LONDON: Egyptian star Mohamed Salah may be setting European and English football alight now but when he arrived in Switzerland he cast a few doubts in the mind of his first coach Heiko Vogel.
The 27-year-old forward 鈥� an integral part of Liverpool鈥檚 Champions League success last season 鈥� has started the campaign in flying form scoring a double in last Sunday鈥檚 win over Arsenal.
Vogel, though, told the German SPOX website he wondered whether Salah had the mental strength to succeed when he asked him to come for a week long trial in 2012 鈥� on the back of scoring a double for the Egyptian Under-23 side against Basel in a friendly.
鈥淚t was always clear to me that he is an outstanding player, but whether he had the mentality? I didn鈥檛 know that exactly,鈥� said Vogel.
鈥淢omo is a gentle killer.
鈥淚 would be lying if I had prophesied such a massive global career for him.鈥�
Vogel then asked Basel鈥檚 scouts in Egypt to confirm his potential by taking video footage of him.
鈥淚 wondered whether the videos had been speeded up,鈥� he said.
鈥淗e had everything 鈥� the speed, the finish, the left foot.
鈥淭hen he trained on the first day (in Switzerland); everyone watched the session and we wondered if he might have a twin brother.鈥�
Vogel, who picks out Arsenal鈥檚 Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka as the most impressive of the Premier League-based stars he coached at Basel with Salah and his Liverool team-mate Xherdan Shaqiri the other two, said things progressively got better.
鈥淭he second day was a bit better, but not good.
鈥淎nd then came the third day. It was then that he destroyed everything, he was really unstoppable.
鈥淚t was absolutely extraordinary. He was so agile, so explosive. If he had the ball on his left foot, it was a goal.
鈥淎fter that performance everyone knew why we wanted to sign him.鈥�
Vogel, who was sacked on October 2012 only months after clinching the domestic double, said Salah鈥檚 difficulties were understandable.
鈥淢omo was very sure of himself, but he was immersed in a new world,鈥� said Vogel.
鈥淗e had to acclimatize, in the most literal sense of the word.
鈥淗e came to us from the heat of North Africa.
鈥淚t is always difficult when you come into an environment where you don鈥檛 speak the language.鈥�
Salah, though was keen as mustard to learn German something which Vogel did his best to dissuade him from doing.
鈥淗e couldn鈥檛 speak English at all,鈥� said the 43-year-old German, who is presently coaching third tier German side KFC Uerdingen.
鈥淗e wanted to learn German but I said to him: 鈥楽low down, champion. German is difficult. Learn English, that鈥檒l be enough for you.鈥�
鈥淢omo had a really great agent there who could speak English, so we spoke through him.鈥�