Under the title "Due to Salah: Egypt National Team Ends Decades-Old Rule," Sky News published news indicating that a sense of anticipation surrounds the Egyptian public ahead of the Pharaohs' match against the Libyan national team in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, scheduled to take place next Friday at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Egypt. The two teams will meet again on the 11th of the month in Libya. The Libyan team enters this encounter leading the group with 6 points, while the Pharaohs are in second place with 4 points, and these confrontations will significantly affect the chances of both teams qualifying for the World Cup.
Following the lackluster performance of the Pharaohs in the first two rounds of the World Cup qualifiers, the Egyptian Football Association decided to dismiss coach Hossam El Badry and his assistant staff, appointing Portuguese Carlos Queiroz as the new head coach of the Pharaohs.
Before Queiroz's first official match, the announcement of the roster for the upcoming match against Libya surprised the public, as the Portuguese coach excluded the outstanding Al Ahly duo, Mohamed Magdy Afsha and Mohamed Sherif, while deciding to reinsert Ahmed Fathi back into the team. The return of Ahmed Fathi, the last remnant of Egypt's golden generation, reminded the public of Fathi's objections to relinquishing the captaincy during El Badry's tenure, an issue Fathi indicated in media statements may have impacted his exclusion from the roster.
In April, the Egypt national team officially announced that Liverpool star Mohamed Salah would wear the captain's armband after consulting players who rank higher than Salah in seniority, all of whom supported this move, according to a statement from the Football Association. Furthermore, Wael Gomaa, the Egypt national team manager, stated earlier this week in media comments that coach Queiroz confirmed his support for the previous staff's decision regarding Salah wearing the captain's armband, and that the staff communicated with Ahmed Fathi, who accepted the decision. Gomaa concluded his remarks stating that this issue has ended and there is no room for further discussion on it.
The report does not focus on the captaincy dispute out of respect for the Pharaohs' coaching staff's decision, but rather on Salah's ability to break the "seniority rule" for the first time in the history of the Egyptian national team in recent decades.
**Sports Breakthrough**
Sports critic Mohamed Talba expressed that Liverpool star Mohamed Salah marks the beginning of a new chapter in Egyptian football, asserting that Salah's achievements in European fields make him the best player to have ever touched the ball in the Pharaohs' history, and now places him among the world's top players as acknowledged by major football coaches.
Talba added to Sky News: "Why is Salah the most deserving of the captaincy? Simply because he is the most influential player of the current generation on the results of the Egyptian team, and there are teammates of Salah within the national team who consider him a role model, which increases his ability to lead the team both on and off the pitch."
He also clarified that previous generations of the Egyptian national team, despite their accomplishments, were not centered around a single star, unlike the current situation. He remarked that "the main star of the current Egyptian national team is Mohamed Salah, which does not demean the other stars on the team. Ultimately, football is a team game, and one player alone cannot achieve victory, but some players can make a larger difference than others, and Salah undoubtedly is one of them, significantly more than his teammates."
**Different Criteria**
In previous statements to Sky News, former international player and one of the historical leaders of Al Ahly, Captain Shadi Mohamed, indicated that the seniority rule in selecting a team captain makes complete sense, as the more veteran player possesses more experience than others.
Mohamed added: "You need a captain who has experience in dealing with diverse issues, both on and off the field, and the seniority rule assists with that, as the player has faced the situation multiple times, aiding in swift and effective resolution without any harm."
In response to Shadi Mohamed's comments, sports critic Mohamed Talba stated that in the world of football, there is no single standard for selecting a captain, with some relying on "seniority," others on "stardom," while some look for leadership traits even in players who have just joined the team.
He continued: "For example, the captain of the Algerian national team is Riyad Mahrez, despite the presence of other players who are senior to him, such as Islam Slimani. Additionally, at the club level, coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided to grant the captaincy of Manchester United to defender Harry Maguire, even though he only joined the team two years ago."
Talba pointed out that selecting Salah as captain may depend on his stardom, "but one cannot overlook Salah's significant impact on other players, especially the youth who dream of having careers like that of the Liverpool star. This will place Salah under greater pressure, which will manifest during major tournaments, such as the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations."
Talba concluded: "We hope Salah can prove his capability to lead the Egyptian national team both on and off the field and succeed in this new role as he has in hundreds of other challenges, to become one of the world's top players, if not the best currently."
