By Youssra el-Sharkawy When Egypt was defeated by Portugal in a friendly football match last March (Portugal 2 – Egypt 1), surprisingly, Egyptians didn't feel too sad over the loss. They were very happy that football star Mohamed Salah scored the only goal. Egyptians love Salah unconditionally. They keep sharing his news and photos with great admiration. Even during the recent presidential elections, photos of some invalid votes went viral on social media as some Egyptians crossed over the names of the two candidates – President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Head of Al-Ghad Party Moussa Moustafa Moussa, and wrote the name of Mohamed Salah on the voting cards suggesting he becomes Egypt's president. In a football-mania country like Egypt where people gather in large numbers at coffee shops to watch matches, Salah occupied the hearts of people – not just because he is a skillful player but for many other reasons including his kindness, charity activities and much more. "He is a talented footballer and a good example for a successful Egyptian outside his country," Ahmed Hassan, 40-year-old accountant told the Mail. But, some people even love the Liverpool football player although they don't watch football matches. "I don't love football or watch it, but I love Salah," Ayat Mohamed, a 22-year-old university student told the Mail. "He is a real human. He feels the pain of other people and try to help them as much as he can," She added. Local media have been following Salah's news which highlights his charity work. He donated money to buy hospital equipments, renovate schools, and help young people to marry by paying all wedding expenses in the village he was born in. "Salah is a role model. He is respectable and gives charity to people in need. I hope all young people to be like him," said Hanaa Mohamed, a young woman and employee at a governmental institution. Born in 1992 to a poor family in a small village in the Nile Delta governorate of el-Gharbiya, Salah faced many challenges throughout his life. His father, a salesman, was unable to afford higher education for his son, so Salah decided to pursue his dream of becoming a football player. As a teenager, Salah had to take over two hours everyday to commute from his village to get to El-Mokawloon football club in Cairo. During his life journey, sometimes he faced rejection, sometime he faced criticism, but all these hardships not only made him the bright name he enjoys today, but also made millions of Egyptians see him as one of them. He was also keen on participating in social ads which urge young people to avoid drugs."He urges young people to look forward to the future, work for it, avoid up drugs and he gives people hope," said Ahmed Atef, a young man and employee at state-run organisation. Known as the Egyptian King and Egypt's fourth pyramid, the Football star scored, last October, the penalty (against Congo) that sent Egypt to the World Cup finals for the first time in 28 years. People of Egypt were anticipating this goal and their happiness were doubled because Mohamed Salah was the one who did it. The rising of Salah was much earlier than this goal as his marvelous skills has generated widespread reactions not only in Egypt but worldwide. In Egypt, Many shops put large posters of Salah alongside Lionel Messi from Barcelona and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's two outstanding players of the past decade. Also some, retail shops started to sell T-shirts with name and photos of Salah on them. At the same time, some street artists also painted morals for Mohamed Salah on the walls of streets of Cairo and other governorates. "We are proud of Salah. He is an international player who cherishes his Egyptian roots," said Amira Ragab, a journalist. Not only Egyptians, but, also some Liverpool fans (the football club which Salah plays for now), chanted that they will convert to Islam if ‘Mo Salah' continues to shine and scores more goals, and have no objections to going to a mosque. They sang "If he's good enough for you, he's good enough for me.. If he scores another few then I'll be Muslim too.. He's sitting in a mosque, that's where I want to be." Salah has won different awards for his outstanding performance. Last year, he was crowned as BBC's Best African Footballer of the Year and received several other awards.
