An exclusive book extract by Melissa Reddy documents Mohamed Salah's sacrifice and dedication, from his humble beginnings in Nagrig to his rise as a global football star. The extract highlights the grueling nine-hour round trips he endured five days a week to train in Cairo, and the extraordinary lengths he went to pursue his dream.
The Daily Grind
Salah's journey from his village involved at least four buses each way, starting from a T-junction at the edge of Nagrig to Basyoun, then to Tanta, a 100-kilometer slog to Ramses Square, and finally a connection to Nasr City. After four hours of training, he would reverse the trip. Despite the exhaustion, Salah recalled in 2022, "I didn't feel tired travelling when I was young. It's because I was doing something I wanted, chasing a dream I had to reach. I wasn't seeing my situation, I was seeing my goal."
His first coach at Al Mokawloon, Hamdi Nouh, whom Salah calls a "second father," noted that Salah "was ready to sacrifice everything, he wanted to work hard, and liked to learn." Salah's mother, Umm Mohamed, worried about the dangerous microbuses and the long distance, especially after a major accident on his route. She tried calling him over 20 times, but Salah was asleep and didn't answer.
Sleeping in a Cemetery
One incident that hasn't been widely told involves Salah and a teammate staying in Cairo for the week. They planned to stay at the teammate's uncle's house, but when they arrived, the uncle wasn't there. With no money for other lodging, they ended up in a cemetery, a symptom of Cairo's housing shortage. Salah refused to stay there, so they went to Al Mokawloon's complex, where an on-site administrator let them in. They slept on the floor with Salah using his shoes as a pillow, setting an alarm for 6am to avoid being caught.
The next day, they moved to Field 2, sleeping under the open sky. Salah enjoyed being early for training. This experience, along with his daily travels, shaped his resilience.
Rise to Stardom
At 18, Salah joined the first team and moved into Al Mokawloon's residences. He recalled, "Not everyone could stay there, so psychologically I felt like I became someone, like a star. I used to see players finish training and go upstairs, while I would leave to take the journey back to Nagrig. I'd think, 'One day I'll go up there'." He would indeed go higher than any other Egyptian footballer in history.
This extract is from Only Mo Salah: An intimate portrait of the Egyptian King by Melissa Reddy, published by Orion Publishing, available from 13 August.
