The Lessons of Mo Salah's Development

Be careful not to judge players too quickly, amazingly players can improve and change!

Mo Salah has become the record holder for the most goals scored in a 38 game Premier League season. It’s been one hell of a season for the Egyptian, who also scored a last minute penalty to send his nation to the World Cup. And in a few weeks has the chance to win the Champions League for Liverpool. If he wins the World Cup for Egypt as well then it may be one of the most unlikely success stories football has seen. He will certainly be the 2018 Ballon D'or! 

And while Egypt winning in Russia isn’t all too likely, Salah could well end up as the Golden Boot considering how impressive his goal scoring this season has been (you can get odds of 40/1 on that happening!) As we will discuss in this article, what Salah has done this season is fantastic, and his progression is a great story as it points to development over time, improvement and refinement of skills and finding the right environment to thrive. 

You know someone is doing well when a player is talked of and compared in the same bracket as Messi, Ronaldo and Robben. Sarah has never been close to this kind of level in his career. He's moved to a whole new level at Liverpool. At 25 years of age, 26 in June, Salah appears to have matured into a truly top level player. Is it a one-off? Or is this something genuine? 

Salah’s best season was with Roma last year with 19 goals. He scored 15 on loan there the season previous. Before that his goalscoring was never really something of significance. In fact it was his goalscoring which ultimately was his downfall as a player earlier in his career, with his dribbling and speed his best assets and his finishing often wasteful and guilty of poor decision making. 

This season has seen him score 44 goals in all competitions for Liverpool and excel under Jurgen Klopp’s system and culture. Mo Salah, like his Golden Boot rival Harry Kane, are examples of the crazy world of development and self-improvement. They are the beneficiaries of their environment and of the coaching they've received. What we are seeing with Salah and Kane is that a players level is not fixed and that with the right nurturing players can excel and go to whole new levels. As we will discuss, this has a significant influence on the development of players across the board, both young and seniors.

Salah's developpent journey 

Mo Salah apparently was playing at left back in Egypt when he was 15, when his coach was impressed with how many times he dribbled and created chances for himself from that position that he moved him further forwards. Fortunately he saw something in the young Salah to play him as a forward, and as they say, the rest is history. I’ve written before how much I get frustrated by seeing talented attacking players playing at left back early in their youth careers based mainly on their ‘talent’ of being left footed. I just hope more coaches see the potential in their players and don’t see to restrict them positionally. That article can be read here.

As for Salah, his move to Basel came off the back of positive performances at 19 when he was playing for Egypt in the Under 20 World Cup. They were knocked out in the quarter finals but he made an impact. Their scouts watched him again and former Sporting Director George Heitz made this comment about him;

“You could see the talent after five minutes on the pitch. Not only was he quick, but he always had his head up."

Salah was signed for a rather hefty 2million Euros. Yet it was seen as a smart move for a player who had impressed scouts and coaches on trial so much. Salah’s personality adhered himself to Basel’s decision makers, who saw a man was intelligent and ambitious, as well as a player who loved the game.  His ability to adapt was very positive, as Heitz said, “He adapted quickly. This was really impressive as it’s not so easy to move to Europe from another continent. Usually, you would expect a player like that to need six months to adapt but it was so quick with Mo. Mo only spoke a couple of words of English but he’s a very smart and intelligent person. After two months he could speak with everyone. He’s a fantastic boy, believe me. He’s a humble and smart person, and that helps you in this crazy football world.”

Salah impressed in his time at Basel and a move to a bigger club was inevitable. Liverpool were very interested but it was Chelsea who secured the deal. Mourinho apparently was very eager to have Salah come to Chelsea. Mourinho has this problem/obsession with the right midfielder in his 4-2-3-1 and it seems he struggles to find the right type of individual to fit the role to his requirements. Unfortunately Salah couldn’t adapt to what Mourinho wanted.

Mourinho has recently defended the situation which occurred with Salah at Chelsea. He has been criticized for not embracing Salah or bringing out the best in him, with many saying how Chelsea lost out on another talented young player. However it is important to understand that the player is different to the one today. And as Mourinho says; "I was the one that bought Salah. I was the one that told Chelsea to buy Salah. Chelsea decided to sell him, OK? So the decision to send him on loan was a decision we made collectively, but after that, the decision to sell him and to use that money to buy another player wasn't mine."

Importantly Mourinho touches on Salah’s immaturity at that time; “But he came as a young kid, physically he was not ready, mentally he was not ready, socially and culturally he was lost and everything was tough for him.”

It shows the issue that many forget in football! The flaw of looking at the player and not the person. Of not appreciating the situation, the time period for that person. Adaptation to a new environment, family issues, integration. The welfare of a player off the pitch can often lead to problems on the pitch. Salah may well have struggled to adapt to life in England, at Chelsea or under Mourinho's methods. He is human, not a robot. More time may have let him integrate better and adapt. Neither the player or coach is necessarily to blame, sometimes it’s just about timing. In that moment the timing wasn’t right.

As Heitz says; “The Premier League is the most fascinating league in the world but it’s also the most difficult, especially for young players. You can see many times players need a period before they feel adapted. Mo was very young, very ambitious and very sensitive. He needed a lot of confidence.

“Managers of big clubs always have a headache because they have so many good players. At some point they have to decide who they can count on and who they can’t. Sometimes you need a bit of luck as a player. Maybe someone to get injured so you can get into the team and prove your value. Maybe he was a bit unlucky at Chelsea.

As Mourinho says of Salah now; "But he is a great player that has reached the peak of maturity, he has already lived several other experiences and now has fitted perfectly into the style of play of the team, of the coach and of the club as well."

Reached the peak of maturity. That’s it! Salah has grown, developed and matured in the past few years. Since his previous time in England he’s improved and developed. He has gone to Italy, played for two different teams, had to adapt and grow, find new experiences. And he has improved through these experiences. And that’s what development is! As Heitz says “Roma is a difficult place to play. They are a strong side. If you can make it there, it’s easier to go back to England from Roma than from Basel. When I see him today, he has certainly grown physically. He was quite thin when we came to Basel. But he’s also grown mentally."

Adapting and learning to new experiences. Being challenged and stretched. Sometimes it’s hard, uncomfortable and difficult, yet over time you become better, stronger and more resilent. Salah arrived in England at 21 years of age, at a time when he couldn’t produce his best. 

Liverpool have got their timing perfect. And as well as finding the right time and maturity of the player, they also produced the right environment for him to flourish. Perhaps Salah could well have excelled in England under a coach like Klopp when he was 21. Or maybe he was just too young and immature then regardless of the coach. Klopp however has shown in his managerial career an impressive ability to bring out the best in young players. Just look at the players who emerged at Dortmund and the impressive performances of Trent-Arnold and Robertson this season. 

It may well be that Klopp deserves a lot of the credit for what Salah has done this season; creating the environment, providing the love and care which Salah thrives on and playing in a system which maximizes Salah’s attacking talent. Mourinho may well have just struggled to bring out the best in the player. And there’s many examples of coaches who limit their players, reduce their strengths and then blame and critique the players for under-performance.

Implications for youth development?

As always with the blog I seek to transfer the theme and message of the article into the wider context of youth development and coaching. What can we learn and take from these lessons of top players? 

Well, the story of Salah highlights the lesson of development of talent over time. A crazy concept I know, which entails that young players can improve (and yes can regress too - a deeper issue which needs further time to cover) over time through practice and coaching. Young players can excel under the right the environment, or be restricted in others. It's not always a perfect science and it may be hard to bring out the best in everyone. However coaches should be conscious that playing players at left back solely because they are left footed is not always conducive with developing a future star!

The key message I take from this story, the same story as Harry Kane, is that a players development does not end at 15, 16, 17 or 18. It takes time to develop the skills needed to become a 'top' player. Yes there may be some players who are 'ready' earlier, who can break through at the very top in their teens. Yet many require time to mature, develop their skills and refine their game. 

It may also be that certain environments and movements can affect their progression, not bring out their best form and affect their reputation. Kane didn't really make any kind of impact on his loans. Salah was derided at Chelsea and seen as a flop. However it may be that these experiences were vital for their future development, they may have built resilence, may have focused and motivated these young men to work harder and develop their game more. It's not always the positive experiences which provide positive development, in fact it is the negative experiences which often build resolve and strength of character. 

Unfortunately I've witnessed too many young players get written off or judged too early, without an appreciation of their developmental stage - either physiological or psychological. It seems many are too quick to judge and find it too easy to write off a young player. Instead of seeing potential and enjoying being a part of their development journey, it seems it's easier to dismiss and release than seek to develop and find solutions. Mainly it's the late births/late developers yet it can also be the face which doesn't fit or the type of talent which doesn't suit. This aspect of bias is hard to overcome when people are making decisions yet it's important to be aware of bias - both positive and negative - and assess if a bias is leading to a player's development becoming affected. 

Imagine if more players were provided with the love, support and care which it seems only a select few are? Wouldn't we produce more players? Do coaches want to make this happen? Or is it easier to judge and criticise? This negative environment of critique and complaining only creates a negative cycle of blame and frustration. Which ultimately leads to a players regression in form and performance. And yet the blame is put on the player, when in fact the staff have played a significant role in affecting the players psyche. Reverse this, make it a positive experience for the player, make the player feel valued and loved and perhaps more players could excel? It's just a thought. 

When you look at the journey and progression of Salah and Kane has to be given credit to the coaching of Pochettino and Klopp. Sherwood deserves credit for pushing Kane into the spotlight, and these brave coaches who provide youth with opportunity need to be highly commended!  Kane also deserves credit for proving his worth to Pochettino as well as developing his game to get where is now. Kane is a brilliant story of development and proving doubters wrong. 

What Pochettino has done for Spurs young players is nothing short of brilliant. He has shown that magic coaching talent which the best coaches have - an ability to inspire and motivate. This for me is the key to coaching brilliance. To light a flame, to ignite it and then push it further and further, nurturing it along the journey. Kane like others have thrived under the culture and environment Pochettino has created at Spurs. 

And players at Liverpool are doing similar at Liverpool. Guardiola is also doing great things with his environment and we are seeing this with young players like Sane and Sterling. It is a great time for the Premier League because there is a genuine sense of greatness within the upper echelons of the management at the top clubs and this is reflecting with the players development and performance. Hopefully coaches of young players see value in these men's approaches to player development, care and welfare. It may be the key to producing more talented players in the future! 

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address