(birds chirping) [Host] Until recently, not many people would have heard of Negrig, a quiet village in Egypt's governorate of Gharbia. Today, it has become known as the proud hometown of one of the world's best and most recognizable footballers of modern times, (tranquil music) (cheering) that is known as Mohamed Salah. He is more than just a footballer.
He is a cultural phenomenon on and off the pitch, arguably the greatest and most important Arab athlete of all time. From billboards to magazine covers and television commercials, in pop songs and fan paintings, at red carpets and award ceremonies, the world just can't get enough of Mo! (upbeat music) [Neil] In the summer of 2018, I was lucky enough to go on the pre-season tour with Liverpool and he just scored the 44-goal season and he didn't play in the first friendly but in the second friendly, he's warming up during half-time and he comes on in about 60 minutes and it was like Prince or Beyoncé were coming onto the pitch.
The crowd is absolutely up. It's the other side of the world, it's in the United States, but by that point there's a mural of him in the Liverpool City Center. There's a mural of him in the U.
S. He's become this worldwide icon. He's been on the cover of Time Magazine because of what he's done at Liverpool.
[Salem] Before Mohamed Salah, practicing any kind of sports and football in particular was always difficult for the parents. A parent used to say, "Don't play football" "Focus on your school", "Study well" After Mohamed Salah things have changed. Now the parents themselves are taking their child to the club, spending money on their training, taking care of what he eats and drinks and wanting him to practice football in any way even if it doesn't interest him, hoping he can be anything like Mohamed Salah.
The thing that influences these young men to let their hair grow out for months, is to imitate Mohamed Salah, although here in the countryside mothers usually don't let their sons grow their hair out as it is inappropriate. Nowadays the youth are imitating Mohamed Salah's overall look, letting their hair grow out for months following captain Mohamed's lead. There are many influential people like actors, singers, political figures, scientists.
Egypt has produced many people of influence and I would never undermine any of their achievements. However, nobody has had that impact on that number of people outside Egypt in my opinion, like Mohamed Salah. (upbeat music) No, who wrote it?
Great! I loved it! Mo Salah's impact on the world is really interesting in that it is not one you can say is limited to a certain place or a certain city or a certain football club.
But it's one that I think just transcends geographical boundaries and. . .
When you have someone like that, that's such an incredible figure, who is able to have an impact literally doing his job and playing football, that's a really special thing. And for me, he kind of defines what it means to be a footballer nowadays. Regarding the effect of Mohamed Salah on other fields like cinema, music, or any other field apart from football, I don't think there's been an impact of this magnitude in Egypt's history.
What I didn't understand at the time is just like how broad and intense his influence and popularity is in that part of the world. Like people I've spoken to Arab speaking people since then and they've tried to explain to me they're like, "No you don't understand Mark. Like this guy is like Michael Jordan and Messi and Tiger Woods like all at the same time.
" (stadium cheers) [Hedaya] Anyone who practices any sport wants to be the "Mohamed Salah" of their sport. We can all do so but not everyone believes it. Not everyone has the self-confidence that they can be like Mohamed Salah but in fact, it is possible that anyone in any sport here in Egypt can be like Mohamed Salah, whether they play judo, karate or any other sport.
I can say that the journey started when I made the decision to change my weight class where I was ranked third in the world and was considered one of the best in that class, as I hadn't lost against anyone ranked below the first and second in that weight class. That was a really difficult decision to start all over again and start collecting my ranking points from zero that made the whole journey hard for me. After winning the bronze medal in Rio, we found that Mohamed Salah tweeted on Twitter saying, "Congratulations Hedaya Malak on your bronze medal and also to Sara Samir for her bronze medal.
" When it happened I was shocked, Mohamed Salah tweeted about me! That was something that made us feel that he is one of us and that he is supporting us. People sometimes tell me that I'm like Mohamed Salah in football.
When they say that to me it makes me very happy because he inspires everyone to dream and to reach the highest level in the world like he did as he is becoming a legend. (stadium chatter) (whistles) [Mark] I've been a football fan for a long time. I went to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and I was at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
And you know my wife's Brazilian, so I followed the Brazilian players, the Brazilian team. I had heard of Mo Salah, but I didn't really know much about him. And I had actually just gone to the Brazil-Mexico game that day and I came back to the hotel and you know it was just one of those things, you pull out your phone.
I looked down and there's like 20,000 notifications on my social media. And I was like, what the hell just happened? And so I open up Twitter and I started looking around and it's just all of these people with Arabic names tagging me, messaging me, retweeting me, like all these things just going on and on and on, like my whole social media was just flooded with these people.
And eventually I figured out that Mo Salah had been photographed reading my book. It was kind of an unknown book in the Arab world at the time, but within like two days it was sold out everywhere. I think the most incredible thing about the Mo Salah moment is like.
. . that.
. . my popularity there has continued.
So like I do events in the Middle East, I go see fans, I do signings over there, my book sales are great there. I hear from Middle Eastern readers like all the time and so it's actually lasted for about three years now, which is just, it's incredible. (shouting & chanting) [Amr] In a time where Arabs are being portrayed in a manner that isn't very positive in many parts of the world, the Arabs living in Liverpool, and I know many of them, the way people look at them has taken a huge 180-degree turn after Salah in comparison to how things were before Salah.
(upbeat music) [B-Mike] Definitely no secret to me. The significance of painting someone like Mo Salah on a building in Times Square in New York City. A man from Egypt, an Arabic speaking man, giving all those things that for a lot of reasons people seem to have distance from in the States and to have the context of him painted that big in front of so many people, an audience of the world it seems.
So I knew the placement of this mural in terms of the dynamic between the audience, in that the audience will be on the ground for the most part and he's towering above 15 stories high. And so I wanted them to have this like, this connection to audience by looking down on them, but I also wanted to play with that dynamic and think of Mo Salah as this person who is connected to his audience. So it's not just a matter of looking down on the audience but it's a matter of being connected to the people who.
. . sort of uplift him.
And so that was important for me, that like that gaze and that downward motion of looking down. Clearly Mo Salah is a huge athlete and he has worldwide support and fans from all over. And so after doing that project it definitely connected me to more individuals, people who were introduced to my art and so I'm grateful for that.
You know, that doing that portrait of Mo Salah helped other people see some of the work that I've been doing for a long time. (shouting) [Marwan] The "Abu Mecca" (father of Mecca) song that I produced was done during the period when he was the league's top scorer. There was a French or an English rapper from the UK.
In fact I think there were two songs which were called "Mo Salah. " Here in Egypt, we were talking about him everywhere on TV. However in our music scene and in the industry of rap music there was no mention of Mohamed Salah.
So I started to think. . .
Liverpool's motto is "You'll Never Walk Alone" I felt that being here in Egypt, we couldn't let such a thing go. They called him a "one-season wonder" and I myself faced the same challenges and I was called a "one-hit wonder. " Every time I produced a track, I was called a "one-hit wonder.
" The track would succeed and I would still be called a "one-hit wonder. " You get a feeling where you are burning inside and you want to prove everyone wrong. And that I can do it more and more and more.
(cheering) The common thing between music and football that both are languages, and Salah is very good in that language. I've been supporting Liverpool since 1986. I started going all the way back then with my dad and sort of year in year out I was always able to make a certain number of games.
And then since 2011 we've been working on the Anfield Wrap and working really, really hard to get the best possible sort of work we can for Liverpool supporters. We've been lucky to tour all over the world, watching Liverpool, not just in European games, but in pre-season tours, we've seen them in Singapore, we've seen them in the United States. We've seen them in Australia, we've seen them in France, we've seen them in Spain.
Anywhere there is to see Liverpool I've been lucky enough to see them. [Host] For many, Salah is more than just a brilliant player. An icon, a role model.
To the Egyptian people, especially the youth, Salah represents their hopes and aspirations. Someone they seek to emulate. What makes Salah unique is that anyone who supports him can see a piece of themselves in him.
My match experience now is probably as it's always been. The best way I can explain it is that my eyesight is a lot more blurry now than it ever used to be, which means I can't see as far or as clearly as I used to. So at the match, my experience will be as normal really, but everything that everyone else can see is just more blurry to me.
The original video of us celebrating is the Napoli game in the Champions League. We win 1-0 that game and we have to win that game to go through, through the group stages. So it was a big goal.
It was down to the underground, obviously it was, we sat in The Kop but it was at the Anfield Road then. So as I mentioned before about my eyesight, I knew we'd scored, I knew he had come from that side of the pitch but I didn't quite know who it was and the celebration and video basically because of Stephen telling me it was Mo and that he had gone past Koulibaly and scored the way he did. -Nice to meet you Mo -How are you?
I'm not so bad. How are you? Thank you very much Mo.
My shirt. This is the surprise for you. He's himself.
He's unapologetically himself and very. . .
a very generous person. You know, he didn't have to do what he did for me in terms of inviting me up, or giving me a shirt or any of that. You know, he could have just gone about his day but, you know, he took the time to be generous with his time and you know, with a gift.
I just think it's, you know it's, a lot's always said about our role models and stuff like that but he is. . .
You know he's. . .
the proof is in the pudding with Mo. He's just a down to earth fellow who is just unapologetically himself and he is a really kind person. Ladies and gentlemen, a seismic contribution.
. . He's a dad as well as a footballer and he'd probably argue he's a dad first and a footballer second and.
. . he wants to change the world to make it a better place for his daughters and in doing so I feel really proud to be a woman and to be a supporter of this football club.
(cheering) Liverpool really catapulted Mo Salah but it's his own brilliance that catapulted him as well. For me Mohamed Salah is an Egyptian icon. When you go to any part of the world or when I travel anywhere like when I am riding a taxi and getting asked where I come from as I am wearing a hijab, they ask me, where I come from.
And when I say Egypt, they immediately reply "Oh! Mo Salah! " As if Egypt only means Mohamed Salah.
[Amr] It is becoming very normal that when someone mentions Egypt, and I have witnessed that while I was in Russia, when I say I'm Egyptian the first thing people respond with is the Pyramids and Mohamed Salah. (chanting & shouting) [Host] Football by far has been the most popular sport in Egypt. For decades the beautiful game united Egyptians amidst turmoil.
Egypt's 2006, 2008, and 2010 AFCON streak is unmatchable. However, they struggled for almost 30 years to qualify for the World Cup. [Amr] Egypt is a country whose people breathe football.
If you cut our hands, you won't find blood, you'll find football in our veins. Of course, that's one of the most important games if not the most important one I attended in my life. (singing national anthem) [Amr] The last time we qualified for the World Cup was in 1990.
I was a little child. Until now I can remember the moment vaguely. When Magdy Abdel Ghany scored people were celebrating, and the streets were closed.
Afterwards, we only lived to see tragedy after tragedy. The World Cup for the Egyptian fan, the Egyptian people, is a big thing and a curse that we couldn't overcome. It shouldn't be normal growing up supporting a national team like Egypt, a very big team, the most successful country in African competitions, both on club or international level, that I shouldn't be able to see them play in the World Cup.
So it was a real curse. it was a dream. I wanted to see an Egyptian player playing and succeeding in Europe to guide us to the World Cup.
The most important moment was the penalty kick. The referee blew his whistle and gave the penalty, then the whole stadium was celebrating. 100,000 fans in the stadium were celebrating.
100 million Egyptians outside the stadium were celebrating. The players who were on the bench entered the pitch, the manager and the players inside the pitch were celebrating. However, there is a shot while everyone is celebrating Salah is standing alone kneeling down and holding his knees.
Everyone is celebrating that we won a penalty, yet he knew at the moment that he was the one to take the penalty. The responsibility of the dream held by 100 million Egyptians and the 28-year old curse rested on that one penalty kick. And the greatest players in the history of the game missed decisive penalties.
(shouting) [Amr] Scoring that penalty meant that Mohamed Salah became a national hero in Egypt. Mohamed started his football career as a child while growing up in a family where his father was a footballer. His paternal uncle was a footballer.
His maternal uncle was a footballer. You can say Mohamed had the genes to become a footballer. And while he was a little child, he started controlling the ball in a beautiful way with his left foot.
That's why his father and his uncle started to anticipate a great future for Mohamed. [Salem] Mohamed Salah was always a silent person, only minding his own business. Except while playing football, as he always loved football and loved playing with his friends.
In the streets, in his house, in the school's playground, you would only hear Mohamed Salah's voice on the pitch. Apart from that it was very rare to hear Mohamed Salah speaking. [Marwan] Regarding the influence and how youth and adults are influenced by the public figures or the ones they consider their role models, that represents love.
The kind of love that is genuine, true, and natural and because of the love you have for that person, you start to want to copy what they do, the way they dress, their hairstyles. I remember when I was young and used to listen to a certain rapper. I would look at the shoes he was wearing and think, "Oh!
I should buy these shoes! " Just because I loved that person, was influenced by him, or considered him a role model for myself. (indistinct chatter) I swear it's Salah!
Situations here that let young children and people here know that I look like Mohamed Salah, or that I am not Mohamed Salah so they love me. This drew an image of what people think of him, what Mohamed Salah is to them. I just look like him and they have that love for me.
What about Salah himself! ? What did he do for them to have that love for him?
(kids shouting) [Karim] Salah made me change the way I see my life. He made me learn not to lose hope, to be persistent and determined, and not to give up and to take care of my health and avoid anything that's harmful. (horn blaring) [Mark] The first major star from Egypt, you know, capturing the minds of so many young people in that part of the world, battling through so many setbacks and challenges and just doing it with grace and a smile on his face.
Like, I mean, it's, it's a joy to watch him. And to me, he's a great role model of how to deal with all these pressures. I think the people who I'm attracted to create, of and around, are people who I wouldn't mind seeing myself reflected in or wouldn't mind finding versions of themselves that I relate to or even more importantly that I would want to be like.
Many congratulations to this year's winner. It's Mo Salah! (applause) (shouting) Good evening everyone.
Nothing to say much about that, but I'm very happy and very proud. I have to thank everyone who voted for me and I'm looking forward for the other awards tonight. Thank you.
(applause) Many people who feel that they have reached the absolute peak of their ambitions in whatever field begin to wind down and get full of themselves. However, the more barriers he breaks, the kind that no one ever imagined an Egyptian player would, the more he renews his motivation so he can break bigger barriers and put bigger challenges in front of him so he can try to power through them. [Neil] It's absolutely incredible to have Mohamed Salah as he is now in this kit.
Having seen Liverpool for as many years as I have, and being around the world seeing them, I want Liverpool, I want Liverpool the city, Liverpool the football club, to be the best possible version of itself that it can be. I want the world to talk about Liverpool football club and Liverpool the city. I want it to be larger than life.
I want people to come from all over the globe to see Liverpool Football Club. To do that you need to have the best players. And I'd say for Liverpool, you also need to have very, very good people.
And in Mo Salah, there's this wonderful person who's become in lots of senses an ambassador for Liverpool. He's an ambassador for many things but he's an ambassador for Liverpool the city, Liverpool the football club, but also Liverpool the city. This is a place where this incredible individual has got to excel.
And for me that's what's so special about Mo Salah, he's one of ours. And there will be a lot of people through this video and through this film who will want Mo Salah to be one of theirs. And that's allowed.
There's a lot of Mo Salahs to go around, we can share them out, but Mo Salah is one of ours and that's what makes me so proud and it's one of the things that makes Liverpool great. [Hedaya] I always felt that he was doing something exceptional. He doesn't just reach the top, he goes beyond that and excels in what he's doing.
He did. . .
I can't express it, beyond the top. He doesn't just score goals, he scores them in a beautiful and skillful way. Everyone loves him, and everyone portrays him as their role model.
Mohamed Salah is a simple person. No matter how high he reaches, his origins are simple and he is very close to the people. And people always think that he is one of them and people can see that very well.
Whenever you stand in front of the camera or in front of a screen, or on the pitch people can clearly see themselves in you. So Mohamed Salah's whole story, his personality, and the way he is built, it is so easy for anyone to see themselves in. (stadium cheers) If I had to describe Mo Salah in one word it would be.
. . Humility.
A hero. A spark for others. Strive.
Thank you for being an inspiration. The best footballer ever and the person that we admire so very much.
