rush, famed as Liverpool’s all-time best striker with the nickname “The Ghost”.
Right now, Salah is well on his way to beat Rush’s records. In his golden days, Rush scored 47 goals in a single season and won the Champions League trophy. No other strikers, even in later generations, have ever come close.
However, former Liverpool player Luis Garcia said that he was convinced Salah would create history. He also said he believed that Salah could steal away the Ballon d’Or award from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. “He has been truly sensational this season, not only in terms of his goals but also in the way he works with his teammates. If Liverpool wins the Champions League, I believe he can win [the Ballon d’Or] and end the decade of Messi and Ronaldo’s domination,” Garcia said as quoted by Daily Star.
On Sunday (22/4), Salah won one of the most prestigious awards in English soccer, namely the Professional Footballers Association Players\' Player of the Year award. In his victory speech, Salah – nicknamed “the Pharaoh” and “Messi from Egypt” – reaffirmed his ambition of winning the Champions League.
“My personal ambition is to win a trophy with this team. We are now so close [to winning the Champions’ League trophy] as we are in the semifinals. We hope to win it as a team, not as an individual,” Salah said.
Together with Roberto Firmino, Salah is The Reds’ top scorer in the Champions League this season. His two goals and one assist have helped Liverpool beat fan favorite Manchester City, 5 to 1. Liverpool is the only team that has yet to lose in the Champions League this season.
Salah’s recent meteoric rise has posed a threat for Roma, his former team which was forced to transfer him to Liverpool due to Financial Fair Play constraints. Roma sold Salah to The Reds at what was widely considered a bargain price 42 million euros (US$51.27 million) last summer to cut back deficits in line with UEFA financial regulations. The striker, whose price is estimated at up to Rp 2.7 trillion (US$194 million) right now, may potentially be the “weapon” that strikes back at Roma.
Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco said that he was preparing his best squad to fight Liverpool. He rested the team’s key players, including Aleksandar Kolarov, Daniele De Rossi and Edin Dzeko, in the match against S.P.A.L 2013 in the Serie A competition. “I do not want them [Roma players] to tell me. [Salah’s] quality is crystal clear,” said Di Francesco as quoted by Liverpool Echo.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said that he was sure Salah would be fierce as usual. “They [the Roma players] are no longer his teammates. He understands this well,” he said.
