Sky Sports pundit Tony Cascarino believes that Liverpool star Mo Salah is not your stereotypical player, which is why most football fans have time for him.
The Egyptian international netted a hat-trick against Bournemouth on Saturday, but it was not Salah’s goals that Casacrino was mightily impressed by – it is his “gracious” nature and ability not to fulfil the stereotype of today’s footballer.
He adds that this is one of the reasons why he adores the 5ft 9in [Transfermarkt] mainstay so much, and why most football fans – regardless of whether they support Liverpool – respect him.
“Why do I love Mohamed Salah? Just look at his second goal against Bournemouth. He was clearly fouled by Steve Cook but he didn’t go to ground like 99.9 per cent of players would have. He stayed on his feet and then shot beyond Asmir Begovic,” he said in his Times column.
“The Liverpool forward completely goes against the stereotype of modern footballers. He doesn’t celebrate goals that emphatically; he never whips his shirt off or parades around the pitch.
“He is very gracious and I think that is why even opposition fans respect him. That’s one of the reasons why I like him so much and think that he is such a credit to the game.”
OPINION
What other praise can you heap on Mo Salah at the moment? There must be no positive adjectives left to describe him now after his heroics at the weekend. Like Cascarino pointed out, he does not define the sterotypical footballer, an attribute which Salah must be proud of. In this day and age it is easy for strikers to fall down easily, but his willingness to stay on his feet even after Steve Cook fouled him shows his determination to do well for his team rather than taking the easy route. This is a rare breed of footballer and Jurgen Klopp must make the most of someone with such a love for the game. Salah ticks all of the boxes and he has all of the attributes to be the best in the world some day – all he needs to do now is carry on scoring the goals we all know that he is capable of.
