Many believed that 2018 would be the year that Neymar Jr finally shattered the Ronaldo/Messi duopoly of football’s greatest individual award, the Ballon d’Or. When Liverpool and Roma meet this week for the second leg of their semi-final, there may indeed be a new favourite, but it will not be the Brazilian 26-year-old. Eulogised as Egypt’s fourth pyramid, the Pharoah, and the most important football player alive today, Mohamed Salah has embarrassed almost every defence he’s faced in the past nine months and even made dark horses of Egypt in Russia. Not since Cristiano Ronaldo has a player captured the British imagination quite like Salah, who has made Liverpool the envy of the Premier League in a season when Manchester City have broken myriad records and assembled what some believe to be the greatest side ever. He has overshadowed a Kevin De Bruyne masterclass and as the league draws to a close, this season may be remembered for Salah and not City. For sure, the Egyptian has already done enough to be remembered as a Liverpool great. He has swiftly expunged any longing memories of Philippe Coutinho or Luis Suarez and elevated Liverpool to the cusp of a Champions league final – their finest achievement in over a decade. However, though the love he feels in Liverpool is unquestionably fierce, it will never replicate the immeasurable adoration he arouses in his native Egypt. In recent years, sport has taken a back-seat in Egypt as the nation has endured one of the most difficult periods in its history. In February 2011, citizens disillusioned by corruption and authoritarianism erupted in Cairo’s Tahrir square, holding protests that continued until President Hosni Muburak resigned three weeks later. This revolution and the crisis that followed would have a profound effect on Egyptian football and its fans. On 1 February 2012, a massive riot occurred at Port Said stadium in which 74 people were killed. Allegations of conspiracy surrounded the incident in which police forces stood idly by as men unaffiliated with either club led the carnage. Domestic leagues were cancelled for two years causing a ripple effect that impacted the national game. Having won an unprecedented three consecutive African Cup of Nations between 2006 and 2010, Egypt failed to qualify for the next three. When Egypt’s current manager, Hector Cuper, arrived in 2015, football had been played behind closed doors for four years. In recent years, the situation has vastly improved as stable leadership has allowed for growth and the tourism industry has recovered to almost pre-crisis levels. That, and Salah. Egypt’s slow rebirth from its near-disintegration during the Arab Spring has been concurrent with the emergence of Salah the superstar, the timing of which has meant he has become a poster boy for a better Egypt and its greatest international representative.