Nagrig is a small village in the heart of the city of Basyoun in the Gharbia Governate of Northern Egypt. A dusty village at a distance of 125 kms from Cairo through the Alexandria Agriculture Road, it takes more than two and a half hours to reach Nagrig from Cairo. This simple unassuming village with its more than 50 percent of the population living in poverty has nothing much to boast about except for the fact that Mo Salah, arguably the best football player in the world today, the shining star of Liverpool football club and the captain of Egypt’s National Football Team, is a native of this village.
Mohammad Salah, popularly known as Mo Salah to his fans is an amazing story, and howsoever true it may be, is difficult to believe. A poor young kid, from an obscure village in Egypt, with nothing except a prayer on his lips, a determined heart, a supporting father and some magical talent for football, bereft of facilities and modern training techniques, somehow made it to the top. As fables are written, Salah’s prayers were answered in the form of Reda El- Mallah, a scout for young football talent, who happened to visit Nagrig to have a look at Sheriff a fine player from Nagrig.
Reda knew that Sheriff was a good player, but the one who caught his attention was Salah, who mighty impressed him and thus began the story of Salah’s phenomenal rise. Salah then gave trials at different clubs and eventually landed in Cairo to play for Egypt’s top football club Al-Mokawloon. The name started doing rounds in footballing circles, such was the impact of Mo Salah on the game and finally the time came for Salah to leave Egypt. He was picked up by Basel, the best club in Switzerland.
This was top flight football and Salah never looked back and went on to have a very successful stint with Basel. With a brief stay at Chelsea, Salah moved to Liverpool in 2017 and since then he has been a central figure in Liverpool’s re-emergence in the English Premier League, winning almost every conceivable title. Salah has been prolific with his goal scoring and has been the fastest to 100 goals in the history of Liverpool. His quicksilver feet, amazing ball control, unrealistic dribbling skills and a flair to find the goal, have made Salah an iconic player at Liverpool.
Such has been his following at Liverpool, that not only his fans support him to the hilt, but have also written songs in his affection and honour. It has also been reported that hate crimes in Liverpool have fallen by 16% since the arrival of Mo Salah at the club. He has been accepted by all. His prayers have been heard and his talent rewarded no end and in the midst of all this Salah has not forgotten Nagrig. He has taken initiatives to build a school there and provide other amenities through his charitable work. Though still a lot has to be done at Nagrig, Salah is doing his bit.
Salah has not changed. He is the same humble soul, with a prayer on his lips, a determined heart, rooted to his soil, magnanimous and forever thankful. The magician from Nagrig, a legend, a fairy tale, an unbelievable fable, a good human being…..a true inspiration.
The Story of Mo Salah is truly inspirational. A magnificent effort putforth straight from the heart surely yields landing to the final goal .Its all about the Belief System,the willpower to succeed against all the odds.Prayers foster our endeavour .”Jinko tufanon se ulajhne ki ho aadate mousam unhe samundar ki lahrein bhi dua deti hain”.And nevertheless we must remember that the darkest nights produce the brightest stars.And The charisma of hardworking continues forever …….