Abroad: King Salah gives Egyptians goosebumps

It is true that Mohamed Salah has become the only soundtrack on global media houses’ playlists. But away from all of that and how much we are loving him, we look at what Cairo and Egypt as a country feels about the lad turned King. Reuters TV took a tour and here is what they got:

"Honestly as soon as Salah scores we all feel goosebumps all over our body." Coffee Shop Worker, Sherif Hussein

"Despite not being a football fan, I am very proud of Mohamed Salah. was able to present a very good picture of to the international world. About Egyptians, Arabs, and Islam. He was able to present an image of us elegantly and easily." - Cairo resident, Fatma Saad

"Mohamed Salah is the best player in Egypt and is really representing us. He will be the best player in the world. He is royalty and everyone loves him. Everyone is proud of him. He is making Egypt proud abroad." - Unnamed Cairo Resident

 More than just the endless accolades and records broken, Salah gives a whole nation of more than 90 million people, hope, a sense of pride and fulfillment and other positive feelings best explained the phrase, “he gives us goosebumps.” He just plays football and puts it in the back of the net more often than most at a humble club in Liverpool, Merseyside - but in turn, he gives people more than they could adequately articulate. That’s the amazing power of the game we all love.

Apart from being endorsed as President of Egypt in the recent elections, Salah is leading the race for both England and Europe’s golden shoe having already scored more than Messi and Ronaldo at 45 goals in all competitions.All his current successes and the possibility of him leading Liverpool to a UEFA Champions League trophy presents an exciting prospect of winning the world’s best player accolade (Ballon d’or), breaking Messi and Ronaldo’s ten years of dominance.

Can he win it?

Carlo Ancelotti offered Italy job

The Italy national team did not want to waste their time in offering the experienced Carlo Ancelotti to become the head coach. This decision came from a meeting that helped between Ancelotti and the representatives of the Italian Football Association in a meeting that is believed to have lasted for an hour-and-a-half. The manager has been out of a job since being sacked by Bayern Munich in September last year and was replaced by Jupp Heynckes. The manager has since been on the radar of Arsenal who are looking for a perfect replacement for the outgoing Arsene Wenger.

Ancelotti is still yet to accept the offer for the Italy national team job which fuels speculation as to why he has not. Rumors are circulating that the 58-year old is interested in the soon-to-be-vacant job in the English Premier League with a club that has been well run over the years. He recently refused to rule himself out of the job and some fans have since expressed their admiration of a manager who is great at bringing out the best in players as well as playing an attractive form of football that has since become the identity of Arsenal since 1996. We are to believe that Ancelotti will use this offer to push Arsenal into reacting if they are seriously considering the experienced Italian boss who has managed the biggest clubs in Europe. He has managed to win 3 UEFA Champions League trophies and that is definitely something that Ivan Gazidis should be looking at considering that Arsenal are still yet to win one European competition. Will Ancelotti accept the offer or will he risk it and wait for Arsenal who might not even be considering him?

Mo Salah on target as Liverpool win 5-2 at home

The Egyptian King showed no mercy on his return. We are almost running out of words of describing Mo Salah’s debut season in England. The Liverpool forward has been on fire this season and has already scored 31 league goals. Liverpool were wounded by losing Coutinho in January but Salah has made that loss almost look like it is not a big deal. Roma also lost Palmieri who left for Chelsea, Salah who left for Liverpool as well as their legend Totti who went into retirement. The two teams are almost in the same predicament but they have believed in their abilities this season which has seen them go places.

Liverpool faced Roma tonight in the first leg of the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League and this feature was unthinkable at the start of the season. The most obvious names of PSG, Juventus, Barcelona, Manchester City, and Manchester United are already out but yet these two teams remain. Liverpool kicked off the match with a fierce attacking play that saw them create chances that were missed by Mane and Firmino in succession. It took a while before the man of the moment found the back of the net from a nicely curled effort at the edge of the box. Salah could not celebrate out of respect for his former club but what a beautiful strike it was. With his abilities, Messi has not been missed at this stage of the competition. Dejan Lovren almost made it 2-0 to Liverpool when his header hit the crossbar. Liverpool were eager to score more and Firmino found Salah on the break and the forward chipped the ball over the keeper to score his second of the night in the 45th minute. This was his 43rd goal of the season and he is now 3 shy of the all-time record at Liverpool held by Ian Rush who was in the stands to watch the African player shine against Roma.

Sadio Mane came from the break to score on the 56th minute to make it 3-0 to Liverpool. It looked all Liverpool in this match before the man of the match, Roberto Firmino scored a brace between the 61st and the 68th minutes. 5-0! Surely, Roma were out. But the team continued to fight until they scored two; the first from Dzeko and a penalty from Perotti in the 85th minute. Roma reduced the defeat to 3 goals and are planning to pull off another come back like they did against Barcelona. Will they make Liverpool regret conceding two goals in this 5-2 win at home?

World Cup Rush: Iheanacho next in line for Leicester’s No.10 role

Nigerian international, Kelechi Iheanacho who plies his trade with English top flight side, Leicester City; is tipped to end the season on a high as he sets his eyes on being part of Gernot Rohr’s final 23 man squad for the FIFA World Cup Finals in Russia. Kelechi has struggled to get some consistent game time since moving from Manchester City in a £25 million deal in the summer. He has scored five times in 23 appearances inclusive of only ten starts in all competitions since moving to the King Power Stadium. This lack of game time at his club might have somehow influenced the extent of his role in the Super Eagles squad as Rohr used him mostly as a substitute in Nigeria’s world cup qualification campaign.

There is new hope for the Nigerian to make a statement before the season comes to a close as Leicester City boss, Claude Puel hinted at trying him out on the No.10 role as opposed to his familiar No.9. It’s a position that Puel has not been satisfied with even after deploying Riyad Mahrez and Demarai Gray in it. Could the 21-year-old ace it ahead of Okazaki and build some momentum to be considered for a crucial role in Nigeria’s squad for Russia 2018? Nigeria could actually benefit from having more attacking options since they have not been very good going forward.

“I think until the end of the season it will be an opportunity for different players to play and take some habits, perhaps to give a good solution. We know all the hard work from Okazaki, for example, and, in the last game, Kele had good intensity and quality. Yes, Kele is a young player he can have game time, he can improve and give a good option for the future. We will see. We have different options and it is interesting to try.” - Claude Puel, Leicester City Manager

Leicester City will play Crystal Palace on the 28th of April where Kelechi could start for the foxes in the No.10 position.

Zimbabwe: Referee hailed for rejecting a bribe

The Zimbabwean football association (ZIFA), commended the nation’s top referee, Norman Matemera for turning down a (USD) $10 000 bribe from Equatorial Guinea’s Desportivo Niefang. The club was working the Togolese match commissioner, Lawson Mawume to reach out to the Zimbabwean referee delegation led by Norman Matemera to influence the result of their decisive CAF Confederation play-off tie against Williamsville Athletic Club of Ivory Coast. The match eventually ended with Desportivo winning 2-1 but failing to progress as they lost 2-0 in the reverse encounter. After the match, the match commissioner and Desportivo dumped the vigilant referees to pay for their meals and transport themselves to the airport.

The 35-year-old Zimbabwean Matemera reported the attempted bribery case to CAF who are expected to take appropriate action to bring the accused to book. Matemera is one of the top officials in Southern Africa (COSAFA) to resist a bribe after South Africa’s Victor Gomes did the same. Here is what the ZIFA official had to say about the issue:

"You must recognize that there are attempts to fix a match, you must resist those attempts and you must report those attempts. In this regard, we feel proud that our referees did just that. It is quite unfortunate that in this case, it involved a match commissioner and it is a situation which makes you wonder who is going to guard the guard when those entrusted to guard are the guilty ones because the match commissioner was the one being used as the go-between in the home team's bribery attempts.But really what Matemera did speaks volumes of our honesty as a country on such issues.The referee reported the matter to CAF and I believe CAF are already seized with it. We believe CAF have adequate machinery to deal with such issues.”  - Gladmore Muzambi, ZIFA Referees Committee Vice-Chairman

UCL Road To Kiev Final: Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid

These two European giants seem to meet in the knock out stages quite often. With this being their 25th meeting, it is now the most played tie in Champions League history. Last season, it was Madrid that emerged victorious over the two-legged quarterfinal affair, and they will again rely on the sensational form of Cristiano Ronaldo to provide the decisive edge for them. Bayern, however, have been consistently good since the arrival of Jupp Heynckes this season. He knows how to get the best from his best players and Muller and James, in particular, have performed better under his management. With the Bundesliga already wrapped up for Bayern, they have had the luxury of rotating their better players. Madrid have also engaged in such rotations, albeit because the deficit is so large between them and Barcelona in first place in La Liga. Real Madrid are one knockout tie away from a third final in 3 years. Zidane deserves massive credit for managing what has always been a demanding Madrid job to deliver Champions League success twice in two seasons. Having been to a record eight straight semi-final ties, Madrid will feel that the final in Kiev is theirs to arrive at.

Bayern have lost their last three semi-final ties, however, they had won the previous four. Madrid have won their last two semi-final ties, however, they lost 5 of the previous 6.

Jupp Heynckes may prove to be Bayern’s luck charm having always won the competition whenever he previously coached in it. Two previous victories; one when he previously coached Real Madrid in 1997-98 and the other one during his last season as Bayern coach.

Lewandowski has been subject to increasingly consistent rumors that a move to Madrid will be on the horizon in the summer. Cristiano has been the in-form player of this Champions League campaign with a number of decisive goals and an unprecedented streak of scoring in every single CL game. Which player will prove to be more influential during this tie?

James will be playing against his former teammates after being loaned out to Bayern this season. Having lost favor with Zidane, James has found a new lease on life in Munich and will certainly be extra motivated.

World Cup Rush: Nigeria’s Ighalo picking up form and Elneny injury scare

One of the Super Eagles’ likely striking options at this years’ FIFA World Cup finals in Russia seems to be picking up form just the moment they desperately need him to. Gernot Rohr’s men were criticised for not being decisive or picking out the right passes in the final third over the international break when they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Serbia. The Chinese Super League based, Odion Ighalo stepped up in a huge way over the weekend, scoring four times in Changchun Yatai’s 5-2 win away at Guizhou Hengfeng. He has now found the back of the net, five times in seven matches.

"I have not been lucky in front of goal but today God gave me all the ones that haven't been entering since the start of the season at once." - Odion Ighalo

Meanwhile, Egypt got an injury scare ahead of the world cup finals after Arsenal midfielder, Mohamed Elneny had to be stretchered off their match at home to West Ham United. The North London club has confirmed that Elneny suffered an ankle ligament injury and are hopeful that he would return to action before the season expires.

"We are hoping that Mo will available for Arsenal again this season and we are keeping in regular contact with the Egyptian Football Association."  - Arsenal FC

The 25-year-old midfielder has recently become a favorite in the Arsenal defensive department of the midfield in Arsene Wenger’s last days at the club. He also possesses the ability to charge forward and pick out the right passes or even threaten the goal. He is expected to link up nicely with the PFA Player of the year, Mo Salah, in Russia, for the Egyptian Pharaohs.

Special: Ronaldo equals Messi’s five Ballon d’Or wins

Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned 2017 best football player in the world. He now equals Messi’s five Ballon d’Or wins and sits level with the Argentinian atop the footballing elite. Cristiano enjoyed another standout campaign as he led Real Madrid to their first La Liga BBVA title in 5 years, tallying 25 goals and 6 assists. Perhaps, even more impressive were his 12 Champions League goals that helped secure Madrid their third trophy CL trophy in 3 years. The 2017 Ballon marked the seventh time in seven years that both the Portuguese Star and Messi finished in the top two for the award. You’d have to go back to 2007 for the last time another player won the award, when Kaka lifted the trophy after a legendary season with AC Milan.

With the 2018 World Cup on the horizon, it’s hard not to imagine Ronaldo and Messi are itching at another opportunity to distinguish themselves as the best once more. As for 2017, players who placed after first and second were Brazil’s Neymar at third and Juventus’ Buffon at fourth. Hear more from Cristiano on his special moment and checkout a Complete 2017 list of Ballon d'Or rankings with club/country.

No Major Surprises on the Confirmed UCL Finalists

The first 4 groups in the Uefa Champions League are done. Manchester United and Basel qualified from group A with United having topped the group after coming from a goal down to beat CSKA Moskva 2-1 at Old Trafford. PSG won group B though succumbing to a 3-1 humbling by fellow qualifiers, Bayern Munich who restored some pride after losing 3-0 in the reverse fixture.

And of course, the major highlight, Roma winning group C. The 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid was not enough for Chelsea to top the group, losing out on head to head results with Roma after losing 3-0 in Italy. As expected, Barcelona and Juventus both won 2-0 against Sporting CP and Olympiacos respectively to qualify with the Catalans as group winners. See how the other results concluded over at SuperSport.

Lord Jodie brings an end to her stay in London

The 31-year-old is bringing an end to her 2 year stay at the North London side. She had been unfortunate with injuries since joining the club. Her time at the club made her realize that what she needed was a move abroad with a different lifestyle. She will be leaving for Melbourne City on a six-week loan and then Seattle Reign on a permanent deal. Jodie spoke highly of Arsenal on her way out calling the club “excellent” and “professional”. We look forward to seeing the legend continue in the Pacific Northwest in 2018. See more of Taylor’s thoughts on her move at Daily Mail.

Klopp Calls on the 12th Player to Make All the Difference

In their last Champions League outing, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool gave up a 3-0 lead to eventually draw 3-3 with Sevilla in Spain suspending their qualification to the next round. Many questions have been asked of Liverpool’s defence and mentality but Klopp believes that the atmosphere in the stadium at Sevilla contributed immensely to the result. He is counting on the Anfield atmosphere to do the same in tonight’s final group match against Spartak Moscow. Liverpool just need a point to guarantee qualification. Head on over to SuperSport to see the rest of Klopp’s comments leading up to the Champions League fixture.