When Fiorentina agreed to send Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea in January, it seemed difficult to understand what the Serie A club hoped to gain for the remainder of the 2014-15 campaign. With Giuseppe Rossi still sidelined with a knee injury, the Colombian had undoubtedly become the club’s best player, and even with him in the lineup they had struggled, losing to crisis club Parma in the first game of the new year.
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Languishing in mid-table mediocrity and with a difficult-looking Europa League tie against Tottenham on the horizon, the immediate future for La Viola became unclear. But the Premier League giants had activated a Dh119 million (€35m) buyout clause in Cuadrado’s contract, meaning there was little the Tuscan side could do but wish him well.
As part of the deal, sporting director Daniele Pradè convinced the Stamford Bridge outfit to allow Mohamed Salah to spend the rest of the season on loan at Fiorentina. Despite having previously shown some impressive flashes with Basel, he had struggled in London and losing him appeared to be a minor concern for Jose Mourinho’s talent-laden squad. The Egyptian had spent a year at Stamford Bridge, scoring two goals in 19 appearances, and had found himself increasingly marginalised as the new season wore on.
Indeed, prior to his exit, Salah had seen just 30 minutes of Premier League action this term, meaning he arrived at Fiorentina with much to prove. A non-descript debut against Atalanta showed little of what was to follow, but just a week later he would be given his first start against Sassuolo, and he has not looked back since.
His first goal came after just half an hour and he turned provider just two minutes later as he laid on a goal for Khouma Babacar, and an overwhelmed Sassuolo defence would have no answer for his blend of speed and trickery. Completing 25 of his 31 pass attempts, Salah would also recover the ball seven times as he displayed precisely the kind of work ethic Mourinho demands of his players. It was only the beginning of his Fiorentina adventure.
The following weekend he came off the bench to rescue a point against Torino before leading them to a memorable win over Spurs at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, scoring once again to eliminate the English side. A winner over Inter Milan came next, a vital goal that lifted Fiorentina – at that point undefeated with Salah in their XI – back into the European places in Serie A.
Next up was a trip to Juventus Stadium for the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi final clash with the Viola’s most bitter rivals. With the reigning champions unbeaten at home since Bayern Munich visited Turin in April 2013, it seemed to be a tall order, but once again Salah led the way. From a Juventus corner, he charged from inside his own half and the Bianconeri defence had no answer for his speed.
Bursting past a hapless and helpless Simone Padoin, Salah unleashed a powerful shot across the goalkeeper, and the winger gave his side an unexpected lead. He would do so again after Juve equalised. The stunning brace made the headlines of course – and drew praise from his former team-mates at Chelsea – but once again it was his all-round play that deserved attention. He completed four take-ons, connected with 34 passes, made one tackle, two interceptions and one clearance to help the Viola defence control the Juventus attack and ensure they ended that famous undefeated streak.
Momo salah on fire ✌️✌️
— Eden hazard (@hazardeden10) March 5, 2015
Watching the 22 year old in full flight is a joy, a wonderful combination of grace, athleticism and talent, playing with a direct approach that Serie A defenders seemed unable to cope with, until Lazio held him in check on Monday night. Netting six goals in his first six starts for the club, he has been a revelation on the peninsula, a fact not lost on his coach Vincenzo Montella. “Salah settled in very well,” the coach told RAI Sport in the aftermath of that win over Juve.“We knew he was strong, but in all honesty his immediate impact has gone beyond expectations.”
“Watching the 22 year old in full flight is a joy, a wonderful combination of grace, athleticism and talent.”
The two men now face another difficult challenge, taking on the club that passed on them both in recent years, as AS Roma stand in the way of La Viola and a place in the Europa League quarter-finals. Montella took over as temporary coach of the Giallorossi when Claudio Ranieri was sacked in 2011, but was overlooked when they sought a permanent replacement that summer. He built a solid reputation with Catania, and has impressed enough with Fiorentina to be linked with jobs at both AC Milan and Napoli at the end of the current campaign.
Roma also had the opportunity to sign the impressive Egypt international in January, but instead chose to bring Seydou Doumbia and Victor Ibarbo to the Italian capital, a move which now looks extremely foolhardy. In his current form, Mohamed Salah could deliver yet another victory for Fiorentina, and for both the player and his coach this would arguably be the sweetest one yet.
