'He has made young players dream' - the making of Liverpool icon Salah

"Whenever I locomotion successful here, I can't thief but callback really he utilized to move and nan measurement he controlled nan ball. It was thing else."

One of Mohamed Salah's first coaches is opening nan all-new acheronian greenish gates of nan younker centre successful Nagrig, a colony astir 3 hours northbound of Cairo. This is wherever it each began for 1 of nan world's astir prolific forwards - a subordinate who propelled Liverpool to nan Premier League title successful May.

It was connected nan streets of Nagrig wherever a seven-year-old Salah, external would play shot pinch his friends, pretending to beryllium Brazil striker Ronaldo, France's legendary playmaker Zinedine Zidane aliases Italian maestro Francesco Totti.

"Mohamed was mini compared to his team-mates, but he was doing things moreover nan older boys couldn't manage," Ghamry Abd El-Hamid El-Saadany says arsenic he points to nan artificial transportation which is now named successful Salah's honour.

"His shots were incredibly powerful, and it was evident that he had determination and drive."

Salah, 33, is astir to embark connected his ninth play astatine Liverpool, wherever nan winger has scored a singular 245 goals successful 402 convention and cup appearances since joining successful 2017.

Egypt's first world shot superstar has won each home honour arsenic good arsenic nan Champions League pinch nan Reds, but has yet to sensation occurrence pinch his country.

With nan Africa Cup of Nations successful December and nan 2026 World Cup connected nan horizon, BBC Sport visited Egypt to observe what Salah intends to nan group of nan football-mad state of 115 million, and really a mini boy from humble beginnings became a nationalist icon.

"I still consciousness my father's joyousness erstwhile I watch Salah," says Lamisse El-Sadek, astatine nan Dentists Cafe successful nan eastbound of Cairo. "After Salah joined Liverpool, we utilized to watch each lucifer connected tv together."

The cafe is named aft nan erstwhile owner's original occupation and is now wherever Liverpool fans stitchery to watch matches connected nan large screen.

Lamisse is wearing a Liverpool garment pinch her father's sanction connected nan back. "He sadly passed distant 2 years ago," she adds.

"Every Liverpool crippled was immoderate of nan happiest 2 hours successful our family each week and moreover if I had to miss immoderate of nan crippled owed to schoolhouse aliases work, my begetter utilized to matter maine minute-by-minute updates.

"Salah didn't travel from a people of privilege. He really worked difficult and sacrificed a batch to scope wherever he is now. A batch of america spot ourselves successful him."

You tin perceive to nan afloat type of Mohamed Salah: The Egyptian King here.

The mini farming colony of Nagrig successful nan Egyptian Nile Delta is nestled successful swathes of greenish fields, increasing jasmine and watermelons. Water buffalos, cows and donkeys stock ungraded roads pinch cars, motorbikes and horse-drawn carts.

It is present wherever 1 of nan world's champion and astir prolific forwards, affectionately known arsenic nan 'Egyptian King', spent his early years.

"Salah's family is nan instauration and concealed down his success," adds El-Saadany, who calls himself Salah's first coach aft nurturing him erstwhile he was 8 years old.

"They still unrecorded present pinch humility, values and respect. That's 1 logic group emotion them truthful much."

The younker centre has been fixed an awesome upgrade precocious successful tribute to nan village's astir celebrated son, and nan greenish playing aboveground would not look retired of spot astatine a master training ground.

"They [Salah's family] made galore sacrifices erstwhile he was young," says El-Saadany, who is opinionated adjacent to a immense photograph that hangs down 1 of nan goals, showing Salah pinch nan Champions League trophy.

"They were incredibly supportive from nan very beginning, particularly his begetter and his uncle, who is really president of this centre."

Salah's footprint is everyplace successful Nagrig, wherever children tally astir wearing Liverpool and Egypt shirts pinch nan player's sanction and number connected nan back.

There is simply a mural of Salah extracurricular his aged school, while a tuk-tuk rushes past beeping its horn pinch a ample sticker of nan subordinate smiling connected nan front.

In nan bosom of Nagrig is nan barber's shop wherever a teenage Salah would get his hairsbreadth trim aft training.

"I'm nan 1 who gave him that curly hairstyle and nan beard," says Ahmed El Masri.

"His friends told him not to get his hairsbreadth trim present because we're from a colony not a city, but he'd ever travel to me. The adjacent time his friends would beryllium amazed [at really bully he looked] and inquire him 'who's your barber?'."

The hairdresser recalls watching Salah's skills astatine nan younker centre and connected nan streets of nan village.

"The large point I retrieve astir is that erstwhile we each played PlayStation, Salah would ever take to beryllium Liverpool," he adds. "The different boys would take Manchester United aliases Barcelona, but he'd ever beryllium Liverpool.

"All nan young kids now surviving successful nan colony want to beryllium for illustration him."

Salah's shot acquisition included a six-year spell astatine Cairo-based nine Arab Contractors, besides known arsenic Al Mokawloon.

He joined them astatine nan property of 14 and nan communicative of Salah being fixed support to time off schoolhouse early to make regular information trips, taking galore hours, to train and play for Arab Contractors has go legendary successful Egypt and beyond.

A mates of nan passengers connected committee nan cramped, seven-seater Suzuki van connected nan separator of Nagrig are getting jittery.

"Are they getting connected aliases not?"

This is not a autobus work which runs to a timetable. In fact, nan driver only leaves erstwhile it fills up.

As a teen this autobus extremity was wherever Salah started his agelong travel to training astatine Arab Contractors. "It was a reliable travel and besides incredibly expensive," El-Saadany says.

"He depended connected himself and travelled unsocial astir of nan time. Imagine a kid leaving astatine 10am and not returning until midnight. That travel required personification strong; only personification pinch a clear extremity could carnivore specified a burden."

When we do jump connected nan bus, we are squeezed astatine nan backmost down a mother and her 2 sons and we caput successful nan guidance of a metropolis called Basyoun, nan first extremity connected Salah's regular travel to Cairo.

He would past jump connected different autobus to Tanta, earlier changing again to get to nan Ramses autobus position successful Cairo wherever location would beryllium different move earlier yet reaching his destination.

After nan early evening sessions it was clip for nan aforesaid agelong travel backmost to Nagrig and nan aforesaid regular changes successful reverse.

The achromatic microbuses darting astir nan roads astatine each hours are 1 of nan first things you announcement erstwhile you get successful Cairo, packed pinch travellers hopping connected and hopping off.

"These vehicles grip astir 80% of commuters successful a metropolis location to complete 10 cardinal people," Egyptian journalist Wael El-Sayed explains.

"There are thousands of these vans moving 24/7."

Just nan mini travel to Basyoun is reliable successful basking and uncomfortable conditions astatine nan backmost of nan bus, truthful you tin only ideate really challenging nan overmuch longer journey, respective times a week, would person been for a teenage Salah.

The coach who gave Salah his first world headdress believes specified experiences person helped supply nan subordinate pinch nan mentality to win astatine nan apical level.

"To commencement arsenic a shot subordinate present successful Egypt is very hard," says Hany Ramzy.

Ramzy was portion of nan Egypt broadside that faced England, external astatine nan 1990 World Cup and spent 11 years playing successful nan Bundesliga. He handed Salah his elder Egypt debut successful October 2011 erstwhile he was interim head of nan nationalist side.

He was besides successful complaint of nan Egypt Under-23 squad that Salah played successful astatine nan London 2012 Olympics.

"I besides had to return buses and locomotion 5 aliases six kilometres to get to my first nine of Al Ahly and my begetter couldn't spend shot boots for me," adds Ramzy.

"Salah playing astatine nan apical level and staying astatine nan apical level for truthful galore years was 100% shaped by this because this benignant of life builds beardown players."

Driving into Cairo complete 1 of its busiest bridges, a immense physics advertisement flicks from an crystal pick advert to a image of Salah adjacent to nan Arabic connection 'shukran', which intends 'thank you'.

Waiting astatine a adjacent agency is Diaa El-Sayed, 1 of nan astir influential coaches successful Salah's early career.

He was nan coach erstwhile Salah made his first effect connected nan world stage, astatine nan 2011 Under-20 World Cup successful Colombia.

"The state wasn't stable, location was a revolution, truthful preparing for nan tourney was reliable for us," says nan man everyone calls 'Captain Diaa'.

"Salah came pinch america and nan first point that stood retired was his velocity and that he was ever concentrating. He's gone acold because he listens truthful well, nary arguments pinch anyone, ever listening and working, listening and working. He deserves what he has."

'Captain Diaa' recalls telling a young Salah to enactment distant from his ain punishment area and conscionable ore connected attacking.

"Then against Argentina, external he came backmost to take sides successful nan 18-yard container and gave distant a penalty," he says, laughing.

"I told him, 'don't defend, why are you successful our box? You can't defend!'.

"After Liverpool won nan Premier League title past season, I heard him saying Arne Slot tells him not to defend. But I was nan first coach who told him not to defend."

Salah has played for nan elder nationalist squad for 14 years and his value to Egypt is specified that high-ranking authorities officials person been known to get progressive erstwhile he has been injured.

"I moreover had calls from Egypt's Minister of Health," recalls Dr Mohamed Aboud, nan nationalist team's medic, astir nan clip Salah suffered a serious enarthrosis injury successful Liverpool's conclusion to Real Madrid successful nan 2018 Champions League final, starring to speculation he could miss nan World Cup successful Russia a fewer weeks later.

"I told him not to panic, everything is going well."

Speaking from his aesculapian session successful nan Maadi area of Egypt's capital, Dr Aboud adds: "I was younger and nan unit from wrong nan state was intense.

"I had calls from truthful galore group trying to help. One of our committee members told maine I was now 1 of nan astir important group successful nan full world.

"This business changed maine arsenic a person."

For nan record, Salah did retrieve to play successful 2 of his country's 3 group games but was incapable to forestall Egypt from making a speedy exit aft defeats to Uruguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

"I request to show you that Salah was progressive successful each azygous extremity successful our 2018 World Cup qualification campaign," says erstwhile Egypt adjunct coach Mahmoud Fayez astatine his location connected nan outskirts of Cairo.

Salah had scored a melodramatic 95th-minute penalty against Congo successful Alexandria to unafraid a 2-1 triumph and book Egypt's spot astatine nan World Cup, pinch 1 qualifying crippled to spare, for nan first clip successful 28 years.

In a nail-biting game, Salah put Egypt up earlier Congo equalised 3 minutes from time.

"Do you cognize erstwhile you tin perceive to silence? I listened to nan soundlessness erstwhile Congo scored - 75,000 fans and soundlessness everywhere," adds Fayez.

Then came nan punishment that turned Salah into a nationalist hero.

"Imagine it, a federation of astir 120 cardinal waiting for this infinitesimal to qualify," says Fayez. "He had nan toughest and astir difficult infinitesimal for 1 player, a punishment successful nan 95th infinitesimal that Mohamed had to score.

"He scored it and he made america each proud. In nan dressing room afterwards he started to dance, hug everyone and he was shouting 'we did it, we did it', aft 28 years, we did it."

In Cairo is a shot academy called 'The Maker', founded and tally by erstwhile Tottenham and Egypt striker Mido, who is hoping to nutrient players who will travel successful Salah's footsteps.

"I played for nan nationalist squad successful beforehand of 110,000 group erstwhile I was only 17, nan youngest subordinate to correspond Egypt," Mido says. "I emotion to consciousness that group dangle connected maine and Salah is nan same."

At nan clip of our visit, a schoolroom instruction for young players astir nan mindset required to go a apical master is taking place.

Underneath Salah's sanction connected a whiteboard, 1 of nan coaches has written "discipline, dedication and motivation".

"The logic Salah is wherever he is now is because he useful connected his intelligence spot daily," Mido adds.

"He is nan top ambassador for Egypt and for African players arsenic well. He made European clubs respect Arab players, this is what Salah has done.

"I deliberation a batch of European clubs now, erstwhile they spot a young subordinate from Egypt, they deliberation of Salah. He has made our young players dream."

Back to Nagrig and we meet Rashida, a 70-year-old who sells vegetables from a mini stall. She talks astir really Salah has changed her life and nan lives of hundreds of different group successful nan colony wherever he was calved and raised.

"Mohamed is simply a bully man. He's respectful and kind, he's for illustration a relative to us," Rashida says.

She is 1 of galore group successful nan colony who person benefited from nan activity of Salah's charity, which gives backmost to nan spot wherever his travel to shot stardom started.

"The purpose is to thief orphans, divided and widowed women, nan poor, and nan sick," says Hassan Bakr from nan Mohamed Salah Charity Foundation.

"It provides monthly support, meals and nutrient boxes connected holidays and typical occasions. For illustration [with Rashida] there's a supplement to nan pension a widow receives.

"When Mohamed is present he stays humble, stepping astir successful normal clothes, ne'er showing off. People emotion him because of his modesty and kindness."

As good arsenic nan kindness helping group for illustration Rashida, Salah has funded a caller station agency to service nan section community, an ambulance unit, a belief institute and has donated onshore for a sewage station, among different projects.

When Liverpool won nan English convention title for a record-equalling 20th clip past season, fans turned up astatine a section cafe successful Nagrig to watch connected tv and observe nan village's celebrated son.

With location beryllium much celebrations successful Salah's location colony successful 2025-26?

Despite helping Liverpool to nan Premier League title successful 2019-20 and 2024-25, nan subordinate has yet to assistance a trophy for his country.

The procreation earlier Salah won 3 Africa Cup of Nations titles successful a statement betwixt 2006 and 2010. Since then, location person been 2 defeats successful finals, against Cameroon successful 2017 and Senegal successful nan 2021 edition, which took spot successful early 2022.

With nan 2025 Africa Cup of Nations starting connected 21 December - six months earlier nan World Cup - do Egyptians consciousness that nan 33-year-old now needs to present connected nan world stage?

"Salah has already done his legacy. He's nan top Egyptian footballer successful our history," says Mido.

"He doesn't person to beryllium thing to anyone, he's a fable for Liverpool and a fable for Egypt."