By Michael Madyira
Former Orlando Pirates coach Roger de Sa has gone down memory lane, detailing his close encounters with Mohamed Salah during his time as Egypt assistant coach.
De Sa was part of Carlos Queiroz’s backroom staff in the Egypt national team from September 2021 to April 2022.
Liverpool forward Salah was the biggest figure in the Pharaohs dressing room and De Sa remembers one strange request from the two-time African Footballer of the Year.
“I remember one of the first requests he made to me,” said De Sa on Soccer Africa.
“When he first arrived I said to him, ‘how was it Mo, are you okay?’ And he went, ‘yeah thank you very much coach, everything was good. I’m happy to be here, but I have one favour to ask.’
“I said, ‘what do you mean? Tell me, I’ll help you out.’ And he said, ‘can I please not fly Egyptair anymore.’
“I said, ‘why not?’ And he said, ‘because I can’t sleep.’ The whole night, even if he is in business class there are passengers coming through and taking photographs and waking him up the whole night.
“He said, ‘put me on a foreign airline where they don’t know me and I can slip in and get away with a couple of hours of sleep.
“Everywhere you go in Cairo there is a picture of Mo Salah. You can’t get away from that. He is a legend but he is so humble, he is such a good man. It’s unbelievable.”
De Sa’s stint in Egypt saw the Pharaohs coming on the brink of an eighth Africa Cup of Nations title but lost the 2021 edition to Senegal in the final.
The ex-Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper is one of the few South African coaches to work abroad and involved in a dressing room that has the world’s big-name players.
He was Queiroz’s understudy with Portugal during the 2010 Fifa World Cup, working with Cristiano Ronaldo and he believes African coaches can excel overseas.
“There I am, I was coaching Ronaldo in 2010 and Mo Salah at the Africa Cup of Nations, as well as some superstars in Iran and I’m an African kid,” De Sa said.
“They listen to me, they respect me, they still call me. I still get phone calls from Mo Salah weekly.
“Just to give you an idea, I had a flight from Cairo to Senegal where Mo Salah sat next to me for three hours talking about his career, his football, what I think. That shows you we are not far behind.”
A respected coach in Africa, De Sa guided Orlando Pirates to the 2013 Caf Champions League final.
Pictured above: Roger de Sa & Mohamed Salah
Image source: @RogerDeSa
