Mohamed Salah has been named as Egypt’s best player in 2015 after emerging winner in a poll conducted by Al-Ahram Hebdo (Ahram’s French publication), further enhancing his reputation as one of the finest Egyptian footballers to grace European football.
The 23-year-old gained 272 points in the vote featuring 53 football figures, officials, experts and critics in addition to reader votes after enjoying a year to remember and made up for a disappointing spell at English champions Chelsea by carving out a promising career in the Italian Serie A.
Salah beat off competition from former Basel teammate, Mohamed Elneny, who came second with 200 points , following his consistent displays in the Swiss league which put him on the verge of a high-profile move to Chelsea’s London rivals, Arsenal.
Ahly skipper Hossam Ghaly, who also had English spells with Tottenham Hotspur and Derby County, finished third following some inspiring performances with the Egyptian giants despite their failure to win a major trophy for the first time since 2004. He won the award’s trophy for the best home-based player.
Zamalek striker Bassem Morsi, whose 18 goals propelled the Cairo club to their first Premier League title in 11 years and a double salvo gave them a 2-0 win over bitter rivals Ahly in the Egypt Cup final, came fourth while Portugal-based striker Ahmed Kouka, who joined Sporting Braga from Rio Ave in the off season, was fifth.
Salah cut a forlorn figure at Chelsea in early 2015 and was clearly told that he did not feature in Jose Mourinho’s plans for the rest of the season, prompting him to accept a short-term loan move to Fiorentina in the less illustrious Serie A.
The Egyptian winger is regarded by many as the best Egyptian player in the world right now and boasts 37 appearances with the national team.
He began his career at Al-Mokawloon before joining FC Basel in Switzerland, becomes only the second Egyptian player to sign for AS Roma after Mido moved to the Olimpico in 2004.
After impressing for Basel against Chelsea in Europe, Salah moved to Stamford Bridge and was handed his debut in the Premier League by José Mourinho at the age of 21. He scored two goals in 13 Premier League appearances for Chelsea before moving to Fiorentina on loan.
In Italy he scored his first goal against Sassuolo, one week after his debut, and was one of the key performers in both Serie A and the Europa League during the second half of the season.
He blossomed at the Artemio Franchi and quickly became a fans favourite, thanks to the nine goals he had scored in all competitions, including six in 16 league appearances, plus his trickery and marauding runs which left opposing defenders trailing in his wake on many occasions.
One of his prominent highlights in the first half of the year was a stunning goal he scored in an Italian Cup clash against Juventus in March, picking up the ball in his own half before running half the length of the pitch, skipping past a challenger and rifling home past the keeper.
His stint at Fiorentina ended in an acrimonious manner though after he rejected the club’s offer of a permanent deal in July, enraging their supporters.
After a protracted summer saga, he finally joined Roma where he made a fine start before a month-long injury he sustained in November hindered his progress. He scored six goals in all competitions with Roma – five in the Serie A and one in the Champions League – before the end of 2015.
