The iconic song of Liverpool fans, “You Will Never Walk Alone,” gained support from over a hundred million Egyptians, significantly greater than the club’s original fans after Mohamed Salah’s enrollment seven years ago. Destitute of any joy and pleasure, Egyptians find solace in supporting Liverpool. In an exceptional season, Liverpool leads the English Premier League and the UEFA. As a result of such a performance, it became the Egyptians’ sole source of joy amid socioeconomic and political difficulties.
Famed for their wit and humor, the Egyptians pursue the modest joys of making jokes and enjoying a walk by the long banks of the Nile River and the lavish shores of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. Nonetheless, these views, much needed for our minds and souls, are blocked by the various cafes the government established in its developing efforts in the country. Hence, they resorted to watching Liverpool games for entertainment uncontrolled by the government.
Over these past seven years, Egyptians thoroughly understood Liverpool’s coaching techniques and the football-specific terms of compensation and contract expiration. In summary, Liverpool Football Club became integral to Egyptians’ daily routines, unlike many Egyptian state institutes that moved from one failure to another. In the meantime, Liverpool’s true achievement is partly credited to the Egyptian player Mo Salah, who emerged as a genuine Egyptian hero.
Large groups of Egyptians aspire to leave their loving country for the GCC for better income or to the West to validate their merit and excellence in a highly competitive world. Against this backdrop, Salah arises with his true commitment to high moral standards, relentless dedication to advancing his performance and records, and humble manners in the sporting scene filled with temptations enough to dissuade the famous young players. As a successful outperformer in fiercely competitive international football tournaments, Salah became a worldwide figure, not just a role model for Liverpool fans.
However, a segment of Egyptian society strongly denounced Mo Salah, viewing him as a renowned Arab and Muslim athlete who hesitated to support Gaza under an ongoing genocide. A single tweet from him can raise universal awareness about the Palestinians’ suffering. Egyptians often search for a hero to delegate their challenges to, even if it is out of his domain. I believe Salah is an exceptional football player, yet such a decades-long crisis is out of his league.
Egyptians constantly seek a national hero to look up to and blindly follow. The last political hero they irrationally adored was the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser. The majority of Egyptians wholeheartedly overlooked his flops. Nasser gained popularity fighting the British occupation of Egypt. He seized the agricultural lands of the Egyptian elites to distribute them among the poor farmers. He implemented a socially driven economy that ended up in low productivity, and Egypt eventually paid a high price for his poor policy.
After the charismatic Nasser, Sadat came as a true modernizer who fought a war against Israel, made a preeminent peace with it, and focused on an open-market economy. However, he was assassinated and accused of betraying Egypt’s nation. Sadat’s assassination brought Mubarak to power. Throughout his three-decade rule, Mubarak was adept at keeping an iron-grip policy while also allowing Egyptians to “economically and politically breathe,” providing subsidized products for the poor and enabling Egyptian politicians to practice a fake democracy.
Fast-forward to present time, Egypt is under President Al Sisi’s rule. From the outset, he tightened an iron grip, implemented insensible economic reforms, and marginalized talented elites in all fields. His deliberate policies brought sadness, poverty, and an undignified life to the entire population, placing himself as the most disfavored ruler. Lacking Nasser’s charisma, Sadat’s entrepreneurial mindset, and Mubarak’s modesty, Al Sisi continuously declared his plans to make Egypt an advanced nation, while in reality, it has become a frail country.
Moreover, Al Sisi undervalues all achievements before his rule, including Ancient Egypt. He demolishes the tombs of historical rulers for road construction; only he believes it to be a significant accomplishment. During the rule of previous presidents, the state supported and provided various entertaining activities at affordable prices for its vastly low-income citizens. Under his rule, President Al Sisi imposes an overpriced policy for many entertainment venues, distancing the poor from all forms of entertainment.
What makes Liverpool’s Salah stand out from his Egyptian peers? Salah has a strong desire to excel, a trait that sets him apart from the vast majority of Egyptians content with a life of mediocrity. With a modest background, Salah was a marginalized football player in Egypt. Against all odds, he fought poverty, illiteracy, and corruption that typically demote an average ambitious person. He inspires millions of Egyptian youngsters to follow in his footsteps—a success story seconded by Liverpool Club management empowering talented players to flourish.
