Now I’m not necessarily saying Salah’s as good as Robben, Xavi and Silva were, but when did those three ever play in a team comparable to Egypt where their quality transcended?
I mean, they played for Brazil, PSG, Chelsea, Holland, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern, Barca and Spain.
They haven't. That's why I mentioned Salah's style of play and main qualities being more geared towards off the ball running and goalscoring, which limits him as a player in lesser sides. Those other players all had qualities that make them stand out in general play, so it doesn't matter what team they play for their fundamentals are so good that they will always look class.
I don't necessarily think we need to see a Xavi etc playing for a Fiorentina/Roma/Egypt to know he'd still look like a brilliant player.
How many players can score the goal he scored against City? You make it seem as if he’s just a poacher.
Also Salah looked like a brilliant player for Roma and has more than a 1 in 2 record for Egypt, also as far as playmaking goes he’s probably the best playmaker out of all the attackers in the league after Kane, he’s way more than just a goalscorer, when he finishes with the most assists in the league as well as top scorer maybe people will start to realise this like they have with Kane.
Sorry am past the post limit so will reply here.
He's definitely more than just a poacher. I'll try to detail what I see as his main strengths and why it translates to him being elite in Liverpool's system, but not necessarily somewhere else:
- Extremely good spatial awareness in the final third in terms of when he receives the ball with players around him and also knowing where teammates are
- Top movement
- Good/very good finishing, his composure is always excellent but sometimes his finishing doesn't match it
- Very clever link up and quick interchange in the final third
- Good vision but inconsistent execution
The way Liverpool play also maximizes all of these strengths. From the high tempo, the center forward dropping in, the areas which the fullbacks try to hit with crosses, the two outer center midfielders creating overloads, VVD's passing over the top. Its all designed to get the best out of Mane and Salah.
Compare that with Egypt where the onus is on him as the best player to make things happen. The things that he's great at (above) he can't do to his highest level as it is reliant on his teammates also being on the same wavelength, which they aren't. When he's not a goal threat his flaws become more evident. His passing in general is inconsistent, high turnovers, ball retention is mediocre, tends to be on the periphery of the game when his team aren't playing well. He cannot dictate/dominate a match in the way others can. This is for Liverpool aswell, have seen plenty of games where he's not involved at all but might pop up with a goal and all is forgotten. As you say he is capable of producing absolute moments of magic which can't be argued with. This is why I don't hesitate to put him up there at the moment.
But back to the original point though I feel players like Robben/Bale offered everything (maybe not as good statistically) that Salah does but are also better footballers who could do more than Salah outside of the final third. I've seen them be the best player on the pitch plenty of times without affecting the scoresheet. The same can rarely be said when I watch Salah. All just my opinion of course I know its a really unpopular one.
I dont think so, Xavi would have struggled in a non possession dependent team, He was about to be sold off by Rijkaard for being too small and having little physical presence. A counter attacking style that depends on tough tackling, strenght and speed I dont think Xavi will look good there.
Many world class players looked terrible when a different pattern was played. A possession world class player will struggle under a counter attacking team and vice versa. There are defenders who looked great in low blocks but silly with high lines
To be fair what you're describing sounds like Conte's Chelsea where he wanted absolutely nothing to do with Fabregas initially but then over time, good performance after good performance won his trust and became a pivotal player. I don't even think Cesc was fully suited to playing deep but he was very good. I can imagine Xavi being excellent in that system.
