“I don’t know what it is but I love it”, sang Liverpool’s 1984 European Cup winners in the tunnel before kick-off to that year’s final, at once bemusing and intimidating their Roman opponents. Those same words, 34 years later, were inscribed on a specially-made banner in the Kop for this reunion with Roma, but the banner could have been displayed since the start of the season, for those 10 words could perfectly describe the Liverpool support’s relationship with one Mohamed Salah. What is the Egyptian? A winger? A striker? A ‘space interpreter’? Or, after his spectacular first-half salvo that inspired Liverpool to wrack up a 5-2 semi-final lead, shall we simply settle on calling him the third-best player in world football? Read more Five things we learned as Magical Mo inspires Liverpool to thump Roma It seems a fair assessment. There was some debate on Monday morning, hours after Salah was recognised by his peers as this season’s outstanding player, whether he was as ‘complete’ as his rival for the prize, Kevin de Bruyne. It was reminiscent of Eden Hazard’s remark in March that Salah is “more striker than a player” – a comment not meant as an insult, but one that in the weeks since has only seemed more and more inaccurate. Salah is a ‘player’ and an exemplary one, but one whose combination of the simple and the sublime almost defies attempts at definition. Regulars at Anfield this season have been privileged enough to witness something that can only be… [Read full story]
Leave a Reply